TSA Pre-check +?

[blume357]

Goodly number of years ago my wife and I got the TSA pre-check thing and have Known Flyer numbers... even though we have no plans to fly anywhere we are due to renew. Been getting emails for the last couple of months about this an I finally this past week fought my way over the internet and applied for renewal... It seems there are several different non government places that do this and I just clicked on the first one on the TSA page called clear and like I said fought my way through with both of us. Now this 'Clear' place keeps sending me emails wanting me/us to sign up with them and this will allow us to get though the airport and such even easier... of course this cost a couple hundred more dollars....
Seems like one of those 'legal' scams to me... and like a lot of things, the richer you are the more you can get by with .....

I've flown more than my wife in the last couple. of years and other then the pre-check line being shorter the actually security check is still a chore... I very seldom can make it through the basic metal detector even with my shoes & belt off and pockets emptied.... and when the micro-wave me I have all kinds of red spots on the scan and they have to pat me down... of course it could be just be cause I'm so good looking and such.

One of the interesting things about this is back when we first applied my wife got her card about a week later . mine took about a month or more.
Got a text the day after I did this... with no name addressed to it saying "Your Pre-check renewal has been approved." So I don't know which one of us it is but am pretty sure it is her... the funny thing is I can't even go on line and find it out... The TSA now says I have to go to the 'Clear' sight and when I go there all they want is for me/us is to join for about $300. Bureaucracy

 

[XUSNORDIE]

The CLEAR line is separate from the others/TSA. It is a private security entity. Once you verify yourself via the CLEAR kiosk scan, you are escorted to the head of line at security.

 

[Dan in MI]

I flew a lot before I retired. Other than Denver (Denver always has a huge line) I never saw a big advantage to pre-check. I can see it if you have some sort of disability and standing is an issue, but personally I wouldn't spend the money.

 

[Kevin]

My wife travels a lot. She has all of this. The Passport Customs here in the US also has a thing. She was just telling me about it.

When the plane lands, you open the Customs app on your phone and take a selfie.

That’s it, you get off the plane and you don’t have to talk to anyone. It’s part of the Global Entry.

I travel with her occasionally and have all of this also. It is nice traveling and not waiting in lines.

England has facial recognition at the border also. You take 15 seconds to scan your passport and walk out of the airport. Again you don’t talk to anyone. It’s pretty nice.

Buy a lot of it you don’t pay for. TSA pre check is free with Global Entry. So both are $120 for 5 years. If you travel a lot, $24 a year is worth it.

And there are ways to get Clear free as well.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

I flew a lot before I retired. Other than Denver (Denver always has a huge line) I never saw a big advantage to pre-check. I can see it if you have some sort of disability and standing is an issue, but personally I wouldn't spend the money.

For some it's included in travel expenses by corporate or reimbursable when submitting expenses. I don't miss submitting mine and especially don't miss reviewing my teams expenses.

 

[Dan in MI]

Yeah, Ford wasn’t that nice.

 

[Jeepnik]

I flew enough while working. I have no intention of flying again, unless it's private. By the way do any of you realize just how easy it is to steal a good sized private jet, and just how much damage one could do with one if they wanted? Imagine if you decided to steal a small single engine piston aircraft and decided to crash it into an airliner. Or a hospital, or a concert venue. And I won't even get into industrial targets.

 

[blume357]

Jeepnik... don't be surprised if they come calling.. you just let the cat out of the bag...
I fully expected to get a knock on the door after the famous shoe bombing episode when I post that exploding underwear was next... most folks on the internet thought I was joking .....

 

[Mobuck]

I have a fairly simple approach: if I can't drive to a place, I simply don't go there.

 

[thinckley]

My entire family has pre-check, I certainly travel the most because of work, but we always take one or two flying vacations a year. Even though the fly-aways are almost entirely international, we have not bothered with Global Entry. I've never had lines coming into the US.

Recently we took another vacation to the Dominican Republic (3rd since April of last year). 4 or 5 planes landed about the same time we did and the entry lines were insane. I grabbed one of the grey shirted "VIP Attendants" and asked if he could get us through. He grabbed all of our luggage and escorted me, my wife, my son and his two friends past customs and all the way to our transportation desk. Tipped $20 and it was the best $20 I have ever spent. DR also offers "VIP" exit, it's $30 per person, but private security line, no waiting.

 

[Jakeintexas]

Jeepnik... don't be surprised if they come calling.. you just let the cat out of the bag...
I fully expected to get a knock on the door after the famous shoe bombing episode when I post that exploding underwear was next... most folks on the internet thought I was joking .....

No one is going to call. I’ve had the backyard reactor powering the house and creating plutonium for years.

 

[blume357]

Somebody in the last day told me about a system and ap on your phone ... when you land you take a picture of yourself in the ap and it allows you to bypass customs...
Next time I fly and use the pre-check line I think I'll just go ahead and walk over to the microwave closet and tell them they need to zap me. I'm sure this hunk of steel they put in my leg is going to set things off. I know what I'm going to do... go visit some office at our new county building... see what the high end detector there does.... what I'm going to wonder is if it is sophisticated enough to show it is a steel rod or just that there is some metal object near my ankle....