SEA
CheckPoint 4 PreCheck Only
1/14
5:00AM
30 minutes - the line was the largest I've ever seen.

Are TSA employees permitted to accept gift cards such as Starbucks???

A quick primer on ethics rules regarding receiving gifts that apply to all federal employees: https://www2.oge.gov/Web/oge.nsf/Res...utside+Sources

While technically, they could accept a gift valued less than $20, as the page notes "employees should consider declining gifts when they believe that their integrity or impartiality would be questioned if they were to accept the gift." I'd say TSOs are likely to decline all gifts from passengers for this reason, as a reasonable person could question whether or not the officer was truly impartial in their screening based on receiving a gift from a passenger. Feel free to try though. Under current circumstances, they may be willing to make an exception, especially if presented following clearance into the secure area. Worst case, you could offer the gift card to a flight attendant or pass along to anyone else instead.

I did give the TSA agents in EUG a box of See's candy when we were passing through near Christmas. Pre-Shutdown but the supervisor accepted it with a hearty thank you after being quite surprised. I don't think they get that kind of thing very often, even in a small station like EUG with few problems/long lines.

Airport: SEA
Terminal: Main
Time of day: 8:20 AM
Approximate wait time for TSA id check/length of line: < 15 mins
TSA, Priority, Pre: PreCheck

PreCheck was at checkpoint 4, not 5, and there was a healthy line. It was moving pretty quickly but I was glad I had Clear to cut it.

No Pre today- no real line at TSA ORD today. T3 checkpoint.

Did take a few minutes to get thru, but not due to TSA... it was other pax it seemed like.

1/16/19 - 7am - SEA
Arrived right as boarding started (as usual) and was greeted by the longest precheck line I've ever seen. The whole queue maze leading to the checkpoint was full including the premium line entrance.

I had signed up for a 6 month trial of Clear a few months ago, so I was through in a minute or two. But it almost made me reconsider my airport departure strategy ;)

EDIT: as missamo pointed out, why does Port of Seattle keep moving the precheck line between 4 & 5 every few months?

Isn't it always other pax in the line? :D

Well, a pax slowdown versus a TSA slowdown.

SEA
Checkpoint 1
6:45 a.m., Thursday, 1/17
9 minutes to get to ID check, with line stretching out to the check in kiosks. 15 minutes total to get through.
TSA Pre

Was going to go to The Club and figured I'd avoid the usual morning zoo on the AS end of the airport so went to Checkpoint 1. Was very surprised by the line, but it moved quickly enough.

Edit: Walled back by at 7:35 am and the line was down to maybe half the capacity of the roped lanes, so I must have just hit a rush.

Airport: LAS
Terminal: 3
Time of Day: 8:30AM

TSA Pre-Check was very, very long, and people were complaining that it's been that way pretty regularly. We skipped Pre and went to the regular line. No wait. No shoe removal, no jacket removal, no iPad removal. We were through well before the Pre-Check people that were in that line ahead of us. Total time for us was about 5 minutes.