Skip to main content
Advertiser Disclosure
We do receive compensation from some partners whose offers appear on this page. We have not reviewed all available products or offers. Compensation may impact the order in which offers appear on page, but our editorial opinions and ratings are not influenced by compensation.

Ascent-logo

  • Credit Cards
  • Banking
  • Brokerages
  • Loans
  • Mortgages
  • Knowledge
  • Latest Picks
  • Search Icon Click here to search

Credit Cards

Top Picks
  • Best of March 2021
  • Cash Back
  • Balance Transfer
  • Travel
  • 0% APR
  • Rewards
  • Bad Credit
Knowledge
  • Beginners Guide to Credit Cards
  • How to Rebuild Your Credit
  • Maximize Your Credit Card Rewards
  • Learn More About Credit Cards
Credit Card Tools
  • Compare Cards
Looking for a new credit card?

Explore the best credit cards in every category as of March 2021.

Get started!

Banking

Top Picks
  • Best Savings Accounts
  • Best Bank Accounts
  • Best Money Market Accounts
  • Best CDs
  • Best Checking Account Bonuses
Knowledge
  • Beginners Guide to Banking
  • Everything You Need to Know About Savings
  • Money Market Accounts Made Easy
  • Learn More About Banking
Looking for a place to park your cash?

Check out our top picks of the best online savings accounts for March 2021.

Get Started!

Brokerages

Top Picks
  • Best Brokers of March 2021
  • Best Online Brokers for Beginners
  • Best Options Brokers
  • Best IRA Accounts
  • Best Roth IRA Accounts
  • Best Robo Advisors
Knowledge
  • How to Open a Brokerage Account
  • Beginner's Guide to Brokerages
  • Learn More About Brokerage
Just getting started?

Explore our picks of the best brokerage accounts for beginners for March 2021.

Get Started!

Loans

Top Picks
  • Best Loans of March 2021
  • Best Personal Loans for Bad Credit
  • Best Loans for Debt Consolidation
  • Best Low-Interest Personal Loans
  • Best Personal Loans for Good Credit
  • Best Personal Loans for Fair Credit
Knowledge
  • Personal Loans Made Easy
  • Debt Consolidation Guide
  • How to Pay Off Debt
  • Learn More About Loans
Thinking about taking out a loan?

Before you apply for a personal loan, here's what you need to know.

Get Started!

Mortgages

Top Picks
  • Best Mortgage Lenders of March 2021
  • Best Mortgage Lenders for Poor Credit
  • Best Refinance Lenders
  • Best VA Mortgage Lenders
Knowledge
  • First Time Homebuyers Guide
  • Home Loans Made Easy
  • The Complete Guide to Refinancing
  • How to Get a Mortgage with Bad Credit
  • Learn More About Mortgages
Tools & Calculators
  • Mortgage Calculator
Compare Rates
  • Today's Mortgage Rates
  • Refinance Rates
  • 15-Year Mortgage Rates
  • 20-Year Mortgage Rates
  • 30-Year Mortgage Rates
  • Jumbo Mortgage Rates
  • VA Loan Rates
  • 5/1 ARM Rates
  • 7/1 ARM Rates
  • FHA Mortgage Rates

Knowledge

Knowledge Section
  • All Articles
  • Credit Card Articles
  • Banking Articles
  • Brokerage Articles
  • Personal Loan Articles
  • Mortgage Articles
  • Personal Finance Articles
Recent Articles
  • U.S. Chamber of Commerce Says Biden's Stimulus Plan Isn't Targeted Enough

    Personal Finance

    U.S. Chamber of Commerce Says Biden's Stimulus Plan Isn't Targeted Enough
  • Why I Shop for a New Savings Account Twice Per Year

    Banks

    Why I Shop for a New Savings Account Twice Per Year
  • How Much House Could You Afford With a Median Income?

    Mortgages

    How Much House Could You Afford With a Median Income?
  • 1 Feature I'll Look for in All Future Mortgage Lenders

    Mortgages

    1 Feature I'll Look for in All Future Mortgage Lenders
  • The Ascent
  • Knowledge
  • Credit Cards

My Bank of America Card Paid for Global Entry: Here's How It Worked

by Christy Bieber | March 19, 2019

The Ascent is reader-supported: we may earn a commission from offers on this page. It’s how we make money. But our editorial integrity ensures our experts’ opinions aren’t influenced by compensation.

When I signed up for the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Visa® credit card, I was excited to see one of the card's perks included a statement credit if I signed up for Global Entry or TSA  PreCheck. This is a pretty common perk on travel credit cards, but it was the first time I had a credit card offering this bonus feature. Since my husband and I were headed to Poland in a few months, the opportunity to sign up for Global Entry came at a perfect time.

While TSA PreCheck makes going through airport security easier by allowing you to go through a special line and avoid taking off your shoes or taking your laptop out, Global Entry offers all that and more.

With Global Entry, you can skip the line at customs and simply scan your passport at a kiosk when you return to the country from a trip abroad. While TSA PreCheck is a little cheaper at just $85, compared with $100 for Global Entry, the Bank of America card was offering a $100 statement credit so it would pay fully for the program.

Cup of coffee with plane image in it sitting on top of map and next to a boarding pass.

Image source: Getty Images

Signing up -- and the interview

Filling out my online application for Global Entry was quick and easy. I had to create a login, pick the program I was interested in, complete my online application, and pay the $100 fee.

During the application process, I did need to provide proof of citizenship and proof I had a passport -- you can't get Global Entry without one. I also needed to provide my driver's license number, recent travel history, and address history.

After my application was processed and I received a conditional approval, it was time to schedule the interview. Here's where things got a little tricky because there was exactly one appointment at the Tampa airport and it was several weeks away. My husband, on the other hand, scheduled his appointment at the Philadelphia airport (we live in both Florida and Pennsylvania) and he had a wider selection of dates and times than I did. So, availability for appointments clearly depends where you live.

When the day finally came, I arrived at the airport, hunted down the Customs and Border Patrol office, and sat down to wait with three other people. The good news is, I was called quickly after about a 10 minute wait and went into the small office.

I'd read a bit online about what to do to prepare for the interview, and the advice said to be pretty serious and not joke around with the Customs and Border Protection official conducting it. This wasn't my experience at all though -- the agent started joking around immediately and was friendly from the start -- although when I accidentally called him a TSA agent at one point, he said very emphatically "We are NOT TSA!" I was asked virtually no questions, except about where I'd traveled to recently and where I was born.

I was subsequently approved, given my known traveler number immediately, and was told to expect my Global Entry card in the mail within 10 days. That known traveler number also works for TSA PreCheck, which is an added bonus of getting Global Entry.

The Bank of America reimbursement process

I wasn't sure what to expect with Bank of America, or whether they'd provide my $100 statement credit without my having to ask for it as this was the first time I'd earned a statement credit since opening the account.

The good news is, the statement credit came off when the Global Entry charge was processed without any intervention on my part. It simply showed up as a credit on my account and my card balance was reduced accordingly.

Using Global Entry

My first experience with my known traveler ID was when I used it to get TSA PreCheck on a trip to Denver. To use it, you have to input your traveler ID number when you book your flights so it's noted on your ticket that you have PreCheck.

On the way to Denver, it worked flawlessly. I skipped the line, avoided a lot of hassle, and was on my way through security in record time. Unfortunately, coming home, when I got into the TSA PreCheck line, I was told it hadn't been properly added to my ticket. I'd have to go through regular security. I learned my lesson and now make sure to double and triple check that my known traveler ID has been correctly added -- although I'll never know how it was successfully added on my departing flight, but not the return flight on a round-trip ticket.

Finally, a few months later, I was able to use Global Entry for my trip out of the country. Unfortunately, since I was flying Austrian Air and Austrian Air doesn't participate with TSA PreCheck, I still had to go through regular security when departing the country -- Global Entry provided no help at all.

When I returned from Poland, it did make going through customs easier.

I was able to find the Global Entry kiosk quickly, scanning the passport worked well, and it took just two tries to get the machine to identify me properly via my fingerprints. I answered the questions on the screen indicating I had nothing to declare, and I was on my way to the agent who quickly scanned the paper the kiosk had printed and let me out of the customs area. The whole process of clearing customs took about 15 minutes, compared to over an hour to clear customs when I'd returned from Iceland on a trip before I had Global Entry.

The downside: I still had to wait for my checked bags. Waiting took so long that some of the people from my flight without Global Entry ended up leaving the airport before me.

How to make Global Entry work for you

After taking a few trips with Global Entry, I've learned some key things to make sure that I get the most benefit from being a known traveler. My advice to make the most of Global Entry:

  • Get a credit card to pay for it. There are many cards that offer a statement credit for Global Entry, including Chase Sapphire Reserve® various American Express cards, and the Bank of America card I used. There's little reason to pay cash for this out of your own pocket when you could get a credit card that covers it.
  • Schedule your interview when you're going on a trip. If you don't want to make a special visit to the airport -- which can be a hassle if you aren't close to one -- combine your interview with a visit to the airport you'd have had to make anyway. That's what my husband did.
  • Start the application process early. It took me a few weeks to get my appointment for my interview. If you know you'll want it for a trip in a few months, start now.
  • Make sure your known traveler ID is added to your airline reservation so you can qualify for TSA PreCheck. Call the airline and ask if necessary, because otherwise you could end up in a long security line and you'd be right back to taking off your shoes and pulling out your laptop.
  • Try to fly with an airline that participates. There's a long list of airlines that participate with TSA PreCheck, and I could have chosen one and avoided long security lines when leaving the country.
  • Try to avoid checking bags. When you're able to sail through customs quickly, the last thing you want to do is wait an hour at baggage claim!

All in all, since Global Entry was free thanks to Bank of America, it's worth having even if it doesn't fully eliminate the hassle of traveling. Global Entry is good for five years, so even if the first trips don't go perfectly, there's still a chance to work out the kinks to make traveling easier both domestically and abroad.

Top credit card wipes out interest until 2022

If you have credit card debt, transferring it to this top balance transfer card can allow you to pay 0% interest for a whopping 18 months! That’s one reason our experts rate this card as a top pick to help get control of your debt. It’ll allow you to pay 0% interest on both balance transfers and new purchases until 2022, and you’ll pay no annual fee. Read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes.

About the Author

Christy Bieber
Christy Bieber icon-button-linkedin-2x

Christy Bieber is a personal finance and legal writer with more than a decade of experience. Her work has been featured on major outlets including MSN Money, CNBC, and USA Today.

Share This Page
Facebook Icon This icon shares the page you are on via Facebook
Blue Twitter Icon Share this website with Twitter
LinkedIn Icon This image links to share the page over LinkedIn.
Email Icon Share this website with email

We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.

The Motley Fool has a Disclosure Policy. The Author and/or The Motley Fool may have an interest in companies mentioned.

The Ascent is reader-supported: we may earn a commission from offers on this page. It’s how we make money. But our editorial integrity ensures our experts’ opinions aren’t influenced by compensation.

Related Articles

Credit cards on a desk image for Best Credit Cards for 2021

Best Credit Cards for 2021

Interest spelled out on a calculator image for Compare Credit Cards Side by Side

Compare Credit Cards Side by Side

Man holding cash image for How Do Cash Back Credit Cards Work?

How Do Cash Back Credit Cards Work?

Cyber security and computer screen image for How to Protect Yourself from Credit Card Fraud

How to Protect Yourself from Credit Card Fraud

Featured Articles

Best Credit Cards for 2021

Compare Credit Cards Side by Side

How Do Cash Back Credit Cards Work?

How to Protect Yourself from Credit Card Fraud


The Ascent Logo

The Ascent is a Motley Fool service that rates and reviews essential products for your everyday money matters.

btn_facebook-yellow btn_twitter-yellow btn_instagram-yellow

Copyright © 2018 - 2021 The Ascent. All rights reserved.

About The Ascent
About Us Contact Us Newsroom How We Make Money Editorial Integrity Ratings Methodology
Legal
Terms of Use Privacy Policy Accessibility Policy Terms and Conditions Copyright, Trademark and Patent Information
Learn
Credit Cards Banking Brokerage Loans Recent Articles

By submitting your email address, you consent to us sending you money tips along with products and services that we think might interest you. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please read our Privacy Statement and Terms & Conditions.

Back to The Motley Fool