Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
If you are reading this post you are likely someone who travels, either a lot or a little, every year. You have your own travel “gear” if you will and if you are a frequent flyer it is rare your go-to bag sits in one place for very long and you top off all the bits you use every trip every week (for me I know where everything “lives” in my backpack and maybe it is the same for you). Point being, when it comes to all things travel we know what to do.
Again, if you are reading this, you likely have either TSA PreCheck and or Global Entry. For the price, Global Entry is a better deal (to me) as for a few bucks more, I get both vs. just TSA PreCheck. If you are traveling domestically or internationally you know how much time these programs can save you and the, ah hem, luxury of not having to strip off your shoes and belt and light coat and pull out your laptop and electronics and so on is worth many times the price of “admission” to the programs.
But you know all this right? But why not share what you know? Let me explain.
Chris and I have been travel bloggers for a very long time now and have spoken at countless frequent flyer events and shared insider tips that so many thank us for, even to this day. We also pay attention to every tiny detail when it comes to travel cards. One thing we have seen simply explode is so manycards offering Global Entry and or TSA PreCheck credit when you pay for it with your card.
Cards generally offer up to $120 in statement every four to four and a half years for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees charged to them. It varies by card. (Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.)
(And, remember, too, the prices of Global Entry and NEXUS are increasing this year.) Many cards will increase their statement credit amounts.
To give you an idea of just how many cards offer this – here is a short (not all-inclusive) list of just some of the cards that offer this perk:
- Aeroplan® Credit Card
- All information about the Aeroplan Card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. It was neither provided nor reviewed by the card issuer.
- American Airlines Credit Union Visa® Signature credit
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- Arvest Visa Signature® Credit Card
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
- Capital One Spark Miles for Business
- Capital One Venture Card
- Capital One Venture X Business Card
- Capital One Venture X Card
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- All information about the Chase Sapphire Reserve® was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. It was neither provided nor reviewed by the card issuer.
- Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard®
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World EliteTM MasterCard®
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- Citi Prestige® Card
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- Commerce Bank® World Elite Mastercard®
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
- Diners Club® Carte Blanche® Corporate Card
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- HSBC Elite World Elite Mastercard®
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- HSBC Premier World Mastercard®
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card
- All information about the IHG Premier was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. It was neither provided nor reviewed by the card issuer.
- IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card
- All information about the IHG Business was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. It was neither provided nor reviewed by the card issuer.
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card
- Navy Federal’s Visa Signature® Flagship Rewards Card
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- The Platinum Card® from American Express
- PenFed Pathfinder® Rewards Visa Signature® Card
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- Provident World+ Travel®
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
- All information about the Southwest Business Performance Card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. It was neither provided nor reviewed by the card issuer.
- Truist Business Travel Rewards credit card
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- Truist Enjoy Beyond credit card
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- Truist Enjoy Travel credit card
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- UBS Visa Infinite Credit Card
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- United Club℠ Infinite Card
- All information about the United Club Card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. It was neither provided nor reviewed by the card issuer.
- United℠ Explorer Card
- All information about the United Explorer Card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. It was neither provided nor reviewed by the card issuer.
- United Quest℠ Card
- All information about the United Quest Card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. It was neither provided nor reviewed by the card issuer.
- USAA Eagle Navigator™ Visa Signature® Credit Card
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
- U.S. Bank FlexPerks® Gold American Express® Card
- All information about this card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. The information was not provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
“Uh, yeah, but I already have it, guys!”
We know. But my guess is you have this kind of offer on, not just one of your travel cards, but a bunch of them. Maybe a dozen of them if you are, like us, constantly each year going for new cards to harvest lucrative new card travel bonus deals (#ProTip – some cards you have to wait a number of years to get a new card bonus again if you had it before).
“Again, how does this help me guys?”
OK let me make this simple for everyone. The perk of “free” Global Entry and or TSA PreCheck can be gifted to someone you love or someone you know. You see during the final stages of applying for the programs, when you get to the payment screen, you can type in the name of the person who is paying for the application and here is the key – anyone can pay for it and it DOES NOT need to match the name of the person going for Global Entry and or TSA PreCheck!
“So I can do this over and over?”
Yes and no. Depending on the card (read the fine print) you can get this credit every 4-5 years of holding whatever card. So, if you already have Global Entry and paid for it with a certain card – then just use the other cards you hold that offer the same perks. Just don’t use the card you used as you will not get the credit back twice until the number of years waiting period is up. Clear?
“What if I have two of the same say business card. Do I get credit for each card?”
In most cases, yes. But be sure that if you use one of them for yourself, you keep track of the card you used and do not use the same one for your friend or family.
“I am not comfortable handing over my card info to my friends or family – then what?”
Well, first off, I think you have trust issues with your family! 😉 But beyond that, if you are really uncomfortable with this idea, perhaps you can then have a conference call with your family, and they can tell you all their info. You can submit the application for them and enter in the credit card info at the end (honestly, some really non-much travelers may love you hand-holding them, so…).
“Is there a risk for clawbacks if we follow this advice”
Just recently, I wrote a very detailed post about what behaviors risk clawbacks. The above risk is very very low as long as you do not cancel whatever travel card before you have held it for at least one full year.
“My friends or family don’t understand this perk – how do I explain it?”
This may be the hardest part of this gift idea and why, IMO, not everyone is jumping on board and gifting to others. Yes, it takes some time to apply. Yes, they have to go to an approved location to have an interview as part of the final step. Yes, some will say it is too much work. But why not at least make the offer? Send them a greeting card that you want to give them a gift that is so worth the effort. Keep in mind it is good for 5 years, and they can then, at the 4-year mark, apply again online in less than 10 minutes for another 5 years!
Bottom line: more folks should be doing this and not leaving “free” credits on the table going unused. So look over all the cards you have and see if you, too, can give the gift of better travel to those you like and love! – Rene
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
I did this for my brother and sister-in-law. However, most people I know who travel with any frequency already have this benefit from a credit card of their own. And anyone who shares these benefits with inexperienced/infrequent travelers is a villain, clogging up what should be express security lanes with additional people who don’t know what they’re doing.
@tda1986 – Perhaps with the gift if payment for the fee some reminders for them would be good.
About 6 years ago I upgraded from Global Entry to NEXUS, and was disappointed that the renewal fee was not reimbursed. I figured that it might be reimbursed since payment is managed at the same Trusted Traveler portal as Global Entry. On the plus side, NEXUS is only $50 every 5 years, so it’s not a huge deal. I have always found it odd that NEXUS offers more benefits than Global Entry and costs $50 less.
Anyway, this post is a good reminder that I should be sharing the benefit with others since I can’t use it myself, and I have 3 cards that reimburse TSA Pre/Global Entry fees.
More and more cards are offering NEXUS credit. Check your cards’ terms to see if yours are eligible. But, yeah, I have a friend with NEXUS and it’s crazy how she gets all the benefits for less cost.
I’ll check again to see if NEXUS when renewal comes up. I might also call AMEX to see if they can do anything.
The problem with NEXUS is that there are so few interview locations. However, I had a trip planned to Seattle, and it was easy to get an appointment a couple hours after my flight was scheduled to arrive, so it all worked out.
When I enrolled, the appointment was at Boeing Field a few miles north of Seatac, but now it looks like I would need to go to Blaine, WA close to the Canadian border.
Enrollment requires interviews with customs officers from both the US and Canada, it was handled efficiently and I didn’t have to wait.
I think it’s easier to get a flight to Mars than find a NEXUS station 🙂
Look into Mobile Passport Control. Free. Better than Global Entry.