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Anyone on the same itenerary as a person with TSA Precheck also gets Precheck
- java-man 8y agoa back door into security theater!
- koolba 8y agoThis really should work the other way around.
- craftyguy 8y agoAnyone on the same itinerary as a person without TSA precheck does not get TSA precheck? I think that already happens today..
- KentGeek 8y agoCould somebody please kill this story before the wrong bureaucrat realizes this is happening and I lose my precheck status when I fly with my wife? Snitches get stitches.
- elyrly 8y agoomerta
- HEHENE 8y agoI have a friend who is ineligible for PreCheck due to prior criminal history, and he has had the same thing happen to him. His wife got PreCheck and suddenly every time he flew with her he got it also. Having known him and his family for years, he's not a security risk at all but it still seems like that probably shouldn't happen. Especially if the individual is already disqualified for PreCheck.
- mchristen 8y agoI guess the mistake here is thinking that PreCheck provides any kind of additional security. Best I can tell it's a way to bribe the TSA to remove some of the inconvenience of going through their security checkpoints.
- PhasmaFelis 8y agoIIRC, specifically because wealthy people are much more likely to kick up a scandal when mistreated, because they've learned to expect better. This lets them weed out most of the complainers without actually having to improve their policies.
- crazybLanKeT 8y agotrue. happened to me few days ago on an int'l flight.
- wbronitsky 8y agoTSA screenings don't protect anyone from anything[0]; they are pure security theater and a great way to control the flow of people around the USA. TSA PreCheck is simply a revenue stream for the TSA. [0] https://abcnews.go.com/US/tsa-fails-tests-latest-undercover-operation-us-airports/story?id=51022188 https://abcnews.go.com/US/tsa-fails-tests-latest-undercover-...
- selectodude 8y agoI'm not sure that's a secret to anybody, but it's worth $20/yr for me to be treated like a normal human. It's absolute extortion and it's reprehensible but I fly too much to take a stand.
- PhasmaFelis 8y agoI figured it was a PR thing. After a bunch of abuse/mistreatment scandals, the TSA noticed that willingness to complain about poor treatment was strongly correlated with wealth. Paid pre-check lets them easily weed out the people who would actually make a fuss, while continuing to abuse the people who they know will just sigh and keep their heads down.
- perseusprime11 8y agoI heard Indian temples have fast lanes to see gods. This is a similar system to create a fastlane. If you pay $99, you don’t have to take your shoes off.
- rplst8 8y agoSecurity theater, my friends...
- koenigdavidmj 8y agoDoesn’t work all the time. I have it, but my wife doesn’t; we were both denied precheck on one pair of flights. Maybe this is how they incentivize us to get it for her too. EDIT: typo
- rorosaurus 8y agoI had an agent once tell me that "you only get pre 80% of the time". So I just paid for a chance at precheck?
- ubernostrum 8y agoIn quite a few years of having it, I've never "missed" on Pre except when flying a non-participating overseas airline from a US origin.
- InTheArena 8y agoPreCheck can be given two separate ways - one is via the the public program (what you do when you enroll) the other is via the airline basically saying "yeah, this person is frequent enough that we don't think they are a problem" or they are traveling with someone who doesn't trip any of our flags. There is a cost that the airline takes (I've never heard exactly what it is) for each person they refer to the TSA as pre-cleared, which I assume means there is a separate lookup against TSA lists, etc. It's at the discretion of the carrier. United does it all the time, Delta somewhat, and Southwest almost never in my experience. So: a) Airlines can suggest pre-clearing you. b) There is some sort of match that the TSA also does. c) But just spend the money and get the full list. Almost all security is doctrine and kabuki theater. 9/11's big problem wasn't security screening, it was that the doctrine of hijackings at that point was that the threat was hostages and negotiation, and therefore the best thing to do was to comply with hijacker demands.
- madengr 8y agoThe third way is automatic enrollment via certain security clearances.
- InTheArena 8y agoYep. Not as cloak and dagger is just getting Global Entry, which also covers TSA: Pre. Even better is that some European countries reciprocate, and you can use expedited lanes going through customs.
- btgeekboy 8y agoNexus is even better: $50 gets you all 3 programs for 5 years.
- wenc 8y agoYes! Nexus is the magical trusted traveler program that few people know about because all the enrollment centers are only found at Canadians airports and land crossings near the Canadian border. Only U.S./Canadian citizens + permanent residents qualify however. It is so much better than Global Entry and TSA Precheck in that you get both of those AND Nexus (which even works like Precheck for domestic Canadian flights!) for $10/year.
- mark212 8y agohasn't worked for me on the last several trips on Southwest. (I'm PreCheck, my wife isn't; same itinerary.)
- stevecalifornia 8y agoYes, I have seen this not work on Alaska as well. Def works on United though.
- prplpopcorn 8y agodefinitely has not worked for me in the past, either. I think I was on Alaska at the time.
- kurthr 8y agoYes. Agreed! It is definitely airline dependent in my SWA experience as well.
- thex10 8y agoWorked for me on Delta.
- lsiebert 8y agoOf course the number of terrorists trying to do something on domestic flights is vanishingly small. there were 631 million people flying in 2010, for example (I did a quick google, I'm sure there are more up to date numbers somewhere). There were 6 terrorist incidents in the US, per wikipedia. Of those 1 involved a plane, which wasn't a passenger jet. Now, maybe all the security theater is keeping terrorists from trying to do something, but given the fact that terrorists are blowing up markets and other buildings in iraq and nothing would really prevent that, I'd say the number of terrorists in the US is just incredibly small. But yeah, it's amazing that the US government can treat everyone as a suspicious individual, get them to pay to not be as big of a suspect, given how little terrorism there actually is. We spend billons of dollars on terrorism that could probably save a lot more lives applied to things like safer cars or reducing medical mistakes.
- counterplex 8y agoAll Pre tells me is that everyone else is going through more "security" than even the TSA deems necessary for absolutely no reason. I refuse to enroll in it mainly because of that.
- arenaninja 8y agoTSA precheck is one of those things I should use my credit card to be reimbursed on. I fly sporadically, mostly within the continental US, and once had a very uncomfortable search by a TSA agent. A guy put on gloves, fondled my balls, my butt cheeks, hell he put his hands inside my pants and went to town (luckily no finger in my butt, I don't think I would have handled that well). I stayed pissed at this molestation for weeks afterwards, and I would be surprised if the government hasn't exempted itself from lawsuits and lawmakers from this shitstain process. I'm a naturalized citizen, I vote for anyone who even hints at reigning in the TSA, DHS, ICE, etc. Please do the same.
- Scoping_dindus 8y agoI think about this sort of thing every time I get on a greyhound. I only ever need to go to Chicago and Boston from NYC, so I guess I'm lucky. The TSA is despicable. I've been random searched on a few greyhound rides but nobody has ever put their hand on me. They just go through a bag or put it through a machine or the dog will sniff it or whatever. I'm a happy greyhounder tbh.
- Karishma1234 8y agoThe only gov system that sucks more than TSA is Immigration system. Imagine what TSA would do if there were no voting right to Americans. TSA is so despicable that I would rather drive 7 hours to Vegas than catch a $99 flight.
- ChristianGeek 8y ago“Reigning in” means something completely different than what you intended! (“Reining in” is what you wanted.)
- arenaninja 8y agoThanks, much appreciated! English is not my first language but after some time complacency has definitely settled in and this one is so subtle I never would've known!
- tehlike 8y ago
- pmorici 8y agoThe problem with pre-check and things like it is that it exempts those who would otherwise complain the loudest and have the political clout to get the system changed ie: politicians, frequent business travelers etc...
- brewdad 8y agoIs this a recent change? Last summer my teenage son was given Precheck randomly. My wife and I did not and had to go through the regular line. We gave him all of our electronics and all three of us sailed through security even though two of us had to go through the standard line.
- mabbo 8y agoTSA precheck is not about security- it's about allowing the privileged, wealthy, etc to not have to wait in line with everyone else. It's one of many "pay for access" systems growing around us today. $20 per ride toll lanes on the highways. "Express pass" at the amusement park. Global Entry at US Customs. They're all just more ways of saying that the rich don't need to wait around with the plebians.
- dionidium 8y agoAll congested systems ration access. Price is a pretty straightforward way to handle rationing. It's not very interesting or novel to notice that a lot of systems ration this way.
- untog 8y agoIt's different when these things are provided by the government, though.
- freeone3000 8y agoIt's a bit weird when governments do it, though, especially for matters of "security" (or in the case of Global Entry, actual security!) There's a bit of a difference between waiting in line at Walt Disney World and having to go through customs.
- jessedhillon 8y agoThere's nothing new or sinister about price discrimination. What is suspect, however, is that the source of the delays and inconvenience in the airline security regime are introduced and controlled by the same actor who sells the upgraded access -- and they have a conceivably unlimited mandate to make the unprivileged experience bad, in the name of security.
- corey_moncure 8y agoAlso known as a racket.
- 8y ago
- dboreham 8y agofwiw I travel frequently and have observed the exact opposite : one or more pax on the same locator as me have "Pre" status on their boarding pass. TSA staff make me go separate from them, through the regular line.
- beagle3 8y agoIs there a comprehensive list of the programs (Tsa pre, global entry, nexus, whatever) with the list of costs, perks, and eligibility? Even a part of this information?
- Regardsyjc 8y agoIf anyone has an American Express platinum credit card, Amex will reimburse you for Global Entry or TSA Precheck. You get Precheck automatically with Global Entry so I'd recommend opting for Global Entry. It also lasts for a few years. The Amex Plat has a pretty hefty annual fee but comes with a bunch of perks like an annual $200 airline credit, access to airport lounges, and more. Totally worth opening for the points and perks and then downgrading imo.
- lern_too_spel 8y agoIt makes sense if you think the person who has undergone the background check vouches for the others on their itinerary.