TSA Pre-Check

Thanks all. I don't have an issue paying the $85 every 5 years if there is a definite benefit for doing so, which it appears in most cases there is. I also don't necessarily have an issue with the fee if it helps to limit the number of folks in the program, thereby keeping the lines shorter. If it were "free," I suspect that word would spread and almost everyone who qualified would do it.


JKG
 
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Its worth it to me for short lines and keeping my shoes on.

Even if there isn't a precheck line at the terminal I go to, I get expedited screening (still keep shoes on)
 
How long does it take to get Global Entry? I guess it depends on appointment times, but is that 1 week, 1 month, ???
 
texasag93 said:
How long does it take to get Global Entry? I guess it depends on appointment times, but is that 1 week, 1 month, ???
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A day to get the prelim approval. 2hrs after the interview I got the final. If the site doesnt show interview slots available, call up when you want to go. Cancellations within 24hs dont show up online.
 
Took me about 3 weeks.
 
Just got TSA Pre on my boarding pass for tomorrow. :)
 
ggroves said:
Always amused at the quaintness of the notion that government will shrink and taxes will go down. That ship has sailed....
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There's lots of "quaint" notions that are the right thing to do that people support directly or indirectly via their apathy which knows no depth.
 
denverpilot said:
There's lots of "quaint" notions that are the right thing to do that people support directly or indirectly via their apathy which knows no depth.
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Apathy certainly plays a role in everything these days.

Another strong force is the expectations we put on government. If someone hijacks a plane we demand something be done even if it cost trillions. If a forrest fire starts we want the sky darkened with air tankers within hours. Listening to people talk there is a dependency on government to solve any and all problems vs. handling things in the private sector.
 
SCCutler said:
Imagine the conversation we had when returning from Mexico, I had Global Entry, my wife did not (had not gotten the Round Tuit yet). Wait was about 45 minutes, amused, I was not.
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Walk back from Tijuana into the US by land during the busy time. The wait with GE and/or SENTRI drops from 3 hours to 3 minutes (if you don't count the time walking past the really long line and getting dirty looks from those stuck in that line).

--Carlos V.
 
Unbeliever said:
Walk back from Tijuana into the US by land during the busy time. The wait with GE and/or SENTRI drops from 3 hours to 3 minutes (if you don't count the time walking past the really long line and getting dirty looks from those stuck in that line).

--Carlos V.
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This brings up a good point about how ridiculous the system is. As a pilot I have to file eapis to bring people in and out of the country by air, fine. Then I had to do a separate deal for Global Entry, doesn't make sense to me since I can already transport people in and out, but OK. Then if you want to go across the Mexican border by ground you need Sentri. I believe there are several versions of that depending on what crossing. All of this is customs, yet no two programs talk, I don't get it.
 
Alexb2000 said:
Then if you want to go across the Mexican border by ground you need Sentri. I believe there are several versions of that depending on what crossing. All of this is customs, yet no two programs talk, I don't get it.
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SENTRI also includes your vehicle and the information you have to provide goes beyond what they care about for Global Entry.

In addition there is NEXUS, that is if you want to commute into Canada.

Some of these programs are also governed by multilateral agreements which may contribute to the alphabet soup. Global Entry for example is also available to citizens of Canada, Ireland or Germany. Anyone who has ended up between 3 747s from India and Korea arriving in Frankfurt at the same time will value that ability.
 
weilke said:
SENTRI also includes your vehicle and the information you have to provide goes beyond what they care about for Global Entry.

In addition there is NEXUS, that is if you want to commute into Canada.

Some of these programs are also governed by multilateral agreements which may contribute to the alphabet soup. Global Entry for example is also available to citizens of Canada, Ireland or Germany. Anyone who has ended up between 3 747s from India and Korea arriving in Frankfurt at the same time will value that ability.
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All I'm saying is we need to decide who we trust and that's that. It amazes me that as a U.S. citizen it is harder for me to get into my own country than our neighbors. It's even easier for me to get into western European countries, I could go on.
 
Alexb2000 said:
All I'm saying is we need to decide who we trust and that's that.
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Agreed. There should be one trusted traveller program with the ability to add on implements like your plane, your car or your boat as needed.

If you look back how all these programs came to be, most of them have bilateral or multilateral agreements behind them, so it is not as easy as the emperor of CBP issuing a decree to change things.
 
Interesting thread. I used to be a FF but mercifully no longer fly much more than 4-6 times per year.

On Monday I booked my very first Southwest flight, and signed up for their rewards program and purchased the early check-in thing.

I showed up for the flight on Thursday out of Milwaukee expecting another government groping (I always opt out of the cancer machine) and found out I received Pre-Check. I didn't know that was possible, and thought it was random by the TSA or something.

Similarly, my return flight out of Vegas on Saturday had Pre-Check as well.

I will at least sign up for Pre-Check, and possibly for GE based un the feedback in this thread.

By the way, Southwest is awesome.
 
Alexb2000 said:
Apathy certainly plays a role in everything these days.



Another strong force is the expectations we put on government. If someone hijacks a plane we demand something be done even if it cost trillions. If a forrest fire starts we want the sky darkened with air tankers within hours. Listening to people talk there is a dependency on government to solve any and all problems vs. handling things in the private sector.
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I don't. My expectations of government are fairly low. We can't afford the government we have, we're only paying the interest on massive loans taken to even have a government the size of he current one. We The People aren't in control of it anymore at all, either.

Something will have to give, eventually. It's not going to be pretty if we don't start ratcheting down the spending. We can do it now, slowly and relatively painlessly with continuous effort over a generation or two, or we can wait until it goes even more mad with power and bloodshed starts. I don't think the latter will happen in my lifetime, but there's certainly those in this generation making sure it'll happen shortly thereafter.

Government is not responsible for the safety of passengers on private for-profit company's choice of conveyance they hold out to the public.

Government is not responsible for your poor results of a poor decision to build your house in the middle of a forest when a forest fire starts.

Dependency is often created by codependency and that codependency requires an enabler. An enabler with a seemingly never ending line of credit, is a pretty good enabler. Especially if that enabler can also hold the codependent person at gunpoint to pay their bills. Pretty slick setup. For a while.
 
Anybody else think that their Global Entry card looks like a cheap ID that could be easily counterfeited?
 
NoHeat said:
Anybody else think that their Global Entry card looks like a cheap ID that could be easily counterfeited?
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Well it does have a hologram on it, but other than the TSA, I don't know who would take it as an ID card. You should show it as an ID the next time you're asked, insist that it's legitimate government issued ID card and see how it goes.

It's your existence in their computer system that makes you Global Entry, not having a card. I don't even carry my card with me, it sits in my safe at home with all the other cards I never carry.
 
denverpilot said:
I don't. My expectations of government are fairly low. We can't afford the government we have, we're only paying the interest on massive loans taken to even have a government the size of he current one.
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Depressing fact. For years we've been giving away every dime we took in for tax revenue as welfare, then having to borrow all the money to run the rest of the government. The 2015 budget estimates that tax revenue will not even cover the cost of the massive welfare programs mandated by past Congresses.

I apologize to my children and grandchildren in advance...but I don't know what to do to stop it.
 
The precheck line was longer than the regular lines this morning but it still went fast.
 
Everskyward said:
The precheck line was longer than the regular lines this morning but it still went fast.
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Soon there will be no more regular lines, only multiple "pre-check" lines and a "suspected terrorist" line with a mandatory body cavity search. Some POAers like to make a political stand so they'll be in the later just on principle.:)
 
bflynn said:
It's your existence in their computer system that makes you Global Entry, not having a card. I don't even carry my card with me, it sits in my safe at home with all the other cards I never carry.
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You still need the GE card if you want to use expedited crossing by land/foot at the participating border crossing stations.

You only need SENTRI if you want to drive across the border, and driving is becoming even more non-recommended due to increasing issues in Mexico.

--Carlos V.
 
I've been a frequent flyer with Southwest.
(Relevant == ???); but their boarding passes have had me cleared for Pre-TSA for every flight I've taken for the past couple of years (eg -- I paid -$0- for the privilege)
Maybe some airlines have more pull ....
 
oldShar said:
I've been a frequent flyer with Southwest.
(Relevant == ???); but their boarding passes have had me cleared for Pre-TSA for every flight I've taken for the past couple of years (eg -- I paid -$0- for the privilege)
Maybe some airlines have more pull ....
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I wouldn't be surprised if Southwest is using pre-check as a "perk" for your repeat business on their airline. Unfortunately, in my case, I'm forced to fly on multiple carriers, so I may take several trips a year, but usually no more than 2 on any one carrier. I've never received pre-check.

If I go through the TSA process, I hope that will improve my chances of being chosen for pre-check. If the airlines can somehow still influence who gets selected, which they seem to want to deny despite possible evidence to the contrary, that would really make pre-check a total security scam. I would think that someone who has been approved through a background check/fingerprinting/interview process would be far less of a risk than a frequent flyer who has not.


JKG
 
JGoodish said:
I wouldn't be surprised if Southwest is using pre-check as a "perk" for your repeat business on their airline. Unfortunately, in my case, I'm forced to fly on multiple carriers, so I may take several trips a year, but usually no more than 2 on any one carrier. I've never received pre-check.



If I go through the TSA process, I hope that will improve my chances of being chosen for pre-check. If the airlines can somehow still influence who gets selected, which they seem to want to deny despite possible evidence to the contrary, that would really make pre-check a total security scam. I would think that someone who has been approved through a background check/fingerprinting/interview process would be far less of a risk than a frequent flyer who has not.





JKG
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If it's a perk it isn't well advertised. I also got an unexpected precheck approval on United after having not flown them for a few years.
 
Everskyward said:
If it's a perk it isn't well advertised. I also got an unexpected precheck approval on United after having not flown them for a few years.
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It may not be well-advertised because the airlines themselves can't unilaterally make the decision, but I wonder if they have influence on who gets selected apart from membership in their loyalty programs.

I guess I will go through the TSA process, pay the $85 and book reservations with whatever number I'm issued as a result, and see what happens on my next flight.


JKG
 
The TSA site, whether they are fully forthcoming or not, explains that it is "the more they know about you...".

I doubt the airlines could advertise it as a perk, but even those who aren't in single carrier FF programs, I would be willing to bet that if you have profiles filled out, and/or you fill out all the extra information online prior to showing up at the airport or printing your boarding pass, use the airline apps, use an electronic boarding pass, that counts as additional information than those who don't do these things.

It's based on known information prior to coming to the airport. So the more you allow them to know, the better your chances are.
 
I've got status with two different airlines (Southwest and United), and I rarely get the pre-check on the boarding pass. I fly at least once a month, usually twice. I'm biting the $85 bullet tomorrow just to save some time.
 
TheTraveler said:
The TSA site, whether they are fully forthcoming or not, explains that it is "the more they know about you...".

I doubt the airlines could advertise it as a perk, but even those who aren't in single carrier FF programs, I would be willing to bet that if you have profiles filled out, and/or you fill out all the extra information online prior to showing up at the airport or printing your boarding pass, use the airline apps, use an electronic boarding pass, that counts as additional information than those who don't do these things.

It's based on known information prior to coming to the airport. So the more you allow them to know, the better your chances are.
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I've done/do all of that. Never once got Pre-Check.

"The more they know" doesn't seem to check out if folks who have never been through the TSA process are regularly receiving Pre-Check while others are not. It is somewhat illogical that someone who has not been through a background check process would represent the same "known risk" as someone who has been through the process. I would expect that someone who has been through the TSA process would receive Pre-Check consistently, but it seems as though that hasn't always been the case in the past.

It did just occur to me that many (but not all) of my flights on Delta, United, and USAir have included one or more commuter legs, and I wonder if that's been a factor in not receiving Pre-Check. I've probably taken as many or more flights on Southwest, though, and never received Pre-Check despite both the carrier and airports participating.


JKG
 
Where can I get a one-line description of Nexus, Sentri, PreCheck, GlobalEntry et al, so I can decide which one(s) or if I need?
 
As long as you don't think the PreCheck line will ALWAYS be shorter, you're good to go. I've had several times where the number of people in PreCheck was as many or more than those in the normal screening line--sometimes significantly more. This mostly happens at airports where PreCheck and "Priority/Business/First" are combines for the initial queuing.

That said, I'm glad I have PreCheck and Global Entry and can't imagine business travel without it. There are times you'll REALLY be glad you have it! Ex: whenever I travel back from Seattle, the main line is hundreds of people long, and there are 4 or 5 people tops in PreCheck, and I'm through Security immediately. Well worth the $85 and time spent for the customs appointment.

Now, my wife wants it too... because when we travel together, she has to wait through the normal line while I sit on the other side, screened, waiting for her. ;-)
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Where can I get a one-line description of Nexus, Sentri, PreCheck, GlobalEntry et al, so I can decide which one(s) or if I need?
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This is for all the CBP programs.

http://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs

PreCheck is just a side benefit of Global Entry. The main purpose of the program is to speed up re-entry at any of the GE equipped airports.

Info on the precheck program here.

http://www.tsa.gov/tsa-precheck

Comparison of the programs here:

http://www.dhs.gov/comparison-chart


As I see it, these are the advantages of enrolling directly with TSA:

- the enrollment centers are at the major airports. The Global Entry interview is usually at 'customs house' or the federal courthouse.
- with TSAPre direct enrollment, your spouse can tag along through the Pre line. With Global Entry your spouse needs his/her own enrollment.
- You dont need a passport. If you dont need it otherwise, thats $130 and a wait that you can skip.
 
My last trip on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, I ran through the airport, tossed my bags onto the belt, walked through the metal detector, grabbed my bags, and ran to catch my flight. Took all of 45 seconds. No Pre screen, didn't empty my pockets, left my jacket on, didn't open my electronics bag, or have to produce a ziploc baggie.
But, I was wearing sandals, a full beard, and a turban. :rolleyes:
 
Thanks.
The comparison chart above helps a lot.
Amex will pay for either GE or TSA-PS.
I wonder which, if any I should get.
I fly maybe 3-4x per year. In the last year I went to Canada and Mexico and once domestically. I vigorously like the idea of avoiding lines even for these few flights. I noticed on my last one that without 2 hour layovers there could have been problems due to the lines (had to change terminals and rescreen a few times).

Amex:
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/content/expedite-your-travel.html
 
You know, I really don't even care if the line is longer. Not having the hassle of the terrorist checks allows for a longer wait time.
 
The only downside of applying for GE, for me, was that I needed to do it at a big airport, so I had to wait until I was going through one, to change planes. I chose a flight through O'hare with a five-hour connection so that I could make it over to Customs in the faraway International Terminal. When I got there, I was told that they were running an hour late, in the interview schedule. So I was glad that I had scheduled many extra hours.

It made for a long day in a small crowded waiting room in O'Hare. The $85 cost was nothing compared to the nuisance of listening forever to some other citizen's cellphone on speakerphone mode in the cramped waiting room.

Once I got the card, I decided it was worth it. But that wait for the late interview was worse than waiting for a late flight.
 
Troy mine is a biz Platinum, no annual fee - $0.00 - maybe it was grandfathered? Its >5yrs old.
 
NoHeat said:
It made for a long day in a small crowded waiting room in O'Hare. The $85 cost was nothing compared to the nuisance of listening forever to some other citizen's cellphone on speakerphone mode in the cramped waiting room.
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$85 isn't Global Entry. GE is $100. $85 is TSA Pre-Check.

--Carlos V.
 
TangoWhiskey said:
#ThreadDriftBelow

Disclaimer: I have an Amex (two, actually).

But... Annual fee is $450 for the consumer Platinum card from Amex. That gets you a free $85 or $100 credit every 5 years for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fees. Hmmm. Spend $2250 ($450 x 5) to save $85-100. Math Fail.

What else does the $450/year provide that makes that a bargain?
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There are a lot of benefits to amex platinum, but they only have value if you use them. We looked very carefully at upgrading from our gold "rewards plus", but it did not make sense for us.

I did, a few years ago before a trip to Ireland, upgrade to platinum for a points and fee promotion, take the trip, then downgraded back to gold a couple months later. I even told the guy offering my the upgrade that is what I was going to do and he said "go for it". The annual fees are pro rated, so the expense was small for the benefit received in my little " scam".

Ps- main reason we carry Gold Rewards Plus and not Platinum: the extra card (in this case, my wife's card) is free with GRP, but something like $45 or $75 per year extra with platinum....
 
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