Re: [84attendees] YVR Checkin Counter Opening Hours (for US)

[Randall Gellens <[e-mail]>]

At 11:33 PM -0400 8/4/12, John R Levine wrote:

>  I slightly prefer the GOES machine because you don't need to fill 
> out a blue customs card, except that the petty bureaucrats at 
> security don't know that so you have to fill one out and then throw 
> it away.

I've never had to fill out a customs declaration form, nor had anyone 
at security ask for one.  (Although I often will carry one that's 
partly filled in, with the date and list of countries blank, so that 
if the kiosks are down I don't have to fill it out from scratch.)

>  Fun economy tip: applying for GOES costs $100.  Applying for NEXUS 
> costs $50, and once you have NEXUS, you can add on GOES for free.

GOES is the platform to apply for GE, NEXUS, and SENTRI.  Regardless, 
is it still the case that GE costs $100 while NEXUS costs $50, and 
depending on which you get first it costs either $50 or $150 for 
both?  I know it was the case when I got both a couple years ago, but 
I thought they've been more closely integrated since, with one common 
application fee.  (When I did enroll, I did it the $150 way because I 
wanted to have GE in time for Beijing, and all it took was a drive to 
the border, while getting NEXUS required going to a major airport in 
Canada or nearby.

>  Re the NEXUS card, people tend to know what they are in parts of 
> the US close to the Canadian and Mexican borders, not other places. 
> If you have a NEXUS card and provide the number when you check in 
> for your flight in the US, that's supposed to get you into the new 
> sort of experimental expedited security lines where you get to keep 
> your shoes on.

The TSA Pre-Check program is a known traveler program, separate from 
CBP Trusted Traveler programs, but as you say, being enrolled in a 
CBP TT makes you eligible for Pre-Check, and possibly more likely to 
be selected for expedited screening where you keep you shoes on, 
liquids in, laptop in, go though a metal detector rather than a body 
scanner, etc.  But, Pre-Check is still a pilot program, and only 
certain airlines are participating (high-status members of those 
airlines' frequent flyer programs are eligible, as well as those 
enrolled in a CBP TT program).  Also, international segments are 
still, as far as I know, excluded, so you won't get expedited 
screening if you're boarding or connecting to an international 
flight, although domestic connections from an international segment 
are now eligible.

See: http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/escreening.shtm

-- 
Randall Gellens
Opinions are personal;    facts are suspect;    I speak for myself only
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It's impossible to think anything but pleasant thoughts
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