Global Entry, SENTRI & NEXUS Could Soon Cost $120
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bureau is planning to increase the fee of Global Entry and also make some other changes soon. It plans to expand the program and also make it possible for children to enroll for free. CBP is proposing a harmonized membership fee of $120 for the SENTRI, Global Entry, and NEXUS trusted traveler programs. Read more about these programs.
Here are some of the proposed changes that can be found here:
- Under the proposed rule, the Global Entry program fee would increase from $100 to $120
- The NEXUS fee would increase from its current fee of $50 to $120.
- The SENTRI fee would be decreased from its current fee of $122.25 to $120.
- All minors under 18 years of age would be exempt from the Global Entry, SENTRI or NEXUS program fee when a parent or legal guardian is either a member of or is concurrently applying for Global Entry.
- Expansion of Global Entry to preclearance facilities at foreign locations. Because Global Entry now operates in some U.S. territories and preclearance facilities outside the United States, CBP is proposing to remove references to “expedited entry into the United States” and replace them with “dedicated CBP processing.
The document also provide some enrollment numbers for the programs. CBP says that a total of 170,292 minors and 1,976,781 adults enrolled in Global Entry in 2019. For SENTRI, there were an estimated 39,241 minors and 108,673 adults enrolled in 2019. These numbers are expected to increase significantly in the next few years. CBP expect a total of 4,524,587 approved applicants for Global Entry in 2023.
Guru’s Wrap-up
Most readers probably get their global Entry for free through credit cards. That is the reason why it is one of the more popular programs along with TSA PreCheck. Nexus offers better value at just $50, but you would have to pay it out of pocket.
It’s now clear how the credit card issuers will react to an increase in price for Global Entry. I would expect them to increase their refund from $100 to $120, but even if they don’t and you end up paying $20 for five years is still a good deal.
