I’ve gotten pretty familiar with business travel recently. For years I’ve been an avid recreational traveler, passing regularly through international terminals. That’s probably why I was caught so off guard by how different business travel can be. The demands of business travel became painfully apparent when I missed a 6am flight out of Columbus, Ohio while I stood in line for security. Apparently Ohio State University had just let out for Winter Break. I had never seen so many 19-year-olds at the airport before dawn.

My colleague, who actually made his flight, told me about TSA Precheck when I eventually made it back to the office. You’ve all probably seen it before. TSA Precheck is the really short line at security with the people who keep their shoes on, wear their jackets, and leave liquids and electronics in their carry-on bags. On the right day it might seem like the airport equivalent of nirvana.

TSA Precheck is the really short line at security with the people who keep their shoes on, wear their jackets, and leave liquids and electronics in their carry-on bags.

It doesn’t seem widely advertised, but you can apply for TSA Precheck online. It costs $80 for five years. That’s a better deal than some foreign visas. TSA Precheck is meant to speed up the airport security experience for low-risk passengers (for a fee, naturally). Digging a little further revealed an even better deal. The Global Entry program provides an abbreviated immigration clearing process when reentering the country. Remember those kiosks that you saw off to the side the last time you spent an hour in the immigration line? That’s what Global Entry participants use. Global Entry costs $100 for five years… and includes TSA Precheck!

On the right day it might seem like the airport equivalent of nirvana.

Now TSA Precheck is already amazing for business travelers. If you’re on that 6am flight (the one full of tired looking men and women in suits) after an evening of entertaining clients or late meetings, then the possibility of clearing security in 5-10 minutes is totally worth the cost of $20 per year. Then adding a shortened immigration line is certainly worth the additional $4 per year. The first time I cleared immigration using Global Entry, it took me two minutes (and half that time was spent walking down an empty line).

Now a difference between the Global Entry and simply getting the TSA Precheck is that Global Entry requires a brief security interview in which the TSA takes your photo and fingerprints. The whole thing takes about 10 minutes and is by appointment; so don’t start envisioning DMV-style lines. There are restrictions to both (including nationality), so make sure to check the most current rules online.

Signing up for the Global Entry program is without a doubt the best $100 I’ve spent this year.

After you’re approved, make sure to add your Known Traveler Number to all your airline frequent flyer profiles online. You can also add it to your profile for business travel booking services, like Concur.

I’ll tell you what. Waking up at 4am to head to the airport at the end of a business trip is bad enough. Avoiding the need to wake up at 3am is definitely worth the money. Clearing immigration in the short line (even if it’s just once) is a nice bonus. Signing up for the Global Entry program is without a doubt the best $100 I’ve spent this year.

#biztravel

(Photo: Michael Jung, iStock, updated 28 Aug 2013)
(Photo: Robert Churchill, iStock, updated 13 Mar 2014)