Passport cards and TSA: 2014 update?

Old Jun 19, 2014, 6:07 pm
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Passport cards and TSA: 2014 update?

When the passport card first came out, there were many posts here about TSA not accepting it as ID.

Is this still an issue in 2014? Or has the TSA rank-and-file largely gotten the memo by now?
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Old Jun 19, 2014, 6:46 pm
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With TSA there is no way to be absolutely certain but it's much much better these days. They now recognize my Global Entry card though they did not when the program began. Passport Cards are becoming more common so if you fly threw the larger airports you shouldn't have a problem.
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Old Jun 20, 2014, 4:15 am
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Originally Posted by passportcard
When the passport card first came out, there were many posts here about TSA not accepting it as ID.

Is this still an issue in 2014? Or has the TSA rank-and-file largely gotten the memo by now?
I have had no problems with my passport card being accepted by TSA in 2014, and have been using it frequently.
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Old Jun 20, 2014, 9:32 pm
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Passport cards and TSA: 2014 update?

Used mine in DTW and BNA last week with no issue. The TDC in BNA did have a minor meltdown over my giant barcode WN email boarding pass, but after a minute of running finding a supervisor he was properly schooled.
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Old Jun 21, 2014, 10:50 am
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That shouldn't be an issue. If it is, please let me know.

The only issue we see constantly is that travelers enrolled in Global Entry/NEXUS/SENTRI think by showing their card, they can gain access to TSA Pre✓ lanes. That is not the case.

The cards are only for entry into the U.S. via land border crossings only. You can't even use them at Global Entry arrival kiosk when arriving via air into the U.S.
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Old Jun 22, 2014, 7:39 am
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Originally Posted by passportcard
When the passport card first came out, there were many posts here about TSA not accepting it as ID.

Is this still an issue in 2014? Or has the TSA rank-and-file largely gotten the memo by now?
Last time I used mine was Dec 2013 at BWI and MCO. The TDCs didn't even bat an eye at it, as if they saw them all the time and knew immediately that they are acceptable ID.

Originally Posted by TSAPressSec
That shouldn't be an issue. If it is, please let me know.

The only issue we see constantly is that travelers enrolled in Global Entry/NEXUS/SENTRI think by showing their card, they can gain access to TSA Pre✓™ lanes. That is not the case.

The cards are only for entry into the U.S. via land border crossings only. You can't even use them at Global Entry arrival kiosk when arriving via air into the U.S.
Dude, if you really are a TSA Press Secretary, perhaps you should learn to be more precise and clear in your written communication.

"That shouldn't be an issue. If it is, please let me know." This statement can easily be construed as meaning "Those cards are not valid. This should not be an issue." OR it could be construed as "These cards are valid. This should not be an issue."

By coupling it with your next sentence, "The cards are only for entry into the U.S. via land border crossings only. You can't even use them at Global Entry arrival kiosk when arriving via air into the U.S." you are now reinforcing the former meaning, that the cards are not valid as ID for domestic travel. Which is completely false, as they ARE acceptable ID for domestic travel.

To clarify (which you should have done yourself, from the beginning):

A US Passport Card is a photo ID issued by the United States Department of State, an official agency of the US federal government. When traveling internationally, it may only be used for land crossings into and out of the US. However, since it is a valid federally-issued photo ID, it is also acceptable as ID for domestic air travel anywhere inside US borders.

The TSA's official list of acceptabl IDs lists the passport card as item #2 on the list, before even the most commonly used ID, a state-issued driver's license, which is item #8 on the list:

Originally Posted by TSA on their own damn web site

Acceptable IDs for screening purposes include:
  • U.S. passport
  • U.S. passport card
  • DHS "Trusted Traveler" cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
  • U.S. Military ID (active duty or retired military and their dependents, and DOD civilians)
  • Permanent Resident Card
  • Border Crossing Card
  • DHS-designated enhanced driver's license
  • U.S. driver's licenses or other state photo identity cards issued by Department of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent) for the sole purpose of identification.
  • Native American Tribal Photo ID
  • HSPD-12 PIV Card
  • An airline or airport-issued ID (if issued under a TSA-approved security plan)
  • Foreign government-issued passport
  • Canadian provincial driver's license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) card
  • Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)
  • Non-US/Canadian citizens are not required to carry their passports if they have documents issued by the U.S. government such as Permanent Resident Cards. Those who do not should be carrying their passports while visiting the U.S.
In plainer language, Mr./Ms. TSA Press Secretary, please use use plainer language and actually explain stuff when you're trying to explain stuff, instead of just spouting ambiguous NewSpeak platitudes that can have multiple meanings in a poor attempt to improve your agency's extreme unpopularity with the American public. It is exactly the vaguarity you just evinced that makes so many people dislike and distrust TSA in the first place.

Last edited by WillCAD; Jun 24, 2014 at 5:17 am
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Old Jun 22, 2014, 11:14 am
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You are correct, and I do apologize. I should have done a better job explaining the use of these cards for ID purposes at the TDC vs TSA Pre✓ access.

Moving forward, I will be clear and concise in my responses.
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Old Jun 22, 2014, 11:37 am
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Originally Posted by TSAPressSec
You are correct, and I do apologize. I should have done a better job explaining the use of these cards for ID purposes at the TDC vs TSA Pre✓ access.

Moving forward, I will be clear and concise in my responses.
This raises an interesting point (perhaps outside your paygrade).

You are correct that GE/NEXUS/SENTRI cards are for international land crossings only.

GE membership + passport is valid for international air crossings.

GE/NEXUS/SENTRI KTNs, when entered in the air reservation, do provide access to Pre.

Since the KTN, when entered in the air reservation, is sufficient for access to the Pre lane, why would the actual card displayed to the TDC not be?
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Old Jun 22, 2014, 12:21 pm
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Originally Posted by chollie
This raises an interesting point (perhaps outside your paygrade).

You are correct that GE/NEXUS/SENTRI cards are for international land crossings only.

GE membership + passport is valid for international air crossings.

GE/NEXUS/SENTRI KTNs, when entered in the air reservation, do provide access to Pre.

Since the KTN, when entered in the air reservation, is sufficient for access to the Pre lane, why would the actual card displayed to the TDC not be?
A few points on this, and I have been asked this question many times from reporters and other travelers. First, if you are disqualified from a CBP program, you may still have possession of that card. We don't have readers at the TDC to electronically read these cards.

The other main reason is we vet passengers on a per-flight basis. As I have told reporters before, if we deem a threat on a certain flight and/or route, we would have the ability to scale back the number of TSA Precheck passengers. Since vetting occurs for each flight via our Secure Flight system, we have more flexibility on whether we provide TSA Precheck or not.

While cards are provided for CBP trusted travelers, we don't provide them for the TSA Precheck Application Program.
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Old Jun 22, 2014, 2:53 pm
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Originally Posted by TSAPressSec
You are correct, and I do apologize. I should have done a better job explaining the use of these cards for ID purposes at the TDC vs TSA Pre✓ access.

Moving forward, I will be clear and concise in my responses.
And ya STILL have not yet said whether valid US passport cards are acceptable ID for domestic air travel, which the TSA link and quote I posted earlier shows that they are. But fer cryin' out loud, why are you being so outrageously evasive? All you had to do was type a single sentence: "Valid US passport cards are acceptable ID for domestic air travel." Eleven little words. Sixty-six characters. Short enough to be Tweeted without even abbreviating any of the words. And yet...

By the way - and this is very important - I did not challenge you to be "clear and concise". I challenged you to be clear and precise.

Precision is more important than brevity. We need straight, complete, clear answers, not sound bytes that generate more questions than they answer.

So, therefore, let us revisit the original question that is the topic of this thread: Are valid US passport cards acceptable as ID for domestic air travel?

66 characters. That's all we're looking for. Yes, I know I have already posted the answer. I just want to see YOU acknowledge that answer definitively. I certainly appreciate the apology and the contrition, but I'd rather have straight answers than sackcloth and ashes.
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Old Jun 22, 2014, 3:07 pm
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I'm beginning to think you are wrong and there are occasions when a TSO's SOP states that a passport card is NOT sufficient ID.

If that is the case and the disqualifying information is SSI, then TSA can't disclose that information or even acknowledge that it exists. The very acknowledgement of such disqualifying circumstances would jeopardize security.

Besides, the website is always out-of-date.

Each airport FSD is free to enhance the rules as s/he sees fit, as long as such enhancements don't relax the rules. (Somewhere buried on this forum, a 'good apple' TSO posted that fact).

Last edited by chollie; Jun 22, 2014 at 3:30 pm
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Old Jun 23, 2014, 8:46 am
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I've had no issues since 2012, and they were always with the same nasty TSO at SJU. Mercifully, I haven't seen her there in well over a year.
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Old Jun 23, 2014, 2:57 pm
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Originally Posted by TSAPressSec
You are correct, and I do apologize. I should have done a better job explaining the use of these cards for ID purposes at the TDC vs TSA Pre✓™ access.

Moving forward, I will be clear and concise in my responses.
Stop talking like a press secretary protecting your boss and start communicating.
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Old Jun 25, 2014, 12:53 am
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Originally Posted by FliesWay2Much
Stop talking like a press secretary protecting your boss and start communicating.
He apologised and said he would try to do better, so...

Stop being so rude and give the guy a chance
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Old Jun 25, 2014, 3:05 am
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Originally Posted by IanFromHKG
He apologised and said he would try to do better, so...

Stop being so rude and give the guy a chance
Before someone can stop being rude, the person must already have been rude.

You may see things differently -- as with what I find to be your post's misdirected admonishment -- but providing advice to give answers rather than to play "protect the boss at all costs" is not rude. It's even appropriate advice for those who care about their own credibility in such role.
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