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Upgraded to Economy
Upgraded to Economy

Category: Trusted Traveler Programs

Travel

How to add a second passport to your Trusted Traveler Program profile

Upgraded to Economy, October 16, 2024October 16, 2024

For those of you who have more than one passport that needs to be added to your Trusted Traveler Program profile, ever wondered how to do it? Typically, the website only allows you to have one passport. When your old passport expires, you simply replace the old passport’s info with…

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Travel

Enrolling for EasyPASS-RTP at Frankfurt Airport

Upgraded to Economy, December 10, 2023December 10, 2023

When entering the Schengen Area, non-EU/EEA/Swiss citizens are required to go through manual border control upon arrival… except if they arrive in Germany and are enrolled in the EasyPASS-RTP program. What is EasyPASS-RTP? EasyPASS is the German government’s name for their eGates used for automated border control. EU/EEA/Swiss citizens qualify…

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Travel

APEC Business Travel Card: an underrated hack

Upgraded to Economy, November 17, 2023November 24, 2023

Global Entry members tend to be spoiled for clearing immigration when heading home to the United States. Visiting other countries, however, might not be such a great experience when they lose access to the fast-track immigration clearance they enjoy in the U.S. and have to wait in hours-long lines at…

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Driving

Finally approved for NEXUS! (And how I was almost denied)

Upgraded to Economy, August 20, 2023July 25, 2024

As I said in my previous post, I was able to snag an August appointment in Blaine, WA after using Appointment Scanner. Previously, I was only able to schedule a September appointment. I made the trek this past Friday for my interview. I was almost denied for NEXUS, but eventually…

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Trusted Traveler Programs

NEXUS conditional approval after 15 months

Upgraded to Economy, August 8, 2023August 16, 2023

On May 11, 2022, I applied for NEXUS after becoming a member of Global Entry in March of that year. I was planning on moving to Seattle and anticipated driving across the border to Vancouver every other month. From prior experience, I knew crossing the border could take a few…

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Trusted Traveler Programs

My experience getting an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) as a U.S. citizen (and how you can get one too)

Upgraded to Economy, July 8, 2023November 24, 2023

The APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) is designed to expedite entry of businesspeople between different APEC economies. I recently obtained one for myself in case I make any future business trips to Asia. Benefits APEC is an organization of 20+ countries bordering the Pacific Ocean to promote trade between each…

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Trusted Traveler Programs

There’s three ways to check your NEXUS application status, and only one of them is superior

Upgraded to Economy, July 6, 2023July 8, 2023

Due to the lasting effects of the pandemic, processing times for new NEXUS applications currently exceed one year. This is particularly frustrating to people who live on the border and have been waiting for such a long time to get access to this wonderful program. I’ve currently waited for 14…

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Why Global Entry rocks for land crossings

Upgraded to Economy, August 19, 2022July 25, 2024

Take a look at the line I passed at the Peace Arch.

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How to scan your RFID TTP card at land crossings

Upgraded to Economy, August 14, 2022July 25, 2024

Watch this video for a demonstration on how to scan your RFID TTP card at land crossings. In this example, I am using the NEXUS lane with my Global Entry card.

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Travel

My experience with getting approved for Global Entry

Upgraded to Economy, July 17, 2022November 28, 2022

After the pandemic, with travel surging, the estimated application wait times for Global Entry has become less certain than before. As I recently went through the application process myself, I hope my experience will be a helpful data point. The stages of the application process There are essentially three stages:…

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Driving

What happens when the NEXUS lane is closed but you are a trusted traveler?

Upgraded to Economy, July 16, 2022July 25, 2024

One night, I headed back to the United States from Niagara Falls, Ontario. I crossed via the Rainbow Bridge, which doesn’t have NEXUS. I was crossing at midnight, so unfortunately, there was only one lane open. I had to wait about 10 minutes for my turn to be interviewed. I…

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Driving

My experience using Global Entry for the first time by land

Upgraded to Economy, July 15, 2022July 25, 2024

In November 2021, I applied for Global Entry because it was reimbursed by my new American Express Platinum Card. The process took longer than I would’ve liked, which I’ll explain in another post, but I eventually got conditionally approved in March 2022 and completed enrollment on arrival later that month….

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