Travel Preparation

[bjarvis]

Today, Michael and I went for our inteviews for the TSA Precheck program (Kent has a different date at a different office, one more convenient to his office). The hope is that having the precheck and "Known Traveller" status will help us get through airport security lines a little faster. Even if the lines don't move faster, at least we won't have to take off our shoes & belts, remove laptops, etc..

The interview itself was fairly bland: the data we entered on the online forms was displayed back to us and we were asked to confirm the contents. Our fingerprints were then scanned, payment of $85 (for five years) was taken, and we were done. The background check will take about 30 days, but the investigation status will be updated online.

Interestingly, about 10% of all applications are rejected. And the fee is non-refundable.

The precheck is good for domestic flights and as it stands, my next two trips are both international. Still, the known traveller status is printed on the boarding passes by the airlines rather than the TSA, so there's always a chance we'll get the precheck line for the security at whichever airport we're using. I'll let you know.

If nothing else, the expedited line will be useful for my future trips to San Francisco, Michael's visits to Cleveland, or Kent's to Florida.

Comments

[rsc.livejournal.com]

My experience, over quite a few years now, indicates that the pre-check lines are pretty much always shorter, and it's nice not having to take off your shoes, unstow your laptop, etc.

We actually got Global Entry, which makes processing on re-entry into the US significantly faster, but even so there doesn't generally seem to be any pre-check on international flights.

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

We looked at Global Entry but it was something like $260 for five years. Over the past five years, I've made precisely one flight which would have qualified so it's not worth the fees for my situation.

[rsc.livejournal.com]

Wow, really? I'm pretty sure we paid something like $100. I hope it's not that much for renewal.

[allanh.livejournal.com]

PreCheck is totally worth the nonrefundable fee. Since getting PreCheck, I enter my Known Traveler Number into any airline reservations, and my boarding pass prints out with a "TSA PreCheck" indicator, enabling me to take a short line, usually little to no waiting, no taking off my shoes or unpacking my CPAP, etcetera.

Interestingly, Air Canada had a space for me to insert my KTN when making our SF-Toronto reservations. Reading through the PreCheck page, my KTN is eligible for Air Canada flights FROM any airport in the United States. Presumably, I'll need to use the non-expedited line at Pearson when returning home.

[excessor.livejournal.com]

I paid $100 for Global Entry earlier this year. I am always designated PreCheck. Sadly, in smaller airports, that's exactly the same as the muggle line.