A Warning to Anyone with Global Entry

There's a 95 percent chance Senior Editor Christine Sarkis is thinking about travel right now. Follow her on Instagram @postcartography and Twitter @ChristineSarkis.

Christine Sarkis is an SATW-award-winning journalist and executive editor at SmarterTravel. Her stories have also appeared on USA Today, Conde Nast Traveler, Huffington Post, and Business Insider. Her advice has been featured in dozens of print and online publications including The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, and People magazine. She has also shared travel tips on television and radio shows including Good Morning America, Marketplace, and Here & Now. Her work has been published in the anthologies Spain from a Backpack and The Best Women's Travel Writing 2008. She is currently working on a travel memoir.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: The Trtl Pillow. It's easy to pack and comfortable, and makes it so I can actually sleep on flights.

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: Seeing the Aurora Borealis from the comfort of somewhere warm, like a glass igloo or hot spring.

Travel Motto: Curiosity is an amazing compass.

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: Aisle all the way.

Email Christine Sarkis at editor@smartertravel.com.

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If you have Global Entry and you renew your passport, you’ll need to update the passport number associated with your Global Entry membership before you travel with the new passport.

The process is simple: Just log in to GOES, go to the Update Documents link on the left side of the page, and type in your new passport number. You’ll also need to verify the passport number, and the system should then update the issue and expiration dates.

It’s an easy process that takes less than a minute. And it’s vital: if you don’t update your Global Entry to match your passport, you render your Global Entry useless next time you travel. You’ll still have membership, but you won’t be able to use the account.

Note that if you have a name or status change on your passport, you’ll have to go in person to a Global Entry enrollment center (likely the same place you went for your original Global Entry interview) to update your GOES membership. No appointment is needed, but there’s a $25 fee for the replacement card.

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Christine Sarkis came far too close to learning this lesson the hard way. Follow her on Twitter @ChristineSarkis and Instagram @postcartography for more advice about making every vacation the best vacation.

(Photo: Christine Sarkis)

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