Recently I took my first trip since the dawn of the pandemic and that’s when I realized that my Global Entry had just expired. The trip made me realize how much I had taken the TSA Pre benefits for granted. Few days after returning from the trip, I started filling out the application but gave up half way through because I didn’t want to be finding a suitable interview time, going through the interview itself, etc.
But then in one of the comments I had made on r/churning I saw u/ZinCO17 claim that he was able to renew global entry after expiry and he that he didn’t even have to do an interview. I also saw a few other comments saying they were able to do a zoom interview. So, I took out recently opened Southwest Performance Business card and paid $100 for Global Entry fee (which obviously was reimbursed).
Long story short, even though my Global Entry was expired I was able to renew it without having to do an interview (the whole thing took less than 4 days). Here is to only having to take off shoe and electronics occasionally.
Now, I should also mention that I have thought about getting a CLEAR (would be reimbursed by Amex Plat) but I would have to renew it every year (read: get a card that reimburses CLEAR), I am not even sure if I will bother. I’m sure at some point I will find myself extra early at the airport, bored just enough to give it a try.
Closing Thoughts
If you are on the same boat (or even if yours is expiring soon), consider renewing now, even if you don’t plan to use it. You could get renewed without an interview and Zoom interview sounds way better than having to go to a physical location.
