As spring break and summer vacations approach, travelers looking to navigate crowded United States airports more quickly and easily have several options. Currently, five travel services provide a fast track through immigration or security screenings. Four of those services—PreCheck, Global Entry, SENTRI, and NEXUS—are operated by the U.S. government’s Trusted Traveler Program, which now has almost 18.5 million members. The fifth, called CLEAR Plus, is run by a private company.
PreCheck lets travelers classified as low-risk skip regular Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screenings; Global Entry expedites customs checks on arrival in the U.S; SENTRI streamlines overland border crossings; and NEXUS simplifies passage between the U.S. and Canada. CLEAR Plus, meanwhile, focuses on airport departures, using biometrics for swifter identification of passengers.
Each of these five services is available only to U.S. nationals or lawful U.S. permanent residents, except for Global Entry, which can be used by nationals of 14 other countries.
What’s new with travel expedited programs
A record number of people enrolled in TSA PreCheck last year as U.S. authorities launched new technology to tackle increased waiting times for this airport screening service. Four million members joined this service in 2023, a 19 percent increase from the previous year.
This larger volume of users corresponded with longer wait times. Fresh TSA figures reveal that 88 percent of PreCheck passengers waited less than five minutes to clear security in 2023, down from 94 percent in 2022.
PreCheck may lose members if its efficiency continues to wane, warns aviation security expert Sheldon Jacobson. At some U.S. airports, travelers are reporting longer waits at PreCheck lanes than TSA lanes, says Jacobson, a computer science professor at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “Passengers will view PreCheck as not worthwhile, perhaps allowing their status to lapse,” Jacobson predicts, if this system’s waiting times balloon further.
However, he believes this problem may be addressed by the TSA’s new technology. Facial recognition and self-service security screenings are being rolled out in a bid to reduce PreCheck waiting times. TSA PreCheck Touchless Identity Solution lets PreCheck members verify their identity via facial recognition instead of by presenting ID or a boarding pass. It is now operating at six U.S. airports, with more expected to join across 2024.
Meanwhile, the TSA’s new self-service screening has been installed at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport. This cutting-edge checkpoint will let passengers enrolled in the Trusted Traveler Program scan their ID and carry-on bags themselves. Feedback from this trial will inform the development and potential expansion of the system.
What to know about the three major fast-track programs
TSA PreCheck lets members join express security lanes at U.S. airports, eliminating the need to remove shoes, belts, laptops, jackets, and liquids of less than 3.4 ounces (100 ml). To become a PreCheck member, travelers must provide personal information and undergo a background check. Within five days, most applicants get approval in the form of a Known Traveler Number, which is used when booking flights to ensure access to PreCheck expedited screenings.
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CLEAR Plus is similar but not identical to PreCheck. It allows members to move more efficiently through airport checkpoints by having their identity verified via biometrics (eye or fingerprint) rather than queuing to present ID to security staff. Travelers can join CLEAR Plus by enrolling in person at a CLEAR desk at a participating airport. This process can be even quicker if they fill in their application online before visiting the airport to complete enrollment.
Global Entry, which costs $100 for five years, provides expedited security clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the U.S. At separate Global Entry lanes, members have their photo taken, which confirms their identity, before they briefly meet a Customs and Border Patrol officer.
Unlike PreCheck or CLEAR Plus, Global Entry can be used by nationals of 14 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Bahrain, India, Colombia, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, Panama, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Mexico. However, Global Entry has a slower, more complex application process than PreCheck or CLEAR Plus, says John Lipford, affiliate professor of tourism at Grand Valley State University.
Global Entry applications can take up to 11 months to process. Applicants must pass a strict background check and an in-person interview, which can take months to secure. They can check their application status by visiting the Trusted Traveler Program website.
But there is a shortcut—the Enrollment on Arrival program lets applicants who are conditionally approved (usually after a few weeks), complete the interview, without an appointment, at the airport when they arrive from an overseas trip.
The program runs at more than 50 U.S. airports, with interviews conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers. You just need a valid passport or permanent resident card and documents proving U.S. residency (driver’s license, utility bill, mortgage statement, or rental payment statement).
Which program is right for you?
Global Entry is designed for people traveling overseas and, as an added benefit, it includes TSA PreCheck membership. Travelers who fly only within the U.S. are better suited to having just PreCheck or CLEAR Plus.
PreCheck’s advantages over CLEAR Plus are wider availability, lower pricing, and greater security bypasses, says Lipford. PreCheck is offered at more than 200 U.S. airports, compared to less than 60 for CLEAR Plus. It only costs $78 for a five-year membership, which is about 12 times cheaper per year than CLEAR. And, unlike CLEAR Plus members, PreCheck users don’t need to undergo body scans.
Despite costing $189 annually, CLEAR Plus is popular due to convenience, marketing, and fascination with new technologies, says Lipford. Its sales kiosks are prominent in so many U.S. airports that they can easily be spotted by weary travelers queuing for a flight and wishing for speedier progress.
CLEAR Plus is also newer than PreCheck and uses biometrics as standard; it benefits from a perception of being more cutting edge, Lipford says.
(Will new travel technology invade your privacy?)
But Lipfort also expresses concern that travelers are sacrificing their privacy by agreeing to the biometric data collection of some expedited travel services. “[This] could have some pretty dire consequences, collectively and in the long term, should this information ever be misused,” he warns. “Privacy has historically been a valuable right and component of our lives in the U.S., and we are collectively whittling it away through advances in technology and the corresponding pressure to keep up with these advances.”
Ronan O’Connell is an Australian journalist and photographer who shuttles between Ireland, Thailand, and Western Australia.
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