[M_Six]

If so, did it save you time getting through immigration and customs? Any hassles? Worries about security of your data?

Mobile Passport

[Flying Ace]

I don't see how this will be faster than Global Entry.

It basically a process in which you process your own paperwork ahead of time before you get to the CBP officer. It'll only be faster if they use dedicated lines for mobile passport app. Otherwise, if you're shoved in the same line as everyone else, it just means your own processing will be faster, but doesn't prevent you from skipping the lines.

IMO, pay for Global Entry, it'll make your life faster and simpler. And many travel credit cards will reimburse you for this fee.

[M_Six]

There is a dedicated line for Mobile Passport at O'Hare and it's often shorter than the Global Entry line (or so I've read). The nearest Global Entry application facility to me is at O'Hare, which is 3-1/2 hours away and the next available appointment is over a year from now. So it's not a matter of not wanting to pay for GE, it just can't be done for over a year.

[jtodd_fl]

Originally Posted by M_Six

There is a dedicated line for Mobile Passport at O'Hare and it's often shorter than the Global Entry line (or so I've read). The nearest Global Entry application facility to me is at O'Hare, which is 3-1/2 hours away and the next available appointment is over a year from now. So it's not a matter of not wanting to pay for GE, it just can't be done for over a year.

I got my Canadian Nexus interview done at Fort Erie, because the wait at Pearson was so long. The guy asked why I wanted Nexus, if I lived in FL. He didn't comprehend that I want it since I fly in to Pearson. They then asked if I drove up from FL for the meeting...

[EALm4]

Nope. Got Global Entry

[M_Six]

So yesterday we flew into O'Hare from Heathrow and got to see how Mobile Passport works. Overall, I'd say it worked as advertised. The major screw-up we ran across wasn't so much the system as it was the implementation. All the tutorials we watched said there would be a Mobile Passport sign directing passengers to the appropriate line. There were no such signs and the CBP people directing the flow of passengers were mostly clueless. We got sent back and forth about 4 times before we finally found someone who knew where the right line was. And I know it wasn't just us being noobs, because there were 4 other passengers who had been through Mobile Passport at O'Hare before and they said it was previously well marked. When we got to the right window, the sign said Connection Express and not Mobile Passport.

Once we got to the right line, we had to wait for just the one person in front of us and then we went through. It took about a minute. Just show them your phone and passport, scan the CR code on the phone, and answer a few questions. Easy peasy. They give you a slip for the the customs agent in the baggage claim area and send you on your way. Once you collect your bags (which took about 30 minutes for us), you go through a dedicated Mobile Passport line (this one was clearly marked), go through the same procedure of passport, scan, questions, and you're done. Our time with the agents was all of 3 minutes. Virtually no waiting for either line. From wheels down on the runway to getting out front to the shuttle bus pickup area was less than an hour, and most of that was taxiing, waiting for the airplane door to open, walking to and finding the right line, and waiting for our baggage. Pretty much like a domestic flight. The added time for CBP was, as I said, very minimal. Sure beats the 2 hours it took us to get through customs on our last trip.

From what I saw of the Global Entry lines, GE would have been a tad quicker, but we're talking about a difference of 2 or 3 minutes.

[shoei]

Originally Posted by M_Six

There is a dedicated line for Mobile Passport at O'Hare and it's often shorter than the Global Entry line (or so I've read). The nearest Global Entry application facility to me is at O'Hare, which is 3-1/2 hours away and the next available appointment is over a year from now. So it's not a matter of not wanting to pay for GE, it just can't be done for over a year.

Just do what I did... I picked an airport where population was slightly less dense than my home airport... Obviously, if you try and make an appointment at O'Hare, you're going to have a bad time...

Pick something like El Paso or whatever backwards airport that ASBSECU E93 has near him...

Year three or year four of GE and it's been worth every single damn penny I spent...

[M_Six]

As long as Mobile Passport continues to be this quick, I don't see a need for GE. Maybe in a year or so they'll have more places to go for a GE interview. I travel outside the US at most once a year. No big deal to me to continue to use Mobile Passport in the mean time.

[larryn]

I have Global Entry/Nexus/CLEAR. CLEAR is the shortest for departure security, by a good bit, but Global Entry works best for me, when I fly into SEA and LAX (predominantly).

Coincidentally, I also have Registered Traveller clearance for the UK. DO NOT DO THIS. It is a scam. I can get in the short line, but in over 17 entries, it has never worked once, and I get sent to a different line every time. If I complain, I get told I shouldn't be complaining, as it will make my entry more difficult (after a 10.5 hr flight). It's also expensive, as it is a 1 year programme.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by larryn

I have Global Entry/Nexus/CLEAR. CLEAR is the shortest for departure security, by a good bit, but Global Entry works best for me, when I fly into SEA and LAX (predominantly).

Coincidentally, I also have Registered Traveller clearance for the UK. DO NOT DO THIS. It is a scam. I can get in the short line, but in over 17 entries, it has never worked once, and I get sent to a different line every time. If I complain, I get told I shouldn't be complaining, as it will make my entry more difficult (after a 10.5 hr flight). It's also expensive, as it is a 1 year programme.

I haven't had to deal with any lines at customs in the UK as we always take the daytime flight from O'Hare to Heathrow (AA90). It gets into Heathrow at 10:30PM or thereabouts and by then customs is mostly empty. The last 3 trips have been a cakewalk through customs in the UK. Virtually no wait to speak to an agent and then right through the "nothing to declare" line and out the door.

[larryn]

Originally Posted by M_Six

I haven't had to deal with any lines at customs in the UK as we always take the daytime flight from O'Hare to Heathrow (AA90). It gets into Heathrow at 10:30PM or thereabouts and by then customs is mostly empty. The last 3 trips have been a cakewalk through customs in the UK. Virtually no wait to speak to an agent and then right through the "nothing to declare" line and out the door.

There's never any line at the declaration stations. You're lucky at passport control then. I get in at 11:30am, and it is insane, with lines often rolling out to the main long corridors, 3 or 4 corridor turns from the checkpoint.

I've flown into LHR prob +20 times in the past 1.5 yrs...

[Haywood]

This is good to know as I'm going to Ireland and Germany in the next couple of months and I have my GE interview next week. Looks like Mobile Passport works as advertised.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by larryn

There's never any line at the declaration stations. You're lucky at passport control then. I get in at 11:30am, and it is insane, with lines often rolling out to the main long corridors, 3 or 4 corridor turns from the checkpoint.

I've flown into LHR prob +20 times in the past 1.5 yrs...

Oy, I'd hate to be making that flight so often, even in business class. And dealing with airports and customs all the time? No thanks.

Which airline do you fly?

[larryn]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Oy, I'd hate to be making that flight so often, even in business class. And dealing with airports and customs all the time? No thanks.

Which airline do you fly?

I'm a Delta guy, which doesn't have any international complimentary upgrades. According to corp regs, I can book Business, but the flights are between $7k and $11k when riding up front. My conscience is too strong for adding that to my company's travel budget and ride in (status provided) Comfort+ seating.

The good part is that I get lots of FF miles, and I've easily made the highest levels of status, early in the year. Delta status rewards gives me comp lounge access, 4 free booked 1st class international upgrades, 8 domestic booked 1st class upgrades, and in the past couple years, my wife and I have vacationed to Sydney, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Honolulu, Kyoto and London, all up front in nice lie-flats for free (well, taxes). We are heading to Cairns/Port Douglas Queensland, OZ in a couple weeks for some Great Barrier Reef diving, also comp travel.

For domestic, I usually get comp upgrades with Delta, but there's an increasing number of people in the upper status tiers that the competition is making upgrades less frequent.

I get one sticker for each departure from LHR to SEA. I've peeled a bunch off, before deciding to start keeping them.