Known Traveler Info Updated

These days, almost everyone who travels a lot has Pre-Check or Global Entry or some other program that gives you a Known Traveler Number (KTN).

Here are a few things to keep in mind.

  1.  When you book travel make sure that you put your KTN into your airline’s system to speed your processing during check-in as well as upon your return to the USA. Also, make sure that you add that as well as your passport info in your name as well as your frequent travel partner. Otherwise, you may get Pre-Check and your partner won’t. Your partner won’t be happy with you when they find out that it was all your fault.
  2. If you are like me, you got your Pre-Check first, then later because of expanding to international travel, took the time and effort to get your Global Entry Card. We could not get an interview in our area so we set it up to do the interview in Alabama on a trip to visit family.
  3. You can also get a KTN by applying thru through Nexus, Sentri. You don’t need all 4, just do Global Entry.
  4. With having more than one type of program available, what numbers do you inter for your KTN?
    1. If you only have Pre-Check, you enter that number. Generally it starts with a TT followed by numbers and letters. Once you obtain your Global Entry number, don’t use your Pre-Check number. In fact, go to all of your airline apps and change your Pre-Check number to your Global Entry number. They still call it your Known Traveler Number on every airline website that I have used.
    2. If you have upgraded to Global Entry, use that number and quit using your Pre-Check number. Your Global Entry number is 9 numbers and generally it starts with a 15 or 98 or 99. You can find the number on the back of your card if you ever received a card.  Forget about the two letters and three numbers that you may see showing after the 9 numbers. I don’t know what they are, but the are not a part of the KTN that you need.
  5. Finally, you don’t need to carry your Global Entry card unless you are returning to the US from Canada. They will ask to see it.
  6.  Also, you will not get a notification to update or renew your Global Entry membership. So, go back and find the date that you received it and put a note in your calendar, a couple of months prior to the 5 year expiration date, to log in to do a renewal.  Do your renewal at https://ttp.cbp.dhs.gov.  It will show you your KTN and the expiration date. You can renew it up to 1 year in advance if you wish, but no earlier. Before you renew, you may consider getting a credit card that will pay for your renewal. Get one that also gives you Priority Pass access to the lounges that you will want to visit during those long layovers. I use my Hilton Honors card from American Express. Not only do I enjoy the Priority Pass access to the lounges, I also enjoy the reduced car insurance when I travel to Mexico. My last trip to Cabo, using that card, saved me over $500 on car insurance but also allowed me to use the VIP lounge in Cabo before our trip home. A lot of people use the Chase Sapphire Reserve card for the same type of benefits.
  7. On a similar subject, for those of you who don’t travel internationally very often and chose to stay with Pre-Check, you have another option for your return from your infrequent travels abroad if you return to a major port of entry. That app was called Mobile Passport when it first came out. It was changed to Airside Mobile Passport but it has changed again in February 2022 to CBP MPC which is short for Customs & Border Protection Mobile Passport Control. You often have a line as short or shorter than what you will see for Global Entry, but like I noted, it is not available at every airport or port of entry. Currently only 31 airports and 4 shipping ports. When we returned from Cabo recently, I was telling some of the people in line to board the flight about this App. Unfortunately, we were flying back to the US on Southwest Airlines by way of the John Wayne International Airport in Santa Anna (SNA). If we were entering via PHX, LAX, OAK, SAN, SFO, SJC or SMF, they could have used this App and saved waiting in line with a couple hundred other folks. Keep that in mind when booking your flights if you can use this App.

———————————————————————-

Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel

Travel Documents – COVID-19

It’s Time to Travel!

For the past 2 years, most of us did not do much in the way of international travel because of the COVID-19 restrictions. However, we did manage a 2-week trip to Alberta, Canada last year. I can fully recommend a trip to Calgary. We stayed in Canmore which is just a few miles from Banff. Beautiful place to visit.

Now that most countries are allowing travel, you need to know as much as possible regarding entry requirements for the countries you are visiting or transiting through. It was time for us to dust off our 2020-planned trip to Zambia for another safari.

It is pretty clear that the U.S. still requires an antigen test and in fact, requires you to obtain it one day before you board your airplane to come home. Not a problem since they are available almost everywhere. I had already located the lab in Lusaka, Zambia where we could get the test. That meant staying an extra night in Zambia since their website still said that it would take 24 hours for the results when everywhere else only took 20 minutes; but that was ok. I also discovered that it would be cheaper to do the test at Johannesburg airport, so, at the last minute we changed our plan to get the test in Zambia and opted to get in Johannesburg. That would save us about 500 Rand (about $32 USD). Not a lot of money, but money none the less.

A Bump in the Road

Unfortunately, not every country keeps an updated website listing their requirements, or they are often vague about what you need to do. So, no matter how well you plan, you can still end up with problems like we did.

COVID19 Blank Vac RecordFor example, our planned trip to Zambia would transit through South Africa. When we started planning the trip, both countries required us to get a PCR test 72 hours before going through their countries. In late March 2022, both countries changed their rules. As of March 22, 2022 you had to do the PCR test or to provide proof of vaccination. No where on the government websites of South Africa or Zambia noted what exactly was required for proof. Would they accept the little paper copy of a shot record from Kaiser? That is what we had in hand when we set off on our trip. All set, or so we thought. When we arrived in Johannesburg, late in the evening, they told us that our documents did not meet their requirements because they did not have the QR code, but since the unit that handles that issue was already closed, we were allowed to pass thru without any other issue. Yay!

That meant that we would need to get our vaccination records with the QR code. I did remember logging into a California website a few months earlier that provided a QR code vaccination record. To make sure that we were ready for our return trip, I logged into the California Department of Public Health, Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record website. I completed the information and they provided our proof of vaccination with a QR code. Everything was ready to go with a copy of the document in my phone. (I am sure that your state provides a similar service.)

Are You Kidding Me?

As they say, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry”. When we arrived in Johannesburg, they would not accept our State of California proof with the QR code. They did not say what they would accept, but it had to have the QR code on it. They also said that their rules had changed at 10:00 am that morning which now required their sacred vaccination record with the QR code or an antigen test. Our only alternative was to wait for 2 hours in a line of a few hundred people to get an antigen test before we could actually enter the terminal’s passport check area.

We took our test but, but they did not issue a certificate. They just taped the plastic test piece to our travel documents to enter South Africa and required us to photograph it and show the photo to the border guards. They would not give us the proof of the test. That left us with the question of “How do we get back into the U.S. without a certificate showing that we had a negative antigen test? Then, I remembered our return trip from Canada last October and that the airline only asked for the Passenger Disclosure and Attestation Form, not the test certificate signed off by the person who gave the test. With that in hand, we were ready to return to the US. Just remember that you really want to have that proof of testing in hand when you enter the US. They could always ask for it at your first port of entry as you go through passport control.

We’ll Be Ready Next Time

Africa Union LogoWhen we got home, I was still looking for the info needed to get the correct document with the QR code for travel to Africa. I finally found it so that you don’t have to look for it.

On that site, you fill out the info on your tests from your little vaccine record card. Then photograph it and upload it to their website. When completed, they give you the option to print the certificate with their approved QR code or email it to yourself. I have my document, but I have to say that I am not fully convinced that it will get me through the Johannesburg airport. They will probably have changed their rules before we return to Africa. Just in case, next time I will also have a PCR test before we get on the plane.

There are a couple of additional documents you may need, depending upon which country you are visiting. Both Zambia and South Africa require you to complete a Traveler Health Questionnaire before you land and to provide that document to airport staff person checking your documents. You can even fill out the PDF and bring printed copies with you.

If you were planning to travel to Mexico, I just discovered that “Starting March 2022, it will NO longer be necessary to fill out the Health Questionnaire, to fly in/out from Mexico.”

As with every trip we take, we learn something new. “Travel is broadening”; just don’t come back too broad! We’re looking forward to our next trip, next week, to Cabo San Lucas!

———————————————————————-

Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel

Travel Documents – Real ID

I am sure that you know that you need a passport for most international travel.I am also sure that you have heard that by October 1, 2020, you will need to have your driver’s license updated/reissued to travel stateside in compliance with the Real ID law. Of course, you could use your passport for all of your air travel, but if you don’t want to carry it for domestic travel, get your driver’s license updated if you are over 18 years of age.

Of course, each state has to set up the issuance of a Federally approved Real ID. All of them are doing it through their Department of Motor Vehicles. For my friends who live in California, here is the link to the DMV website to use to determine which of your documents will suffice to get your Real ID. As of September 2019, almost all of the states have had their version of the Real ID approved by the Feds. Click Here for more info. If you live in Oregon or one of the other states without an approved Real ID, make sure that you have your passport in order. Yes, there are a few other documents that will suffice, but whatever you do, don’t show up at an airport after October 1st without the proper ID or you won’t be allowed to fly. That could really ruin an otherwise well planned trip.

Now that we have done the extra research about Real ID, it is time to double check our passports to make sure that we have at least 6 months on our passports beyond the time we will be traveling and that we have at least 2 empty pages for passport stamps and visa stamps for each country that we are visiting.

———————————————————————-

Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel

Another Scam to Avoid

I am sure that you have read about the many scams that are played on American tourists such as don’t take the baby that someone tries to hand to you as they use it as a distraction to pick your pocket. Walk away if someone “accidentally” spills mustard on you and tries to wipe it off as a way to get close enough to pick your pocket.

Here is another that the State Department is warning travelers about.  Don’t pick up wallets or other valuables and don’t take them from strangers asking if you dropped it. Just keep walking. This is a common scam targeting tourists. travel.state.gov/scams

Once you have it in your hands, they will say that you stole it and that they will call the police if you don’t pay them. You know that you don’t speak the language so how can you tell the police what really happened. Even if they finally believe you, you may spend a day in jail before you get released. So, don’t pick up something that does not belong to you and don’t ever take anything that anyone hands you.

I know that when traveling in Columbia and Mexico they often try to hand you their goods then ask you to pay for them and they won’t take back the goods that they handed to you. You are tempted to just throw them on the ground and walk away. Of course, now you have just destroyed their goods and you were worse off than if you had paid for the goods.

So, if a stranger tries to hand you something, just don’t take it.  Say no, walk away and don’t look back. If you look back, the will keep trying.  

Make sure to enjoy your trip, but don’t be lulled into the con job they are trying to commit. 

———————————————————————-

Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel