Courtney FossTo me, it’s not even a question of if getting TSA PreCheck® is worth it. I would say it absolutely is. I’ve never used it and thought to myself that I wish I hadn’t gotten it.
Some questions you should ask yourself if you’re thinking about getting TSA PreCheck® :
- Am I a frequent flyer?
- Am I someone who would rather not spend much time at the airport? (I know some people love to get there like 2 hours before their flight…that is definitely NOT me! I like to get there with just enough time to get through security, fill up my water bottle, and then walk onto the plane) .
- Is convenience worth a little extra cash to me?
If you said yes to any of those questions, I would probably consider grabbing TSA PreCheck® before your next trip.
Cost
TSA PreCheck® : $85 for 5 years…This comes out to about $17 a year.
Global Entry: $100 for 5 years (This includes TSA PreCheck® plus expedited U.S. customs for international travelers when coming into the country.)
Applying
- Apply online through the TSA PreCheck® site (tsa.gov/precheck) – the application takes literally 3-5 minutes.
- Find the center that is most convenient for you to enroll in person. You make an appointment, check-in, and get fingerprinted for your background check.
- If everything checks out, they will then send you your information with your new Known Traveler Number (KTN) and you’re good to go! Keep in mind this could take up to 3 weeks for verification.
- If you have trips booked already, just make sure you call and add your KTN to your existing reservation. If you have personal accounts with any airline, you can go in and manually add that to your account so that moving forward, it’s automatically linked to your flights and boarding passes.
I’ll be honest – I hate to go out and run errands most of the time, so I put this off for a while. All because I didn’t want to drive over and spend 20 minutes for the in-person portion of registering. I always thought “oh I’ll do this next time I fly since I’ll already be at the airport!” But… I’m that person that always takes the 5 a.m. flight so the office there was never open (it’s a usual 9a-5p situation at most airports). Then I would forget about my next trip and be mad I hadn’t registered yet.
Why should I get TSA PreCheck® ?
At the Airport:
There is always a separate TSA PreCheck® lane at security once you have checked your bags. You just go through that (still need your ID and ticket) and it takes minimal time.
For me, skipping the larger security line isn’t even the biggest benefit. Yes, that’s nice, but to me it is so much better to not have to go through the ritual of everything else that going through security entails.
- You don’t have to remove your shoes or jackets.
- You don’t have to take your computer, food or liquids out of your bag.
- The people in this line are frequent travelers, so their knowledge of the process alone makes things go faster. Often in other lines before I had PreCheck®, people would have to be reminded about liquids, to take off their jacket, remove their phones from pockets, etc….and it makes the line SO much slower. In the PreCheck® line, these folks know what they are doing and have their routine down, just like you most likely do.
I hate having to unload my bags because I have usually meticulously packed them so that everything has a place and is most efficiently stored. I’ve had the occasional thing set off the detector and need further investigation, but 99% of the time, everything is good to go.
I got TSA PreCheck® because of the Orlando International Airport and the Denver International Airport. If you have been to either, you know that the lines at the security checkpoints can be extremely long. Plus, both of these have trams that you have to take over to your terminal, so there are more factors at play in getting to your gate on time. These are probably my two most visited airports, so I thought it was well worth the investment. And now it’s just a bonus whenever I’m in any other airport. This is available at over 200 airports, so you’ve got a good chance you’ll almost always be able to use it.
I hope this year brings much more flying again after the lull of last year.
Happy traveling!
Courtney
