TSA preCheck

[travisx4]

After hearing about this program I decided to apply for myself, my wife and my 17 year old son. We had a trip from Boston to Los Angeles and thought it would be great to minimize the security line process. Well the day before our flight I printed our boarding passes and none of them showed pre check. I called the airline and they reentered my numbers and had me check in again and that time pre check printed on my pass and my wife's but not my son's. The airline said it was random but since he was under 18 he would be able to wait in line with us. We went into the TSA pre check line and the agent sent him to the regular security line even though I had his TSA print out (if it does not print on the boarding pass you do not get to go through that line). Since we did not want to leave our son alone we all went into the regular line but my wife and I were allowed to keep our coat, shoes and belt on and no unpacking liquids. We hoped for better results on our way home but again the pre check printed on our boarding passes but not my son's. We went to the TSA pre check line again and they told us our son could not go through but allowed him to get into the regular line at that point (this saved an hour of time so I was grateful for that). My question is what is the benefit of TSA pre Check if one of your family members does not get the designation on their boarding pass?

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

I'm interested to hear what others say, too.
Have you checked into this further, OP? It seems awfully strange that your son was taken out of the Pre-Check line twice when you already paid and had all the paperwork in order. I'm sorry for all the inconvenience you went thru.

 

[OKW Lover]

We fly frequently and often get pre-check. However, the program is not intended to be a 100% guarantee that you will get it every time you fly. Even with Global Entry, there are times then one of us doesn't get pre-check. Its just a random thing, which is explained on the TSA's web site.

I've benefited greatly from having pre-check. Its not just the (significantly) shorter line but also saving the hassle of taking off shoes, emptying pockets, etc and then re-dressing on the other side.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

I see what you're saying OKWLover, but I wonder why OP's son was opted out; especially the first two times he flew with Pre-Check. I hope it was just the luck of the draw - although that seems mighty unlucky.

 

[OKW Lover]

Yeah, it does seem strange. Not sure what happened with Scott on that trip.

I know that when we first qualified for pre-check (as a Delta Gold Medallion flyer) it took a while before our info was loaded correctly in the system so that our names on our plane tickets matched the names on our official government ID. Its important when buying your tickets to be sure you buy the tickets in the same name (including middle initial) as shows on government ID. Also you need to be sure the airline has your DOB correct.

 

[OKW Lover]

And just in case this happens again for Scott, what Val & I do is if one of us doesn't get pre-check we send all the carryons with the one that does. That speeds up the one that gets stuck with the regular scan.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Great info - thanks!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

After hearing about this program I decided to apply for myself, my wife and my 17 year old son. We had a trip from Boston to Los Angeles and thought it would be great to minimize the security line process. Well the day before our flight I printed our boarding passes and none of them showed pre check. I called the airline and they reentered my numbers and had me check in again and that time pre check printed on my pass and my wife's but not my son's. The airline said it was random but since he was under 18 he would be able to wait in line with us. We went into the TSA pre check line and the agent sent him to the regular security line even though I had his TSA print out (if it does not print on the boarding pass you do not get to go through that line). Since we did not want to leave our son alone we all went into the regular line but my wife and I were allowed to keep our coat, shoes and belt on and no unpacking liquids. We hoped for better results on our way home but again the pre check printed on our boarding passes but not my son's. We went to the TSA pre check line again and they told us our son could not go through but allowed him to get into the regular line at that point (this saved an hour of time so I was grateful for that). My question is what is the benefit of TSA pre Check if one of your family members does not get the designation on their boarding pass?

You can take a child under 12 through the Pre Check line with you if they don't have Pre check, not a child under 18.

Have you entered your Trusted Traveler numbers into your airline accounts?

 

[DaretoDis]

I wouldn't think the airline made the decision who is on the Pre Check list without input from the TSA. If you interview and shell out around $80 you can buy yourself TSA Pre Check.

My wife and myself are both A-List on SWA, and she gets Pre Check all the time. I usually get it for one leg of our flight, but not the other. It just seems like a crapshoot.

 

[tjmw2727]

Interesting - I have pre check and status with SWA and US air and travel often. Until this summer when I booked travel with my kids I always get pre check along with my now dd 17 but my now 19yo dd never got it even when she travels on my itinerary. We just split up and I took the laptop and 3-1-1 bag with me.

Most recently neither my 17 or 19 year old got pre check with me in July or August so again we split up and I took the laptop and 3-1-1 bag. I must say that on both our outbound flights from Philly I wasn't that much quicker than they were and on the 2nd of the two Orlando flights (August) they were quicker than I was and on the other (July) they were 30 minutes longer than I was.

Flying again on Thursday US Air with just my 17yo so if anyone is interested I will report back on pre-check.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Yes please, tjmw2727 - would love to hear how it goes.
Safe & happy travels!

 

[DVC-Don]

We have PreCheck but it is not always available. The flights we had booked prior to being approved did not have the PreCheck noted on them. A call to the airline took care of that and just had to reprint the boarding pass. And, this past Friday we flew out of Albany, NY and the PreCheck line was shut down. Upon the ID check we were given a card to give the detector operator that stated we were Precheck and could leave our shoes on. We still had to take our laptops out though. Other than that it's worked fine.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

We have PreCheck but it is not always available. The flights we had booked prior to being approved did not have the PreCheck noted on them. A call to the airline took care of that and just had to reprint the boarding pass. And, this past Friday we flew out of Albany, NY and the PreCheck line was shut down. Upon the ID check we were given a card to give the detector operator that stated we were Precheck and could leave our shoes on. We still had to take our laptops out though. Other than that it's worked fine.

Do you mean you showed your normal ID (such as a driver's license or passport), or do you have a "pre-check ID"?
This will be my first time flying with Pre-check & I got my Trusted Traveler Number on-line; no ID from them specifically.
TIA

 

[aidtrismommy]

For the last two trips, both of my children (6&8) always got pre-check, but not me. I thought that was strange because I'm obviously not going to send them on their own. None of the four adults traveling, including myself got pre-check.

 

[DCALove]

You can take a child under 12 through the Pre Check line with you if they don't have Pre check, not a child under 18.

Have you entered your Trusted Traveler numbers into your airline accounts?

This is a common error. You can enter the KTN onto your traveler profile with the airline, but it will only be added to future flights. You usually need to call the airline if you've already booked and then receive PreCheck clearance.

Even then, you are not guaranteed PreCheck. Read this blog post from the TSA for a little more background on the likelihood of receiving PreCheck: blog. tsa. gov/2014/06/tsa-travel-tips-frequent-flyer-profile.html
(Sorry, I had to remove the link. Still rebuilding post count)

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Thanks for the info DCALove - and everyone else who's responded.

 

[DVC-Don]

Do you mean you showed your normal ID (such as a driver's license or passport), or do you have a "pre-check ID"?
This will be my first time flying with Pre-check & I got my Trusted Traveler Number on-line; no ID from them specifically.
TIA

If you have pre-check it will be printed on the upper left of your boarding pass.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

If you have pre-check it will be printed on the upper left of your boarding pass.

Thanks!

 

[bumbershoot]

DH has to add his trusted traveler number (global entry, in his case) for every individual alaska air flight he has. The number is in his account but it doesn't come through to the reservation. Of we check him in online without that step, he doesn't get the boarding pass with pre. If we go back and add it, the boarding pass that is regenerated has pre on it.

 

[travisx4]

We did not get TSA pre Check based on airline miles or buying into it like JetBlue offers. We actually each paid the $85.00 and went through the interview process. Once the number is issued it is good for 5 years. Since we booked through Alaska Air and actually flew Delta outbound and American Airlines inbound I called all 3 airlines prior to our trip to make sure they had our Known Traveler Number. It just makes it tough when one of you does not get the Pre Check printed on your boarding pass. For our outbound flight the security line was pretty small so the agent stamped our pass and we did not have to remove our shoes or belts through the regular security line. However on our outbound flight from LA the security line was well over an hour and there was no line at TSA pre Check. Because of a snafu with our American Air tickets we could not check in the night before and had to go to a ticket agent. That line ended up being 45 minutes and left us with 20 minutes to get on the plane. If we had to go through the regular security line we would not have made the flight. Going forward it would be better if we all received pre check or non of us receive pre check. Fly out again in October but this time it will just be my wife and I, hopefully we both get pre check.
Thanks for all of the responses, just wanted to let folks know that paying for pre check does not necessarily mean you will get pre check.