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NEXUS is a trusted traveller program for low-risk, pre-approved travellers to speed up border crossings into the United States (U.S.) and Canada. It is run jointly by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
All About NEXUS
The Benefits
With a NEXUS card, travellers get access to expedited security screening and border crossings. At Canadian airports, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) operates dedicated Verified Travellers lines with special benefits, such as leaving liquids and laptops in your carry-on. That said, with improved screening machines available at most major airports, the Verified Traveller line is more of a skip-the-line than anything else, but that’s still a major benefit.
When crossing the land border, there are dedicated NEXUS lanes to skip the sometimes very long lines. There are rules: everyone in the car must have NEXUS, you must be within the personal exemption for goods, and more. Always refer to the Government of Canada’s official NEXUS page.
NEXUS also includes TSA PreCheck and Global Entry, making connections in and travel around the U.S. much smooth. TSA PreCheck lines tend to be short, and usually nothing needs to come out of your carry-on — unlike the Canadian Verified Traveller lines, PreCheck is much more than a skip-the-line operation.
Global Entry expedites your entry significantly, bypassing long customs lines both on arrival and even at preclearance.
How to Apply
Permanent residents and citizens of the U.S. and Canada are eligible for NEXUS. There is no age requirement, and parents also don’t need to be NEXUS members for children to be approved.
You apply online through the Trusted Traveler website and there is a fee of $120 USD (some credit cards offer a credit, more on this later). Applicantions for those under 18 are free. After filling in the online form, the next step is waiting for conditional approval. This could be as quick as a few business days (in theory) or as long as a year (or longer).
After conditional approval, you must complete an interview with both CBSA and CBP. The most efficient way to do this is at an office where both officers are present, such as the Niagara Falls U.S. CBP office just over the border. You can also do the Canadian portion at a Canadian airport and then the U.S. portion upon arrival at an eligible U.S. airport or in preclearance facilities (leave ample time to catch your flight).
In any case, schedule your interview through the same website you applied from. Once approved, your NEXUS card will arrive in the mail a few weeks later.
Your NEXUS membership is valid for 5 years, after which you can renew with a similar process. After you pay the $120 USD fee, your renewal may be automatically approved. In my case, I had to schedule another interview.
Which Credit Cards Offer NEXUS Credits?
NEXUS used to cost just $50 USD, but in 2024, the program raised the fee to $120 USD to match Global Entry. Before that, NEXUS offered an easy arbitrage opportunity by including Global Entry for $70 USD less.
Even at $120 USD, NEXUS remains a great value over five years. Even better, if your credit card offers a NEXUS credit, you should absolutely take advantage of it.
So many credit cards offer a NEXUS credit that it’s likely you already have one or more of these cards in your wallet. Some cards will fully cover the $120 USD fee, while others offer a partial credit.
BMO and CIBC do the best on this front, offering $200 CAD NEXUS credits. The BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard, in particular, is offering a first-year annual fee waiver and up to 100,000 points as a sign-up bonus at the moment.
For racking up points quickly, the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege also offers a $200 CAD NEXUS credit with up to 200,000 points and 5X earnings on groceries, dining, drugstore purchases, gas, and travel.
CIBC is similarly competitive, offering a $200 NEXUS credit on the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Privilege, Visa Infinite, and Gold cards — the latter two are first-year free.
The newly-launched United MileagePlus Neo World Elite Mastercard also has a NEXUS fee credit covering the entire $120 USD, since I know many PMB readers signed up recently.
TD offers a lower $100 CAD credit on their Aeroplan co-branded credit cards, such as the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege and the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite. Amex offers the same with a $100 credit on the Amex Platinum and Amex Business Platinum. The Amex Gold offers a smaller $50 credit.
Takeaway
NEXUS is one of the easiest ways to make travel significantly smoother. Between faster airport security, dedicated customs and securiy lines in both Canada and the U.S., dedicated car lanes at the land border, TSA PreCheck, and Global Entry, the time savings add up quickly.
Even after the fee increase to $120 USD, it remains well worth it, especially since you likely already hold a credit card that offers a fee reimbursement. If you travel to or through the U.S. with any frequency, NEXUS is a no-brainer.
