Hiring a car - NYC to JFK for International flight
 

We have an International flight from JFK on BA leaving at 8AM. We are planning on hiring a car to take us to the airport but not sure of timing. Pick up at 5am? Thinking it will take 45-60 minutes to get to JFK which leaves us 2 hours for check in for our international flight. Is that about right? We will be flying Business Class (spending our children's inheritance). Is there a separate security line for Business Class or is that only First class? Can anyone tell me a government website where we can purchase a card or something that by passes the regular security lines? Can't think of what they are called. Thanks for any help-

You can apply for Global Entry ($100 for 5 years), which almost always gets you TSA Pre-check and really eases the process of returning to the US. Recently, there were 500 people in the regular passport control line and 2 people in the GE line.
You may want to check with your airline; the last time we flew internationally, we were told to get to the sirport 3 hours in advance, but I think 2 is usually enough.
Your hotel can flag a cab for you; the set fare from Manhattan to JFK is $52.80; with tolls and tip, plan on close to $70.

The flat taxi fare is about $70, including the $52 fare plus bridge toll and tip (20% expected).

You may prefer to call a car service - Carmel or Dial 7 are 2 majors - to get a slightly lower fixed rate to the airport. There are usually coupons on the web site. Remember the price fixed is plus bridge toll and tip (20% expected).

We always do car service TO the airport to avoid trying to find a cab in the streets with luggage, but take a cab back to the city since the taxi line is usually faster than finding your car service driver and trekking out to the garage with your luggage.

I would not count on the hotel being able to flag a cab at 5am. Better to book a car service as nyt suggests.

<i>You can apply for Global Entry ($100 for 5 years), which almost always gets you TSA Pre-check</i>

Pre-check does not work with BA flights.

<i>Is there a separate security line for Business Class or is that only First class?</i>

Business class gets priority security at the BA terminal.

Agree with nyt about a car service. Your timing seems fine.

Thanks all and thanks for the names of a couple of car companies....What is the bridge toll so I can figure that into our budget.....

The bridge is $8 - or a small reduction if the driver had EZ Pass.

The wait for a global entry interview (in San Francisco) is about 5 months right now (next available interviews are in May), so that likely wouldn't help you anyway,

Nothing bypasses security lines. PreCheck which you won't get allows the wearing of shoes, and you don't have to remove anything from bags but you still are in a line and that line can be slow.

What you WILL get is FastTrack through Immigration at Heathrow.

You'll not get Global Entry this late as someone pointed out.

>>The wait for a global entry interview (in San Francisco) is about 5 months right now (next available interviews are in May), <<

Was the same thing when I applied for Global Entry in 2014 -- so I booked an appointment at LAX (there are more sites in SoCal and I could get an appointment very quickly) Flew SMF > LAX in the AM, had my interview at 11AM and was back home by 2:30PM.

Most car services add the full toll of $8 (for the Midtown Tunnel, not a bridge) even though all car services are required to have EZ Pass. The EZ Pass discounted toll of $5.54 is added automatically to the meter cost if you take a regular taxi. Depending on the location of your hotel, you'll find that there are a surprising number of cabs at 5am, but having a car service at the ready is more convenient and worth the trouble. Carmel is usually cheaper than Dial 7 these days. Or use Uber (you have to download the app for that and register your credit card).

Personally, I don't think you need to leave so early. I rarely leave before 5:30 to get to JFK. Depending on where you're coming from the trip is usually less than 30 minutes that early.

You can check in for your BA flight online the night before. All you really have to do is print your boarding pass if you haven't done so already, have your passport checked, and drop your bags. You'll get priority for business class. You can also use the BA app to have an electronic boarding pass.

You can have your Global Entry interview at any airport. Check other airports in your area if your regular has a long wait. We only had to wait a few days in Tucson while family in LA had to wait months for interviews/ fingerprinting at LAX.

>>You can have your Global Entry interview at any airport. <<

Not so -- there are very limited Enrollment centers. Here is the list for all of CA (one in Norcal and six in SoCal) http://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-tr...ers/california

Only 5 in all of New York state http://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-tr...nters/new-york

. . . one in Hawaii, one in Nevada, none in Nebraska, none in Idaho, and so on. Very very limited.

I just took a quick look at the Global Entry site.

Is the $100 non-refundable application fee in addition to the $100 for 5 year membership fee, or are they one and the same?

They are the same. If you get rejected, they keep the fee, otherwise it is applied to your membership.

If you happen to be flying through DFW, they do same-day appointments there in the D Terminal when they have openings (and they had openings all four times I passed through DFW this summer). When I flew through the airport in August, the wait time was 20 minutes for the interview. I would have done it but didn't have my passport. I wonder if other centers are set up like that. I realize that San Francisco, LAX, and JFK are madly busy, but maybe passing through another airport would give one more opportunities.

hmmmm Hawaii now that sounds like a nice place to go for an interview. Don't think we will do it as we can only think of 2 international trips we are planning in the next few years and as I have been informed it is too late. had no idea it was so complicated. thanks for all the tips on evrything. Private Car or Uber it is...