It's not that difficult to do, even without an MP profile.

Go to United's website and access the reservation using the United PNR (if you don't have it, a call to UA or AC reservations, if booked through AC, may be needed. Once you access it, there should be a link for "edit traveller information". There is a known traveller number field - that is where you enter your PassID from the Nexus card which should give you the eligibility for pre-check. This should be able to be completed anytime after the reservation is ticketed.

Note if your first segment is on AC and checking in through AC, I would guess you can't get the encoded BP bat code that would give you access, since AC doesn't participate. But if connecting to a UA flight, you probably don't need to re clear security anyway so probably not much of a point. Obviously, also doesn't do anything if ex-Canada. So this would only really be useful to AC passengers when departing the US on a UA flight at a US airport with pre-check.

Then again, if your first flight of a journey originate on UA (regardless of ticketing carrier) you will check in with UA, in which case you will be able to enter your Nexus information.

Nexus renewal question - does a renewal involve another interview?

I've been reading the forums and it seems that it does. I live in San Francisco, i.e. not near a Nexus enrollment center and don't plan to travel to Canada anytime over the next year. Any solutions around this?

Should I just apply for GOES so that I can do my interview in San Francisco? The quick entry into Canada is not important to me since I live in the US now. Pre-check and entry into the US is more important.

Correct. My point is this. You can enter your known traveller # as part of your secure flight information on the UA site for any reservation that has a UA segment in it, but it won't really be a benefit except for the above situation. No precheck leaving Canada. And since AC does not participate at the moment, if flying ex-USA on AC, you also wouldn't get it.

With a renewal, you're supposed to not need an interview if no information has changed since your last approval. In reality, at least based on what has been reported here, some people require an interview and some don't, but there doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to it. Maybe it's random?

You can not do an interview in SF for Nexus - only for Global Entry. A Nexus interview needs to be done with both a US and Canadian rep - SF does not have the latter.

If you require an interview, you'll get a letter with info on how to schedule one in GOES. You must do this within 30 days - though you can supposedly keep changing it as necessary to get the time you want. Think the closest interview location to SF is in Seattle.

If you're concern is entering the US and you're not concerned about Canada as a trusted traveller, when renewing, you should be able to select that you want the Global Entry option and uncheck Nexus. By doing this, if an interview is required, you should be able to do it in SF. But note the fee for GE only is $100 instead of $50 for Nexus.

This did not work for me when I attempted it last December. it would not save my PASS ID. I had to create a MP profile, and attach the reservation to that profile.

It also comes in handy if you book a lot of flights on United, as you can just log in and see them all in one place.

Thanks for your very informative comment. Your suggestion was exactly what I was thinking. So I will probably try that when the window opens.

Everyone I know who had a renewal had no interview, but it is not impossible to be required. Perhaps you can try and if you they do want one, you can set a date in the future and then cancel and rebook until there is a date that works. Or maybe you don't need it anymore.

Last March my renewal required a 10-minute interview with both CBP and CBSA; last July my wife's renewal required a 2-minute interview with CBP only ("we drove to Ft Erie for THAT???") so maybe they have now reached the 0-minute mark.

I just received my approval for a renewal of my Nexus and I did not require an interview even though I now have a new passport number. That being said I did register my new passport with them while my previous Nexus account was still valid.

We are considering a family trip to Montréal and would fly into and out of YUL, but our arrival and departure times are outside of the hours they offer appointments (we get there too late and leave too early). I am completely unfamiliar with YUL (this will actually be our first trip to Canada). Would it be a big ordeal to set up an appointment on a different day than we are arriving or leaving? We are two adults and a six-year old. Is there any problem getting to the Nexus enrollment center without a boarding pass? Will we have to go through security? Thank you in advance for any help.

The Nexus office is on the arrival level outside of security. It is easily accessible from anyway walking in the airport; no need to have a boarding pass. I would be more concerned about the trip to and from the airport if you are staying downtown; there is a lot of road work going on so try to avoid the rush hour.

If this is your first trip to Canada, is there some specific reason why your whole family would apply for NEXUS? Are you moving to Canada? As I recall, your interview includes a question about why you need to have a NEXUS card. Since they ask, there must be some answers that are not acceptable.

Thank you so much--that's a huge help! I will keep that in mind.


We are planing a few more leisure trips to Canada over the next few years. We would like to have it for convenience. We want our family experiences to include travel outside of the United States, and Canada is a good option for quick trips. It's an easy trip for a younger kid. It doesn't take long to get there. No major time differences.

I said I occasionally cross the border when I applied for mine. It was a once a year thing, but I thought there was a chance it would pick up (I was working in Toronto for a US company). I didn't really "need" it at that time.

Now that I live in the US, I'm really glad I have it though :p

I'm sure a bad answer would be something like "Well I look sketchy, so I often get pulled into secondary, and last time, they almost found my stash of drugs, so I'd like to avoid that." :p