Best/worst airport for going through customs on the east coast?

[Kharon]

I'm looking to find the easiest or, at least, most efficient, least painful airport to pass through customs on the east coast when returning from the caribbean. Newark and Atlanta really, really suck in my experience. Are there any good options?

 

[king_of_battle]

Are you willing to pay more? You'll almost always end up in ATL, EWR or similar because they are hubs for the major airlines. Boston isn't terrible and I've had some success in Chicago and Houston but you might have to work with an agent and probably pay more to make sure you enter one of those airports first. In fact the more I think about it your best bet is probably flying through HOU on your way up to clear customs.

 

[scbaNE2179]

Have you thought about signing up for Global Entry? I signed up for this service a few years ago and it's a no-brainer as I NEVER have to wait in line upon returning to the US at pretty much major airport. It's $100 for 5 years and it includes TSA PreCheck! The only downside with this program is the time and process it takes to get approved:

1. Sign up for GE on their website
2. Wait for conditional approval(2-3 weeks)
3. Sign up for and look for open GE in person interview with CBP agent(3-8 months)
4. After the interview, you'll get your KTN# and a 1-2 weeks later, your GE card

As previously mentioned, step 3 is the biggest PITA as if you want to get an interview at your local GE enrollment center, be prepared to wait a crazy long time. Rather than waiting a few months for a spot at my local enrollment center, I was able to locate an appointment at another airport about an hour away. You can also try a walk-in but I have yet to hear of anyone having luck doing this.

Good luck!

 

[BDSC]

Charlotte (CLT) is hit or miss. Can be really easy or really bad. Most experiences have been positive but it was that one time that made me get Global Entry. It was a late Saturday afternoon arrival a couple of years ago after American had closed the deal with US Air. They were sending lots of flights thru CLT and lines were forever. But the last few times I have been thru CLT were fine. Of course I now have GE so I breeze on through but I always take notice of the regular line to see what I am missing and it hasn't been that bad at all. I think AA finally got their schedules worked out thru Charlotte.

 

[KathyV]

Miami is the worst in my opinion, but Charlotte is usually pretty good, and now that AA flies out of Charlotte, that opens up more options.

My flights originate in Chicago, and I have had lots of experiences (good, great, bad, and terrible) with ORD so I am not an objective commentator - but it is out of the way from the East Coast anyway - and so not a good choice for the OP.

I have also had some good experiences and some of our worst experiences in Houston, Tampa, and Fort Lauderdale so that is a mixed bag and I just take my chances.

In general, I try to avoid Miami and Atlanta if possible.

Global Entry is a very good suggestion and it makes things a lot easier in most locations.

 

[scbaNE2179]

I guess the moral of the story is once you get GE, it doesn't really matter what airport you use as your wait times with lines is dramatically reduced. I don't travel with checked luggage which this process a hell of a lot more faster if I need to connect to my final destination.

 

[Hoag]

If you want the convenience of Global Entry, but want to cut the cost, a NEXUS Card will do pretty much the same as a Global Entry Card will and it is $50. The procedure for getting a NEXUS Card is also pretty much the same as @scbaNE2179 described in post #3.

 

[CassieNYC]

+1 for Global Entry

I like JFK. I've had Global Entry for a while so I don't remember what JFK was like without it.

 

[KathyV]

If you want the convenience of Global Entry, but want to cut the cost, a NEXUS Card will do pretty much the same as a Global Entry Card will and it is $50. The procedure for getting a NEXUS Card is also pretty much the same as @scbaNE2179 described in post #3.

I thought that Nexus only applied to travel between the US and Canada?

 

[Damselfish]

Getting Global entry is not foolproof but should overall help a lot. It's nice to try and go through a "better" airport but often the flight schedules just don't give much choice. We do sometimes overnight on the way down or back if it allows us to choose a better airport and/or have a more relaxing start/end to a trip (instead of 5am departures and too short layovers.)

Charlotte is relatively civilized, we have pretty good luck there and that tends to be my first choice if it's an option. I try to avoid Miami, but that's not always possible for us. (Though for some years now there's been a GE customs/agriculture line which is an improvement over the regular cattle chute. I think luggage recheck there is also better than it had been for some years, but still not confidence inspiring.)

We fly from Boston and I don't think that's a solution of any sort, even if customs isn't terrible. There may be a few direct flights to the Caribbean but it's not really much of a hub for that so you're unlikely to be entering there. Plus international flights mostly come in at one designated terminal and most domestic flights will leave from others, leaving a good chance you'll have a long haul to your connecting flight that's going to eat up any time savings. (Long hikes with an occasional moving walkway probably outside security, or a shuttle bus that you need to leave the terminal for - don't expect anything fancy like a train. While they've made improvements in connecting terminals better, Boston Logan was never designed for what it's become, and it's crammed on what were landfilled islands without much space to work with.)