Being a NEXUS member is one of the best examples (among the many examples) of how there are such simple pro tips that almost all people unfortunately don’t even know about. You can avoid all wait lines so easily.
So I’m sharing another update on the NEXUS program as promised, with some reminders.
Update on the speed of the NEXUS process
Last week, we shared the incredible experience of one of our readers who was approved for NEXUS in less than 48 hours. That’s absolutely phenomenal!
Well since then, as we asked you, many of you have written to confirm that she wasn’t the only one with such a quick approval process in 2023.
That obviously doesn’t mean it’s going to be that quick for everyone, but it clearly seems like a great time to apply if you haven’t done so yet!
It’s so great to pass ahead of everyone in airports!
Don’t forget that several credit cards pay for your NEXUS membership for free, in addition to giving you hundreds of dollars in free travel as a welcome bonus too. You have to pay for NEXUS with the credit card in question to get NEXUS for free, so you have to start with that!
| Best credit cards with NEXUS credit |
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 Valuation (BONUS)(≈ 5.3% back on $12k)
Rewards: ≈ $641
Annual fee: $0 $139
Spend required:$12k in 12 mos. (incl. $7.5k in 180 days)†
Best for: C$100 and free bag on AC $7.5k spend option also available
 LUCRATIVE
60k/100k
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NEW Valuation (BONUS)(≈ 2.2% back on $24k)
Rewards: ≈ $1126
Annual fee: $599
Spend required:$24k in 12 mos. (or $12k)
Best for: C$100 and AC lounge access (AC flights)
LUCRATIVE
150k/200k
|
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Valuation (BONUS) (≈ 6.5% back on $10k)
Rewards: ≈ $1451
Card fee: $799
Spend required:$10k in 3 mos.
Best for: C$100 and unlimited lounge access
 LUCRATIVE
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| Terms and conditions apply. Flytrippers editorial opinion only. Financial institutions are not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click "See More" to see most up-to-date information. |
| Best credit cards with NEXUS credit |
WELCOME BONUS ( VALUATION) |
NEXUS credit |
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Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $12k in 12 mos. (incl. $7.5k in 180 days)†
|
Rewards: ≈ $641
Annual fee: $0 $139
|
C$100
and free bag on AC
$7.5k spend option also available
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NEW 
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Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $24k in 12 mos. (or $12k for lower bonus)
|
Rewards: ≈ $1126
Annual fee: $599
|
C$100
and AC lounge
access (AC flights)
|
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Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $10k in 3 mos.
|
Rewards: ≈ $1451
Card fee: $799
|
C$100
and unlimited
lounge access
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Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $7.5k in 3 mos.
|
Rewards: ≈ $1041
Card fee: $599
|
C$100
and AC lounge
access (AC flights)
|
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Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $1k/month for 12 months
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Rewards: ≈ $1180
Card fee: $250
|
C$50
and 4 lounge
passes (Canada)
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| Terms and conditions apply. Flytrippers editorial opinion only. Financial institutions are not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click "See More" to see most up-to-date information. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Our monthly live video to present the best travel rewards deals of the month (with a live Q&A) will be Wednesday, March 15th, at 9 PM Eastern on Instagram.
In the meantime, the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card has the highest welcome bonus of all credit cards in Canada right now, so you can’t really go wrong. That said, those rewards are slightly more complicated (and therefore more valuable).
If you want simpler points, the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Card (and the CIBC Aventura Gold Visa Card, the version for those who earn a lower annual income) have decent welcome bonuses and also come with 4 free passes for airport lounges.
If you want unlimited airport lounge access, the American Express Platinum Card gives you access to the most complete worldwide lounge network and hotel elite status (and Amex points can be either valuable or simple). The American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card and the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card give you unlimited access to Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges and plenty of other luxury benefits.
A reminder of the basics of NEXUS
In our articles, to keep them shorter, we always put a link with more info on every topic (like a link to part 1 of our guide to the NEXUS program in the article about getting NEXUS in 2 days).
But many don’t read carefully enough to see the links and ask questions that are answered in the more detailed article.
We happen to have this new little box to make the links even harder to miss.
Anyway, since we’ve received a lot of questions about NEXUS since the last article, I’ll remind you of the basics here, in both text and video format.
The short version is that being a NEXUS member is just great.
As a government program for “trusted travelers,” it allows you to avoid completely (or almost) ALL the wait lines at:
- Security checkpoints in Canadian airports
- Security checkpoints in American airports
- Canadian customs in airports
- American customs in airports
- Customs at major land border crossings
If you prefer, you can watch my short preview video.
Then as far as how to apply for NEXUS, it’s really quite simple.
I’ll send you to our detailed section about that specifically in our NEXUS program guide.
To find an appointment quickly, I’ll send you to the section about this in our guide to the NEXUS program.
To read all the details of a recent NEXUS interview experience, Kevin, Flytrippers’ other co-founder, just did it in December and will do a detailed article about that very soon. I did my renewal in January, I’ll share that with you too, for those who have already had it for 5 years or who wonder what it will be like in 5 years.
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Examples of how to use NEXUS
Part 2 of our guide is another content piece coming soon, and it will contain the very detailed logistics of how to use each component of the NEXUS program.
In the meantime, I have already shared my most recent experience with 4 of the 5 NEXUS benefits in a recent article on the upcoming reopening of NEXUS interview centers in Canada.
Want to get more content on tips from travel pros?
Summary
We’ll have more content on the NEXUS program very soon, but I wanted to at least follow up regarding the testimonials we’ve received about the current exceedingly short time frame to get NEXUS, and remind you of the basics if you missed it.
What would you like to know about the NEXUS program? Tell us in the comments below.
See the deals we spot: Cheap flights
Explore awesome destinations: Travel inspiration
Learn pro tricks: Travel tips
Discover free travel: Travel rewards
Featured image: NEXUS line (photo credit: Andrew D’Amours/Flytrippers)
I have discovered Canadians can also qualify for US domestic flights for the TSA PreCheck with your Nexus by entering your known traveler number (KTN) on the back of the Nexus card into your airline loyalty account profile and then later when you do your online check-in the TSA pre-check comes up on your boarding pass automatically.
Yes of course, it’s one of the main benefits of NEXUS 🙂
I don’t see online in NEXUS ,where I would update my new car and new license plate number. Years back this was simple….is it no longer required ?
I applied sometime in July of 2021. It still shows pending.
I thought they were behind by 100s of thousands?
I’m in Vancouver.
Yes, that’s what we’re saying. To the surprise of absolutely no one who has ever followed anything managed by the government, they can’t even do something as simple as process applications in the order they received them. So some people have been waiting for over a year, yet some who apply now get approved in 2 days sadly.
hello, I applied for Nexus last year and my application is still showing pending. This this was a renewal even I had my Nexus expire recently is there anything that I could do would it be worth calling them to see if there’s an issue? I’m a Canadian resident if that changes anything
Hi, mine expired in December and I got my renewal approved in January so maybe they process renewals in the month following expiry, but this is just speculation as they don’t provide any information about the process at all unfortunately. If it just expired (you can still use your card by the way) I would wait a bit.