People travel in the summer far more than at any other time. The kids are away from school and it&rsquos finally vacation time. Passport checkpoint lines in July and August are known to be the longest, most stress-inducing of the entire year and can take as much as an hour to get to through which is not a pleasant prospect after a long flight.
Milecards.com has some suggestions to beat the crowds:
1. Time your arrival right &ndash avoid 3:00 &ndash 4:00pm and try to arrange for 8:00 &ndash 9:00pm.
2. Pick your airports wisely: If you have a choice as you jet home from Europe, try to arrive in Atlanta or Washington-Dulles instead of New York. Also consider Seattle instead of LAX or San Francisco when returning from Asia. Avoid Miami and choose Atlanta or Dallas when returning from Latin America or Mexico. From the Caribbean land in Phoenix or Chicago. Once you&rsquore back in dear old USA connecting flights are easier to plan to get you to your final destination.
3. For a $100 you can purchase Global Entry (a fee some credit cards will offset) and for the impatient and/or the frequent traveler, the fee is worth side-stepping the stressful waits.
4. Download Mobile Passport Control for free on iTunes. Once downloaded, all you need to do is take a photo of your passport (a selfie) and enter your flight information. The app works at 13 of the busiest airports, but only a fraction of eligible passengers may use it.
5. Most important &ndash breathe, think happy thoughts, strike up a conversation with people on line and try to make your wait as bearable as possible.
Have fun. You might as well, right?