As an avid traveler — I think I fly around 30 times a year — and I’m always looking for ways to shave time off of my door-to-door commute. I now have Global Entry, which is a lifesaver and I will dedicate a separate post to it later. But, before I had Global Entry, I used a little-known app called Mobile Passport, which is free and what I consider one of the best-kept secrets for air travelers.
When it comes to skip-the-line privileges for travel, there are a few different categories. Global Entry is the Gold Standard. For $100, it will allow you to get in a shorter line in security and not take off your shoes, etc. for five years. It also lets you skip the dreaded line at customs when you return from an international trip. TSA Precheck, $85 for three years, allows you to have a shorter line on check-in, but no advantages for returning home to customs.
Then, there’s Mobile Passport. This app is free and while it won’t save you time checking in at airport security, it will give you the same skip-the-line privileges that Global Entry customers have when re-entering the country.
Before I had Global Entry through my credit card (more on that in an upcoming post), I used this app religiously and it baffled all of my friends who would have to wait in customs. FInally, I shared it with them so that I wouldn’t have to wait for them to finish in the immense line that inevitably waited for us at JFK Airport.
All you have to do is download it and put in all of your general information once: passport information, photo, etc. Then, once your flight lands, you open it up again and put in your flight details and fill out the form on the app about whether you brought back any goods from the country you were in. The whole process takes two minutes and then produces a QR code for you. When you get to customs, you skip the giant line and look for the lines for Mobile Passport, which are typically near the global Entry lines. Scan your phone and voila, you’ll be in your Uber in no time.
Interested in more of our travel hacks like Mobile Passport? Check out our Travel Page for all of our tips and itineraries.