I think I have mentioned it before, but I do travel quite a bit for work. I do a lot of the same things as other frequent travelers – folding garment bags, airline status, hotel loyalty, etc – they all add a few perks to an otherwise undesirable experience. However, none of those perks are even in the same league as TSA Pre✓™. I may name my first child “Pre Check” I’m that in love with it (and hey, at least it’s better than naming your kid “North West”…Thanks Kanye). But seriously Pre✓™ gives me a warm feeling in my pants… From the time I walk in the airport (assuming no checked luggage) to the time I’m through security is about 5 minutes. There is no line, seriously. The most people I have ever seen going through at once was three, and that was at O’Hare.
Why is it so amazeballs? Besides having basically no line, you get to leave you jacket, hat, belt, shoes, watch, etc. on… You do not have to take anything out of your bag, including liquids and your laptop. Think about that! All you have to do is put your luggage on the belt and have it go through! That’s it!
How it works:
TSA Pre✓™ is a component of the government “Global Entry” program which expedites entry into the country from land, sea and air. Upon completing the application, they will run a background check (my understanding is they are quite stringent about a clean record) and schedule an interview for you to make sure your aren’t a terrorist. Mine lasted 20 minutes and since it was pretty obvious that I just wanted to make my life easier, I was quickly on my way. Last step was to attach the traveler ID to my airline so it shows up on my ticket. NOTE!!! If it’s not on your ticket you don’t get to use it! Cost is $100 and it lasts for 5 years. Currently in use at 40 or so airports. Big Snaps…
TSA Pre✓™
http://www.tsa.gov/tsa-precheck – for the list of airports.
UPDATE:
This was written about a year ago, and in that time, TSA has ruined the system. It is most prevalent in Sky Harbor (Phoenix), and on certain days it is quicker to go through the regular line than it is to go through PreCheck. I have seen way more and more traffic in these lines that is not driven by people that are signing up. In an effort to complain to TSA about the number of people being sent through the PreCheck lanes (that did not pay for the service), the agent I asked blamed the airlines claiming that they were the ones letting people have the status. I went directly over to my airline counter and asked for an explanation. I received a completely different and more believable story. She informed me that TSA expected to gain more revenue from the PreCheck program and the numbers have come in below expectations. In order to try to get more people to sign up, they have been giving the PreCheck status to large numbers of low risk travelers for free; hoping that they enjoy the perks and then sign up.
Two points to this 1) Low risk travelers are typically seniors and people with kids – in my opinion the two slowest groups of travelers. They can’t figure out the shoe thing, they start taking all their stuff out, etc and it takes fooorrrreeevvver… 2) It appears that TSA agents are blatantly lying to travelers because either they don’t know where the directive is coming from or they are getting some many questions that they are deflecting the blame to the airlines.
Regardless, there needs to be a business traveler line at the airport, or someone needs to figure out how to expand services like “Clear” to have availability across the country.