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It’s officially Fall! It definitely doesn’t fe It’s officially Fall! It definitely doesn’t feel like it in Miami, it really never does but that just gives us a reason to explore other states. West Virginia is one of them, fun fact I actually lived here between undergrad and grad school! Here are Things to do in West Virginia (SAVE + SHARE): 

1. Enjoy New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, or visit any of the states 35 state parks as West Virginia has 1.5 million acres of parks and public land. We personally walked the Shavers Lake Trail and canoed on the lake. 

2. Enjoy some serious adventures! We’re always trying something new and West Virginia offers a lot of options from whitewater rafting, to 1,000+ miles of off-road ATV trails, to rock climbing, caving and mountain biking . 

3. Take a train ride on the Cass Scenic Railroad which stops at the Whittaker Camp where those who worked in the lumber and coal industry lived during the work season. 

4. Explore Cranberry Glades Botanical Area where you might just get to see some black bears! 

5. Walk the Falls of Hills Creak trail to get up close to some gorgeous waterfalls! 

This week I’ll be sharing various cities and states you can experience a beautiful Fall getaway. What are some of your favorite places to enjoy autumn?

Tap the link in my bio for my West Virginia blog post and a blog post of the best places to experience Fall in the US!
Still not over our day exploring the waters of For Still not over our day exploring the waters of Fort Pierce. We danced, snorkeled, fished and went tubing. Definitely want more days like this and still pinch myself that this is what a day of work looks like for me sometimes. Thank you @seadoo for the opportunity.
If you know my husband you know water activities a If you know my husband you know water activities are his favorite! Fishing, jet skiing, just being on a boat on the ocean relaxing, name it, he’s there. So we couldn’t be more excited than to not only get the chance to test out the new @seadoo Switch but be the stars of a whole commercial for it. We had entirely too much fun filming this. Of course now he wants to buy one!

Do you like getting out on the water? Favorite activity?
Our 3 Day London Itinerary (SAVE + SHARE): 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 1: Walked across the Tower Bridge (you can take a tour of London of Tower as well), walked along the River Thames and took a make a fascination hat class with @create_your_own_hat! 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 2: Harry Potter walking tour, checked out Borough Market and went on a night ghost bus tour. 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 3: Morning Tea at Peggy Porschen, Buckingham Palace for Changing of the Guards, and explore Westminster for the infamous red telephone booths, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

If you have more time on previous visits to London we have taken a day trip to check out Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor Castle, rode the London Eye, took a ferry ride down the Thames River, checked out Warner Brother Studios, and did a graffiti/street art tour.

Is London on your list? If you’ve been what did you do that you think is a must for visitors?

Things to do in London, London with kids, family travel
Then vs Now (swipe left)!🥹🥰 My babies are no Then vs Now (swipe left)!🥹🥰 My babies are not babies anymore. Where has the time gone? Excuse me while I go cry in the corner 😭😭😭😭. 

Too in my feelings to provide an informational post, I’ll be back tomorrow.
Why is this man always trying to stop my fun? List Why is this man always trying to stop my fun? Listen replace husband with whoever you need to but why these ppl keep acting like we can take our money when we’re gone?!? Y’all feel me or nah? 😅😬😩
Morning Tea in London! Afternoon or High Tea is us Morning Tea in London! Afternoon or High Tea is usually on everyone’s things to do in London list but since the girls and I don’t eat beef or pork the menus for most places didn’t make sense for us as they are filled with ham sandwiches and other things we don’t eat. I ended up finding Morning Tea at Peggy Porschen instead which offers a tea menu with breakfast items, while not traditional it worked best for us! It cost £35 pp.

For a traditional Afternoon or High Tea Try:

🫖Palm Court at The Ritz
🫖The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon at Fortnum & Mason
🫖Theatre Royal Drury Lane
🫖The Grill Room Hotel Cafe Royal (has vegetarian an vegan options)
🫖Coronation Afternoon Tea at Cellarium, Westminster Abbey
🫖The Rosebery Coronation Afternoon Tea at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
🫖The Goring Hotel

Afternoon Teas Geared Towards Families:

☕️Peter Pan Afternoon Tea at Aqua at The Shard
☕️Jurassic Afternoon Tea at the Ampersand Hotel
☕️Jungle Book Afternoon Tea at Brown’s Hotel
☕️Secret Garden Afternoon Tea at Taj 51
☕️The Buzzy Bees Afternoon Tea at St. Ermin’s Hotel
☕️Grover’s Children’s Tea at Grosvenor House Hotel
☕️The Peppa Pig Afternoon Tea Bus Tour
☕️Sherlock Holmes Inspired Afternoon Tea at the Mind Palace
☕️Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Tea at One Aldwych
☕️Mad Hatter Afternoon Tea at The Sanderson
☕️Wizard of Oz Afternoon Tea at The Soho Hotel

Have you done a proper Afternoon or High Tea in London before? Was the one you did on this list, if so what did you think of it? If you have additional recommendations please do leave a comment!

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Global Entry vs TSA PreCheck vs Clear and How to Get Them For Free

August 30, 2021      Tips on Traveling with Kids, Travel Tips, Trip Planning Tips

This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more information. All opinions are my own.

There are four things that I believe every frequent traveler should have! That’s Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, Clear and Priority Pass. But what exactly are these and why should you get all four? While I already have two blog posts on what Priority Pass is and how to get Priority Pass for free, this article will discuss Global Entry vs TSA PreCheck vs Clear, why you want all three and how to get them for free.

Global Entry vs TSA PreCheck vs Clear

What is TSA PreCheck 

TSA PreCheck provides low risk travelers with expedited security screening benefits at the airport on flights that depart from the U.S. This allows you to go in what’s usually a shorter security line and  you get to keep your shoes, belt and light jacket on. There is also no need to remove your liquids or electronics from your bag when putting them through the x-ray machine. On average TSA PreCheck saves you at least an hour! 

TSA PreCheck line at airport

TSA PreCheck is available at over 200 airports in the US. The cost is $85 but membership lasts for 5 years, just keep in mind it doesn’t automatically renew so this is something you must do on your own. If you’re an adult traveling with kids 12 and under they can go in this line with you at no extra cost and there’s nothing you need to do. However if your kids are 13 and older they need their own membership.

What is Global Entry?

Global Entry is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers when arriving in the US from an international destination. Instead of standing on the usual long line at the airport you can use the express line at customs, using automated kiosks to scan your passport and take your photo. 

global entry kiosks at airport

Most travelers save at least one hour by using Global Entry and if you’re traveling with kids you know this is extremely precious time. In addition to expedited entry at U.S. airports, Global Entry also provides expedited entry when driving back to the U.S. from Canada.

Global entry applicants must complete a background check and go into a Global Entry office for a quick interview. The fee is $100 and is non-refundable even if you fail the background check but that cost covers 5 years of membership and it includes TSA PreCheck so no need to pay for both! Regardless of age everyone needs their own membership, yes, even newborns and that includes interviewing too. The interview is extremely easy and all they really do is take your fingerprints.

Credit Cards That Reimburse The Fee for Global Entry and TSA PreCheck 

Now travel credits are a great way to earn points and miles to be able to travel frequently but they also provide other benefits. These include covering the fee for things like TSA PreCheck. Here is a list of the current credit cards that do:

  • Arvest Visa Signature® Credit Card
  • Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card
  • BB&T Spectrum Travel Rewards card 
  • Capital One® Spark® Miles Card
  • Capital One® Venture® Card
  • Certain American Express® Credit Cards
  • Chase Sapphire ReserveSM
  • Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World EliteTM MasterCard®
  • Commerce Bank® World Elite Mastercard®
  • Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
  • Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
  • Diners Club® Carte Blanche® Corporate Card
  • Expedia® Rewards Voyager Card from Citi
  • HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card
  • IHG® Rewards Club
  • Marriott Bonvoy™
  • Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card
  • MasterCard® Black Card™
  • MasterCard® Gold Card™
  • Navy Federal’s Visa Signature® Flagship Rewards Card
  • Orbitz Rewards®
  • PenFed Pathfinder® Rewards Visa Signature® Card
  • Provident World+ Travel®
  • Radisson Rewards™
  • Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
  • SunTrust Travel Rewards World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card
  • UBS Visa Infinite Credit Card
  • United ClubSM Infinite Card
  • UnitedSM Explorer Card
  • United MileagePlus® (By Redeeming Miles)
  • United QuestSM Card
  • US Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite® Card
  • US Bank FlexPerks® Gold American Express® Card

What is CLEAR

These days even the TSA PreCheck lines can be long at busy airports such as Atlanta, Orlando, Miami and Chicago. For these times it’s great to also have CLEAR. In short Clear lets you bypass the ID check so there’s no security line to wait on or a need to take out our ID. Instead your eyes are scanned at the CLEAR machine and then you’re escorted past the TSA agent that checks ID’s, straight to where you put your bags into the scanner!

clear employee

CLEAR is available at 50+ airports and also extends security bypass at some stadiums and venues. While it gets you to the front of the line at the airport, if you don’t have Precheck you’ll still need to remove your shoes and electronics, etc from your bag. CLEAR costs $179 and unlike Global Entry and TSA PreCheck this fee is annual, not every 5 years. Sign up here to save $30 on your membership.

However, there are some ways to reduce the cost. As a CLEAR member you can add another adult for only $50 and kids under 18 are free, this saves families a lot. Also, if you’re a Delta Skymiles Member or United Mileage Plus member you can save big on the membership fee. 

For Delta Skymiles Diamond Medallion Members get free annual memberships, Platinum/Gold/Silver Medallion Members get $70 off and general Skymiles members save $60. Anyone can sign up for a general Delta Skymiles account and it’s free to join! 

For United Mileage Plus members Premier 1K members get free annual memberships, Premier Platinum/Gold/Silver members and U.S. credit card holders get $70 off, paying $109/year and MilagePlus members only pay $119/yr. 

Students, regardless of any other affiliation, only pay $50/year for up to 4 years.

Credit Cards That Provide Free or Reduced CLEAR Membership

women with credit card in hand along with phone with man sitting next to her
  • Centurion Card from AMEX
  • The Platinum Card from AMEX
  • The Business Platinum Card from AMEX
  • AMEX Green Card provides $100 statement credit each year for CLEAR
  • United Airlines Branded Card holders only pay $109

Do you have any or all of these? How do you like them? If you found this article helpful please share it!

The Traveling Child is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

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Hi! We’re The Hambricks

Hi! We’re The Hambricks

If kids live there, kids can visit! That's our motto and you'll often find us exploring destinations most don't find "kid friendly". We've traveled to 35 countries on 6 continents with our children since they were 10 weeks old and share tips to make it easier and affordable. But mom and dad are people too so we also write about solo travel, baecations and girlfriend getaways.

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