Prescreened American travelers get access to a dedicated TSA PreCheck lane, available at more than 200 U.S. airports and make up about 34 percent of all screened travelers at TSA checkpoints. “It might not be at a really, really small regional airport, but I can’t think of an airport where I haven’t seen it,” says Sally French, a frequent traveler and travel spokesperson at NerdWallet. A TSA spokesperson says that approximately 280 million passengers are screened through TSA PreCheck lanes annually.
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The program application includes an in-person appointment involving fingerprinting, document verification, a photo and payment. Initial enrollment costs between $77 and $85, depending on the enrollment provider, which covers five years of TSA PreCheck. Global Entry includes PreCheck, plus expedited customs processing, for $120 and a more in-depth application process.Uniformed service members get free TSA PreCheck with their U.S. Department of Defense ID number, with no enrollment necessary as do Gold Star family members who’ve lost loved ones in military service. DHS also recently rolled out a buy one TSA PreCheck, get one for $15 for families.
Benefits of TSA PreCheck
Now that shoe removal is no longer a perk, here are the remaining key benefits:
- Decreased wait time. The PreCheck line is typically shorter than the main security line — in some cases, vastly so. According to TSA, 98 percent of PreCheck travelers wait 10 minutes or less, as opposed to 30 minutes or less, on average, in the regular line.
- Clothing items can stay on. This includes light jackets and belts.
- Items stay in your bag. There is no need to pull out and separately scan electronics or your clear quart-size container of liquids. However, those liquids still need to be 3.4 ounces or less.
- Access to new screening innovations. TSA often introduces them via PreCheck. A recent example: The touchless ID lanes that use facial recognition for faster ID verification is available in 10 locations and growing.All this comes with the TSA caveat that expedited screening is not guaranteed.
How much longer will these benefits be exclusive to TSA PreCheck?
It’s hard to say. At the news conference announcing the change in shoe policy, Noem said changes could happen within six to nine months.“I think it was time to evaluate the shoes-off policy,” says Jeffrey C. Price, aviation and aerospace science professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver. “Modern passenger screening technology, such as magnetometers and millimeter wave imaging devices — the big body imagers that look like phone booths or Dr. Who’s the Tardis — can detect prohibited items at the floor level.”
But liquids are a different story. The technology is available, in the form of computed tomography (CT), “basically medical-grade CAT scans,” Price says, and the TSA spokesperson says that they’re currently deployed at 281 of the nation’s 435 federalized airports. Travelers in these airports already benefit from not having to remove liquids and electronics from bags, even in the regular screening line.
Price estimates it would take five to 10 years to deploy them in all commercial service airports. “I can’t agree with removing that level of security just yet,” he says, in regards to liquids. No longer removing electronics from bags, however, is a change he would be comfortable with, since the current X-ray technology is better at seeing electronics than they are liquids.
Melanie Fish, Expedia travel expert, calls the end of the shoes-off policy a great first step in streamlining airport security. “But it doesn’t solve everything,” she says. “Staffing shortages and outdated equipment still create bottlenecks beyond the security line.”
Is TSA PreCheck still worth it?
It depends on your situation. TSA PreCheck may be worth it if:
- You travel by air regularly. Fish thinks even one trip a year makes it worth it. “TSA PreCheck is good for five years, so [it] works out to be well under $20 per trip,” she says.
- You struggle with long periods of standing.
- The unpredictability of potentially long lines causes undue stress, anxiety or is simply too annoying. Though if lines are your main issue, you may want to consider Clear, a biometric identity service that basically acts as a front-of-the-line pass, Price says. At $209, the application is more costly than PreCheck, but it’s also available at many large airports and is practically instantaneous. Price also notes that the line reduction may not be as significant for travelers with implants that set off the metal detectors; they’ll still need to go through a body imaging device.
- Forgetfulness is an issue. “The odds that you take something out [of your bag] are also odds that you’re going to lose it,” French says.
- You can get reimbursed for the cost of the application. “Many travel credit cards offer to cover Global Entry or TSA PreCheck as a benefit for holding the card,” French says — some with no annual fee. “If your credit card covers it, you might as well apply.” The TSA spokesperson says not enough time has elapsed since the shoes-off policy was changed to assess its impact on PreCheck enrollment, but so far it seems to be holding somewhat steady, dipping about 5,000 below its average monthly enrollment of 255,000 in July. “In looking at the three weeks preceding the announcement and the three weeks following, there’s no significant difference in daily enrollment numbers – about a 1 percent decrease,” the spokesperson says, adding that the renewal rate over the life of the program remains nearly 80 percent.
For the record: Fish, French and Price say they will maintain their PreCheck status.
“I still think people will benefit from PreCheck,” Price says. “I know I will.”