Originally Posted by
UA_Eagle
I'm pondering getting a GE card for possible future travel (for use in TT and entering USA). I haven't traveled much in the last 7 years, although I used to travel quite a bit for leisure for about 4 years in the early 2000s (~50K/year). I hope to get back into more frequent traveling, and I was thinking getting GE would help me a bit with screening as well as clearing Custom on returning to USA. I am a US citizen with security clearance (so the gov't already know about me anyway). So given the circumstance, does it make sense to get one now, even though it's not conclusive whether I'd travel much in the immediate future (1-2years)?
1) GE will not help you with screening for departing flights (with the limited exceptions of certain test airports).
2) I don't think the security clearance will speed your review (it didn't for me), but presumably if you have a security clearance you do not have background issues that could lead to rejection.
3) If you don't have current plans to travel in the next two years, there's not much point in getting it now, since it lasts for 5 years and you'd "waste" 2 of them. Given application to approval generally takes less than a month, why not wait until you have more concrete plans? That said, if your travel plans come up last minute it could be worthwhile to have it ready to go.