5 ms·

So for PreCheck, as far as I can tell all they do is scan your id, and compare the name to the name on your boarding pass, and your face to the face on your id,

So for PreCheck, as far as I can tell all they do is scan your id, and compare the name to the name on your boarding pass, and your face to the face on your id, and you just put your bags (and coats sometimes) on the conveyor belt. So it sounds like this "incredibly expensive" machine is just going to scan your id, face and boarding pass and match them up?

fastaguy88 3y ago
There seems to be some confusion about precheck. Most people get precheck by doing “global entry”, which dramatically shortens the time required for US citizens to re-enter the US. Pre-check is a side benefit of global entry. Global entry pre-dates precheck.
- wrs 3y ago
  You can get PreCheck separately. I got PreCheck and Global Entry as a side benefit of Nexus. Which, btw, is the cheapest way to get them all.
  - kevinsundar 3y ago
    You have to travel to the the northern border to get Nexus right? I got (Global Entry, Sentri, Precheck) since I live near the southern border.
    - bobthepanda 3y ago
      Right, you need a place that has Canadian border agents as well. Seatac airport used to have this, but I think that was stopped during COVID and never restarted.
      - jedberg 3y ago
        Seatac never had it. You actually had to go to Boeing field. That's where I got mine.
    - ashconnor 3y ago
      Correct. The interview locations are all along the northern border. Nexus also allows you to use Sentri lanes when crossing the Mexican border.
  - wrs 3y ago
    By the way, I forgot another side benefit of Nexus (and Sentri, I think): your Nexus card qualifies as a Real ID, so no need to upgrade your state ID when that requirement comes into effect for air travel.
- CubsFan1060 3y ago
  Out of curiosity do you have stats on that? Until recently 100% of the people I knew with precheck don’t have global entry. Right now global entry interviews can be over a year out.
  - acmiyaguchi 3y ago
    Getting an interview for global entry is actually pretty easy, you can just do it on the return leg of international travel with no appointment needed.
    - hiatus 3y ago
      Can you elaborate on this process?
      - easton 3y ago
        https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry/enrollment-arrival https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-... When you enter customs upon re-entry to the US there's a sign for a place where they'll do your interview real quick before letting you go. The downside (IIRC) is that you don't get your number for precheck either until you do this, so if you only do international travel 1-2 times per year you might want to find an interview time.
    - bhpm 3y ago
      When I’m on my way back from an international location the last thing I want to do is sit in a TSA office and answer questions about my identity. But, then again, I lucked out - TSA came to my work and did interviews there. Kind of weird but it got me in with little hassle.
      - Anechoic 3y ago
        When I’m on my way back from an international location the last thing I want to do is sit in a TSA office and answer questions about my identit Well you're in luck - it's not TSA that interviews you, it's CPB!
- jghn 3y ago
  "Most people get precheck by doing “global entry”" Citation needed. At least in my anecdotal experience, very few people I know have Global Entry while very many people I know have Precheck
- scarface_74 3y ago
  This is definitely not true. Most people do pre-check and not global entry. Most people care about traveling domestically much more than internationally and the process is longer for approval
- abeyer 3y ago
  As others have pointed out, that's not really all that much more common. Another reason for it is I believe that Global Entry and Nexus both still have a blanket "no criminal convictions of any kind at any time" requirement... which rules out something like 25-30% of the US population. Precheck also has a criminal background check but it isn't immediately disqualifying in all cases.
  - aix1 3y ago
    Wait, you're saying that 25-30% of the US population have a criminal conviction? That seems extremely high, no?
    - abeyer 3y ago
      Yeah, I think that was a general estimate I found some supporting research for a few years back when I looked into it a bit, and I've seen similar quoted elsewhere. It's not easy to come up with an accurate number at all due to all the different state systems not being perfectly comparable, treating different things in different ways, and duplicating individuals who have convictions in more than one state. Even attempts to link them together have been incomplete and inaccurate. I'm not particularly surprised at that level, though... it's going to include _lots_ of low-level things that are technically classified criminal even though they're often just a ticket: kids caught with beer at a party, speeding in areas that have a "20 over the limit" rule that automatically upgrades to a higher offense, failure to pay tickets that gets escalated to a court, etc...
      - fastaguy88 3y ago
        https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0049089X21001265#:~:text=(2017)%20show%20that%20while%20the,et%20al.%2C%202017 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00490...) suggest that in 2017, 8% of the US adult population had a felony conviction, 24% of Black adults, and 33% of Black males. But for TSA Pre/Global entry, the relevant number is the number of fliers, where I suspect the felony rates are lower.
helmsb 3y ago
You still have to go through security with PreCheck. It's usually faster and requires fewer steps that non-PreCheck passengers have to go through. I used to fly up the East Coast and back every other week and I couldn't imagine doing it without it. Seeing the 1-hour standard line and instead making it through PreCheck in less than 5 minutes. I would totally use a self-service system. When people get PreCheck the normal reaction is "That was easy, why doesn't everyone do that?" I joke that the real "test" when you sign up for PreCheck is can you successfully book the appointment and show up?
- ojbyrne 3y ago
  I do PreCheck as well. Perhaps I could have phrased my comment better. Currently the only non-automated/non-self service part of it is the person checking your id and boarding pass.
crooked-v 3y ago
PreCheck is basically just pre-9/11 security with a metal detector and not having to do all the nonsense like removing electronics from bags and taking your shoes off. It sounds like the goal here is to replicate that in an automatic way (though I'll bet there's actually a remote office somewhere doing all the bag screening).

fastaguy88 3y ago

There seems to be some confusion about precheck. Most people get precheck by doing “global entry”, which dramatically shortens the time required for US citizens to re-enter the US. Pre-check is a side benefit of global entry. Global entry pre-dates precheck.

wrs 3y ago
You can get PreCheck separately. I got PreCheck and Global Entry as a side benefit of Nexus. Which, btw, is the cheapest way to get them all.
- kevinsundar 3y ago
  You have to travel to the the northern border to get Nexus right? I got (Global Entry, Sentri, Precheck) since I live near the southern border.
  - bobthepanda 3y ago
    Right, you need a place that has Canadian border agents as well. Seatac airport used to have this, but I think that was stopped during COVID and never restarted.
    - jedberg 3y ago
      Seatac never had it. You actually had to go to Boeing field. That's where I got mine.
  - ashconnor 3y ago
    Correct. The interview locations are all along the northern border. Nexus also allows you to use Sentri lanes when crossing the Mexican border.
- wrs 3y ago
  By the way, I forgot another side benefit of Nexus (and Sentri, I think): your Nexus card qualifies as a Real ID, so no need to upgrade your state ID when that requirement comes into effect for air travel.
CubsFan1060 3y ago
Out of curiosity do you have stats on that? Until recently 100% of the people I knew with precheck don’t have global entry. Right now global entry interviews can be over a year out.
- acmiyaguchi 3y ago
  Getting an interview for global entry is actually pretty easy, you can just do it on the return leg of international travel with no appointment needed.
  - hiatus 3y ago
    Can you elaborate on this process?
    - easton 3y ago
      https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry/enrollment-arrival https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-... When you enter customs upon re-entry to the US there's a sign for a place where they'll do your interview real quick before letting you go. The downside (IIRC) is that you don't get your number for precheck either until you do this, so if you only do international travel 1-2 times per year you might want to find an interview time.
  - bhpm 3y ago
    When I’m on my way back from an international location the last thing I want to do is sit in a TSA office and answer questions about my identity. But, then again, I lucked out - TSA came to my work and did interviews there. Kind of weird but it got me in with little hassle.
    - Anechoic 3y ago
      When I’m on my way back from an international location the last thing I want to do is sit in a TSA office and answer questions about my identit Well you're in luck - it's not TSA that interviews you, it's CPB!
jghn 3y ago
"Most people get precheck by doing “global entry”" Citation needed. At least in my anecdotal experience, very few people I know have Global Entry while very many people I know have Precheck
scarface_74 3y ago
This is definitely not true. Most people do pre-check and not global entry. Most people care about traveling domestically much more than internationally and the process is longer for approval
abeyer 3y ago
As others have pointed out, that's not really all that much more common. Another reason for it is I believe that Global Entry and Nexus both still have a blanket "no criminal convictions of any kind at any time" requirement... which rules out something like 25-30% of the US population. Precheck also has a criminal background check but it isn't immediately disqualifying in all cases.
- aix1 3y ago
  Wait, you're saying that 25-30% of the US population have a criminal conviction? That seems extremely high, no?
  - abeyer 3y ago
    Yeah, I think that was a general estimate I found some supporting research for a few years back when I looked into it a bit, and I've seen similar quoted elsewhere. It's not easy to come up with an accurate number at all due to all the different state systems not being perfectly comparable, treating different things in different ways, and duplicating individuals who have convictions in more than one state. Even attempts to link them together have been incomplete and inaccurate. I'm not particularly surprised at that level, though... it's going to include _lots_ of low-level things that are technically classified criminal even though they're often just a ticket: kids caught with beer at a party, speeding in areas that have a "20 over the limit" rule that automatically upgrades to a higher offense, failure to pay tickets that gets escalated to a court, etc...
    - fastaguy88 3y ago
      https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0049089X21001265#:~:text=(2017)%20show%20that%20while%20the,et%20al.%2C%202017 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00490...) suggest that in 2017, 8% of the US adult population had a felony conviction, 24% of Black adults, and 33% of Black males. But for TSA Pre/Global entry, the relevant number is the number of fliers, where I suspect the felony rates are lower.

helmsb 3y ago

You still have to go through security with PreCheck. It's usually faster and requires fewer steps that non-PreCheck passengers have to go through. I used to fly up the East Coast and back every other week and I couldn't imagine doing it without it. Seeing the 1-hour standard line and instead making it through PreCheck in less than 5 minutes. I would totally use a self-service system. When people get PreCheck the normal reaction is "That was easy, why doesn't everyone do that?" I joke that the real "test" when you sign up for PreCheck is can you successfully book the appointment and show up?

ojbyrne 3y ago
I do PreCheck as well. Perhaps I could have phrased my comment better. Currently the only non-automated/non-self service part of it is the person checking your id and boarding pass.

crooked-v 3y ago

PreCheck is basically just pre-9/11 security with a metal detector and not having to do all the nonsense like removing electronics from bags and taking your shoes off. It sounds like the goal here is to replicate that in an automatic way (though I'll bet there's actually a remote office somewhere doing all the bag screening).