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

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 of the economies. Years ago, they came up with the ABTC to make this possible.

The two major benefits of most ABTC cards are the access to special APEC lanes when crossing the border and the option to request visa waivers when visiting another APEC economy. However, only the former benefit applies to ABTCs issued by the U.S., while the latter benefit is available to citizens of most other APEC economies. This is because the United States and Canada are transitional members of APEC. That means they can issue ABTCs, but the American and Canadian ABTCs won’t offer visa free access to any APEC country. (To clarify, that means all other ABTCs have that option though.)

Although the ABTC is limited, that’s okay; the access to the faster passport control lines in the different countries is a great perk already.

Eligibility

Each APEC economy comes up with its own criteria and its own procedure for issuing ABTCs. This article only talks about the eligibility requirements for U.S. citizens.

In the U.S., only Global Entry, NEXUS, and SENTRI members who are U.S. citizens are eligible to apply for an ABTC. Global Entry and NEXUS members of other nationalities are not able to get an ABTC. I am currently a member of Global Entry, so I was eligible to apply. If you are not yet a member of at least one of those programs, you need to become one before you can become eligible for the ABTC.

Signing up

Visit the Trusted Traveler Program website (ttp.cbp.gov) and log in to the portal. Under your current program membership section, press the button for applying for an ABTC.

The process is quite simple. Provide your current address and passport information, then pay $70 for your application. Once you submit and pay for it, your application automatically becomes conditionally approved. A message will appear in your TTP portal. You should open this and read it for reference.

I paid for my application using my Chase Sapphire Reserve in hopes I would get a credit for it. The CSR offers a credit for one TTP membership renewal every 4-5 years. I already paid for my Global Entry and NEXUS through other credit cards, so I still had a TTP credit left over on my CSR. I figured it was worth a try to use my CSR for the ABTC fee. It worked! So yes, the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s Global Entry/NEXUS credit can cover the ABTC application. (Important: it won’t cover your ABTC fee if you already used it on Global Entry or NEXUS.)

Completing the sign up process

Once this is done, you will need to visit a Global Entry enrollment center for what’s called “signature collection”. That can be done either when you are already in the U.S. or through the Enrollment on Arrival process.

Unlike completing a regular Global Entry interview, you don’t need to schedule an interview for your ABTC. If you arrive for the ABTC signature collection, they might be confused at first, but they will ask their coworkers and eventually you will be allowed in for the ABTC signature collection process. You may have to wait for a CBP agent to be available.

Come at least an hour before the Global Entry enrollment center is scheduled to close.

Bring the following with you:

• Your U.S. passport book
• A printed copy of your letter of conditional approval, available on the CBP website
• Proof that you have bona fide business to do in Asia
  • A business card is helpful, but might not serve as sufficient evidence

Signature collection: a formality or a real step?

Other reports online suggest that the signature collection is a formality. My experience proved to be otherwise.

At the enrollment center, I handed over my passport and was asked to confirm if my address and job information was still accurate. I was also asked questions about my nationality, including if I was ever a national of mainland China. Then he realized my passport says I was born in the U.S. Hopefully that wasn’t racial profiling—I do have a visa for China, so I’d like to think he asked because of that.

After my identity was confirmed, I was grilled on why exactly I needed the ABTC. I said I had a business that was expanding to Asia after our Europe expansion. He asked if I had any travel history to Asia for business yet, to which I replied no. I then brought up the fact that travel to Asian countries had only resumed this year after COVID-19 travel restrictions had been lifted. He seemed a bit skeptical of my response and asked if I had any proof of my business, like a business card. Thankfully, I always keep some in my wallet, so I handed that over to him.

At this point, I was getting nervous that I would be denied. My justification was typed up by the CBP agent and sent to the national processing center. He asked me a few questions, such as:

Agent: “if you want to go to Japan to eat some sushi, can you use the APEC lane?”
Me: “No, I would use the normal lanes.”
Him: “Correct!”

Agent: “if you are returning to the U.S., would you use the APEC lane?”
Me: “Personally, I’d use the Global Entry lane.”
Him: “Correct!”

I later learned that was the part where I was supposed to be briefed about the expectations of using the program. My experience seemed to be more of an interrogation than a briefing though…

Then, he collected my signature and he said that was the conclusion of it. I asked if I had been approved and if so, when I would get my ABTC. He said that the national processing center would make the “final determination” and I would be notified later of the decision. He had no idea when I’d get the card.

I left the facility concerned about whether I would actually get approved. Minutes later though, I got an email from TTP saying I was approved for the ABTC. Phew!

Conclusion

The ABTC is a wonderful way to skip long immigration lines in Asian countries if you are doing bona fide business (at least officially). I won’t be using it when I am a pure tourist, but I will certainly enjoy using it when I have some business to conduct in those countries. It is a nice perk to have under my belt as a Global Entry member, especially because it is supposed to be trivial to get (or so I thought).

It doesn’t seem like a completely trivial card to get for Global Entry members, but it is still pretty easy if you have good enough justification for it. Some APEC economies, like mainland China, requires the company to sponsor the card, and then two more levels of government approval are required. The U.S. makes it relatively easier, which is much appreciated.

Best of luck for those of you who want to get one!