TSA Pre-Check 13 year old

[Jimsig]

Global Entry isn't higher cost and includes precheck. Global Entry is $100 for 10 years, TSA Precheck is $70 for 5. Lots of fancy credit cards pay for Global Entry as a perk too. Kids' passports aren't valid that long, so maybe not the biggest reason in this case.

Customs at my home airport are an absolute nightmare. Global Entry is a must for me, and I would keep it up even if I didn't have international flights planned.

Global Entry and Pre-Check both last for 5 years.

 

[EACarlson]

I dont mean to de-rail the post but I see a lot of talk of global entry. We travel maybe once a year and it has always been domestic. Do you find global entry being worth it? My wife and I just have the regular Pre-Check. Doing some quick google searching, Global Entry isnt even available at port canaveral. What would we get our of paying the higher cost for Global Entry versus regular Pre-Check?

My suggestion for doing Global Entry in OP's case was because of the age limitation on Pre-check and the requirement of a state ID. Global Entry is available at any age and the $22 difference may be worth it to get it now rather than waiting and hoping there are no delays. Without having international air travel planned the only real benefit is a secondary ID acceptable to TSA screeners. I know of people that travel regularly that have been saved when their wallet has been stolen or lost. They were still able to board flights without additional hassle due to having the GE card.

Global Entry isn't higher cost and includes precheck. Global Entry is $100 for 10 years, TSA Precheck is $70 for 5. Lots of fancy credit cards pay for Global Entry as a perk too. Kids' passports aren't valid that long, so maybe not the biggest reason in this case.

Customs at my home airport are an absolute nightmare. Global Entry is a must for me, and I would keep it up even if I didn't have international flights planned.

First time enrollees are charged $100 for Global Entry and $78 for Precheck. Both are valid for 5 years. Many cards reimburse either GE or Pre, including some that don't have high annual fees. You can find the list on the TSA website.

 

[RoseGold]

First time enrollees are charged $100 for Global Entry and $78 for Precheck. Both are valid for 5 years. Many cards reimburse either GE or Pre, including some that don't have high annual fees. You can find the list on the TSA website.

Wow, that's new. Well, Global Entry used to be 10 years, LOL.

 

[EACarlson]

Wow, that's new. Well, Global Entry used to be 10 years, LOL.

Nope, it's been five years since it was entered into the federal register in 2009.

 

[sam_gordon]

My suggestion for doing Global Entry in OP's case was because of the age limitation on Pre-check and the requirement of a state ID. Global Entry is available at any age and the $22 difference may be worth it to get it now rather than waiting and hoping there are no delays. Without having international air travel planned the only real benefit is a secondary ID acceptable to TSA screeners. I know of people that travel regularly that have been saved when their wallet has been stolen or lost. They were still able to board flights without additional hassle due to having the GE card.

First time enrollees are charged $100 for Global Entry and $78 for Precheck. Both are valid for 5 years. Many cards reimburse either GE or Pre, including some that don't have high annual fees. You can find the list on the TSA website.

Doesn't GE take longer to get than Precheck? Or is it that a 12yo is eligible for GE and not PC?

 

[Jimsig]

My suggestion for doing Global Entry in OP's case was because of the age limitation on Pre-check and the requirement of a state ID...

A passport will also work.

 

[EACarlson]

Doesn't GE take longer to get than Precheck? Or is it that a 12yo is eligible for GE and not PC?

GE can take longer than Precheck to get. I've been waiting for a month now for my conditional approval for GE, I've had Pre for four years. But for a 12 year old, I wouldn't expect it to take months for that. The concern is that Pre doesn't list a minimum age, only says that under 13 it's not necessary.

A passport will also work.

In my original reply to OP, I specified that I would think about GE over Pre in this case if the child had a passport. If the child didn't have a passport they would have needed to get a state ID anyway.

 

[vetrik]

Last summer we were flying for our cruise in August, and my DD was turning 13 in July. We applied for precheck for her in June since they're clear it's not guaranteed for the child once they turn 13 and we didn't want to risk her not getting it.

We used her passport for ID and she actually ended up receiving her approval 2 days before her 13th birthday.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

That seems like a colossally bad idea if you have to get off the boat for some reason. I'd get him a passport and Global Entry. If you can afford a Disney cruise, you can afford a passport and Global Entry.

Right. If they have a medical emergency and have to leave the ship they will need a passport in order to find alternate transportation back home. Best to get it because you never know. The emergency does not have to be the kid it could be a parent who has the emergency and the spouse has to get off the ship to be with the ill spouse so the kid cant stay on the ship and will need a passport for them to get back home. Passports are good for 10 years.

 

[hrhdhd]

Right. If they have a medical emergency and have to leave the ship they will need a passport in order to find alternate transportation back home. Best to get it because you never know. The emergency does not have to be the kid it could be a parent who has the emergency and the spouse has to get off the ship to be with the ill spouse so the kid cant stay on the ship and will need a passport for them to get back home. Passports are good for 10 years.

Passports for children under 16 are good for only 5 years.

 

[elvispursley]

So when we lived in WA we apples for NEXUS and my youngest DS was 12 at the time. NEXUS have us GE and TSA precheck, so at 12, he has had a KTN. And it may have changed (and vary by airport), but when my MIL, who didn’t have precheck would travel with us, because she was on our same itinerary, the agent asked if we were all together and let her through, every time (but this has been our experience, YMMV). But the point of my post is, kids under 13 can absolutely have a KTN.

 

[supersnoop]

When my kid was 12, they never showed "precheck" on their boarding pass, but they'd always come through the line with me. As their birthday approached, I put in the application, but we didn't get into an interview until after their 12th birthday, and we had one flight scheduled between their 13th birthday and getting precheck. I was surprised when, while going through the regular line, I noticed that "precheck" actually printed on their pass. I got the impression that the TSA or the airlines have some control and will give the kids the same status as the parents, but maybe we were just lucky that time.

 

[EACarlson]

So when we lived in WA we apples for NEXUS and my youngest DS was 12 at the time. NEXUS have us GE and TSA precheck, so at 12, he has had a KTN. And it may have changed (and vary by airport), but when my MIL, who didn’t have precheck would travel with us, because she was on our same itinerary, the agent asked if we were all together and let her through, every time (but this has been our experience, YMMV). But the point of my post is, kids under 13 can absolutely have a KTN.

Nexus and GE don't have any age restrictions because each traveler has to have their own regardless of age. Pre is different because of the allowance of children 12 and under to go through Pre with an adult that has it. I have not been able to find an answer to how old one must be to apply for Pre. The requirement for a state ID makes things a little more difficult in signing up as well. We've seen data points in this thread about 12 year olds that have gotten it, but I haven't been able to find it in any documentation that is how it is supposed to work.

When my kid was 12, they never showed "precheck" on their boarding pass, but they'd always come through the line with me. As their birthday approached, I put in the application, but we didn't get into an interview until after their 12th birthday, and we had one flight scheduled between their 13th birthday and getting precheck. I was surprised when, while going through the regular line, I noticed that "precheck" actually printed on their pass. I got the impression that the TSA or the airlines have some control and will give the kids the same status as the parents, but maybe we were just lucky that time.

When they were 12 they didn't need Pre on their boarding pass as they are allowed through that lane with a parent/guardian that has it. Once they are 13, the line dragons won't let them through without it on their pass. There is an algorithm that determines who gets it. Current belief is that there are a finite number of slots in Pre, if there aren't enough Pre passengers then the eligibility gets widened to include those considered at low risk: the elderly, minor children and those travelling on the same PNR as someone with Pre. 13-15 it seems that the rate is about 80% if travelling with a parent that has Pre. Any passenger that has paid for Pre has about a 99% success rate in getting Pre on their boarding pass. In your specific case, having an application in probably moved them up on the algorithm also.

 

[LadybugsMum]

Nexus and GE don't have any age restrictions because each traveler has to have their own regardless of age. Pre is different because of the allowance of children 12 and under to go through Pre with an adult that has it. I have not been able to find an answer to how old one must be to apply for Pre. The requirement for a state ID makes things a little more difficult in signing up as well. We've seen data points in this thread about 12 year olds that have gotten it, but I haven't been able to find it in any documentation that is how it is supposed to work.
.

A state id is not required and the list of acceptable ids is long: https://www.tsa.gov/precheck/required-Identification

 

[EACarlson]

A state id is not required and the list of acceptable ids is long: https://www.tsa.gov/precheck/required-Identification

That is picking an extremely small nit. It requires the same type of ID that would be required of an adult at the TSA checkpoint, of those, the one most readily available and accessible to those in the age group we are discussing is a state id. I can gather documents in my home right now, and get my 10 and 7 year olds a state ID by the end of the week. Of the other documents on the list the only other one that would be readily possible to get would be a passport, which takes 3+ months.

 

[keishashadow]

It's possible, even likely, but it is not assured that children over the age of 12 will be given pre-check because they are travelling with someone that has it.

Before my GD got precheck, it was definitely hit or miss if she received the designation when she traveled with me and my DH a time or two each year. She does have a valid passport.

Know it’s supposed to be random as to being assigned TSA pre check. Our experience with her…SWA flights & Allegient It was granted. On Spirit, rarely.

 

[ngl]

We got my daughter pre-check at 13. She has a passport but we also went and got a state ID (FL) so we wouldn't have to take the Passport with us on domestic flights. Typically, if your child's reservation is not separate (under your "master" flight reservation) they will fall under your pre-check even if they don't have a pre-check number their own. However, as other posters commented, it is not required. TSA could make the full family go through the non-Pre check line if one does not have it. Again, generally it does not happen but it could. We recently had an 8th grade trip to DC flying from FL. Our reservations were made on SW through a travel group master reservation. Some parents thought bc they were TSA Pre their child could come with them through the precheck line. However, because their reservation was not connected to their child's reservation directly, all were turned away except those with kids that had their own TSA precheck.

 

[T.G.I.Friday]

We applied for Precheck for my DD shortly after she turned 12. There was no issue with applying based on her age.

While we know she didn’t need it until she was 13, it made domestic travel much easier since she looks older and doesn’t travel with ID. TSA always made it seem like they were doing us a favor by letting her go with us, despite her being qualified.

 

[EACarlson]

We applied for Precheck for my DD shortly after she turned 12. There was no issue with applying based on her age.

While we know she didn’t need it until she was 13, it made domestic travel much easier since she looks older and doesn’t travel with ID. TSA always made it seem like they were doing us a favor by letting her go with us, despite her being qualified.

Thank you, I think this was the DP we have been looking for.

 

[yellowfish78]

I did precheck for my 13 year old on a Thursday and we had his KTN on Friday. That was a week ago. I was shocked at the turnaround!