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[Archived] TSA Pre-Check / PreCheck Known Traveler program for AA FFs

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Old Dec 26, 2012, 9:58 pm
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Last edit by: JDiver
TSA Pre-Check / PreCheck Known Traveler program for AA FFs (consolidated)


You are eligible to be selected (on a flight-by-flight basis) for TSA PreCheck expedited screening if:
  • You are a frequent American Airlines flyer that have been invited by American Airlines to participate and followed the instructions on the email to accept, or/and
  • You participate in a "Trusted Traveler" program (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI and/or TSA PreCheck application program) and have entered your "Known Traveler ID" in the reservation
    • If you're using your AAdvantage number, you can enter the "Known Traveler ID" in the Personal Information and Password tab of My Account) so it will auto-populate in all new reservations bearing the AAdvantage number made anywhere
    • If your reservation doesn't have your AAdvantage number, you can retrieve it and add the "Known Traveler ID" to it. The method is not very intuitive: on AA.com click on my trips, then on view all, then on find my reservation and enter either the record locator (if you know it), or the flight information using the AA operating flight number (not any eventual codeshare number from another airline).
    • Your Secure Flight Information (name, sex, DOB) in the reservation must match the one with the program (except for "middle" or other names, which are ignored) (name on ticket does not matter)
    • You will find your "Known Traveler ID" on the GOES website or on your program's card, under the name "PASSID". It is either 9 digits or the letters TT plus 7 digits
You will know if you have been selected on a particular flight if the wording or logo "TSA PreCheck" appear on your boarding pass.

NOTE: 20 May 2016: "Today’s announcement makes a total of 16 carriers that participate in TSA Pre✓®: Aeromexico, Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, Allegiant, American Airlines, Cape Air, Delta Air Lines, Etihad Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Seaborne Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, United Airlines, Virgin America and WestJet.

Passengers who are eligible for TSA Pre✓® include: members of the TSA Pre✓® application program, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Trusted Traveler program, Global Entry, and Canadian citizens who are members of CBP’s NEXUS program. TSA Pre✓® is also available for U.S. Armed Forces service members, including those serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, Reserves and National Guard."

Link

How it works

In the Pre-Check lane, you no longer need to remove the following items:
  • Shoes (some, such as steel-toed shoes, may require removal)
  • 3-1-1 compliant bag from your carry-on (all liquid restrictions still apply)
  • Laptop from your bag (if electronics are stacked on top of each other, they require removal)
  • Light outerwear or jacket
  • Belt (large belt buckles may require removal)
  • Pre-Check Lanes are WTMD only-- No NoS in use
LOCATIONS

Link to FlyerGuide Wiki listing of American Airlines (only) PreCheck checkpoints.

Link to FT thread AA Airport / Concourse TSA PreCheck - Hours [only] (may not be current)

See also post 1 of this thread. (It contains much additional info in the Moderator's Note.)

NOTE: PreCheck is changing to a Trusted Traveler (GE/NEXUS/SENTRI) -like program, where anyone will be able apply and pay USD $85 (online or at a PreCheck enrollment center), be vetted for approval, present proof of identification and be fingerprinted at a PreCheck enrollment center (IAD and IND, opening Fall 2013, will be thie first), and be granted PreCheck status for five years from that time. It will not be airline - or airline status - tied.

"Current PreCheck participants, including those eligible via a CBP Trusted Traveler Program such as Global Entry, will continue to receive PreCheck eligibility. Participants who opted-in through their airline frequent flyer program may want to consider applying for PreCheck, as they are more likely to be selected for PreCheck expedited screening more often if they are vetted via the PreCheck application process." Link.

Trusted Traveler (Global Entry, Nexus, Sentri) and Having Problems with PreCheck?






If you belong to one of the Trusted Traveler Programs listed above, you may run into issues getting PreCheck clearance if your Secure Flight Data is not an exact match to the data that you entered into your application on the GOES (Global Online Enrollment System) website when you applied for your TT membership.

For example, if your airline account has Bob Jones, but your GOES account has Bob James Jones, then the TSA may not be associating your information properly when it "decides" who can and can not have access. Additionally, if your PASS ID # (listed above in the screen-shots) is not an exact match, there will be a mismatch when TSA processes your information, and you will not receive PreCheck.

To ensure you receive PreCheck on all flights (domestic & internatioal), be sure to ensure the information in your AA profile is accurate. The name on the ticket does not matter- the "Secure Flight Data" is what is used to determine PreCheck status.


Signed in members with 90 days / 90 posts can edit this Wikipost; wiki contents may be printed by using the (lower right wiki corner)



TSA Pre✓® / PreCheck / Pre Check Issues, Changes, etc.

Known issues:

  • Not every airport or terminal offers the TSA Pre✓® program

  • TSA Pre✓® may have limited or irregular hours or closed at times without notice

  • TSA Pre✓® members are still be subject to random selection for intensified screening

  • TSA Pre✓® program has changed from an airline elite invitation program to a fee-based program with certain screening requirements

  • If one's TSA Pre✓® status is from the pilot invitation program and one doesn't have a Known Traveler Number ("KTN"), TSA Pre✓® status may not carry on to another airline and one may experience increasing denials (not having the TSA Pre✓® printed on boarding pass and being sent to the regular TSA screening queues

Link to TSA Application Program and TSA Pre✓® program information, links

Changes to TSA Pre✓®

TSA Pre✓® was originally offered by certain airlines to their elite status members. These TSA Pre✓® members do not have a Known Traveler Number from a USDHS trusted traveler program (GOES / Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI or the new $85 fee based TSA Pre✓® Application Program offered to the flying public with 5 year renewal), making TSA Pre✓® status portability challenging. See the DHS Trusted Traveler programs listing and comparison chart here. Please read the following:

From American Airlines, April 2015:

This month, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is making changes to the TSA Pre✓® Trusted Traveler Program that will impact which travelers receive expedited screening. If you're not already a member of one of the Trusted Traveler programs like Global Entry or the TSA Pre✓® Application Program, you will probably see a decline in how often you receive expedited screening, even if you've previously "opted-in" through a frequent flyer program.

The best way to increase your chances of receiving TSA Pre✓® on a regular basis is to register for a Trusted Traveler Program with the Department of Homeland Security at dhs.gov/tt. Once you receive your Known Traveler Number (KTN) from TSA, be sure you update your AAdvantage profile.

To add your KTN to your AAdvantage profile:
  • Login to your account on aa.com and select My Account from the AAdvantage menu
  • Within My Account, go to the Information and Password tab
  • Add your Customs and Border Protection 9-digit PASS ID to your secure traveler information
For more information on TSA Pre✓®, visit tsa.gov/tsa-precheck.
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[Archived] TSA Pre-Check / PreCheck Known Traveler program for AA FFs

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Old Aug 4, 2012, 8:47 am
  #2581  
Original Member
 
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Orange County, CA, USA
Programs: AA (Life Plat), Marriott (Life Titanium) and every other US program
Posts: 6,411
Material response

Hopefully this response will be helpful to others.

I just went through ORD. There was a particularly competent self-check agent (she was helping not just the baggage passengers but others - she was one of the "good" people who was moving as fast as she could to help multiple people - the "good" agents who still exist).

As she tagged my luggage she asked "are you pre-check?" I said "Yes, but it haven't been getting lucky lately." She then spent 10 minutes looking into it and fixing(?) it? She examined my record and saw an anamoly, which is that my Global Entry number was "xxxxxxxx" (literally). She went into detailed formats and fixed it (twice) because it didn't stick the first time. She submitted my record to DHS and got the confirmation. She reprinted my boarding pass. IT WORKED (for the first time since I got Global Entry - I was 100% on Pre-Check *before* I got Global Entry).

She also said that she will call the coordinator at headquarters who "is amazing with these problems, but she only works M-F and it is Saturday, so I will make a note and call her" (I have her name).
sbrower is offline  
Old Aug 5, 2012, 1:59 am
  #2582  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Originally Posted by gozetta
* the "randomness" of whether you get it or not is determined when the BP is printed through AA webservices
* if you could scan the barcode at home or with your mobile phone (like a QR code) you could easily tell if you are pre-Check or not
There's no indication that the selected for expedited screening or not decision is made at the time the BP is printed, while there is at least anecdotal evidence that re-printed BPs retain the same status as the original.

Note that when Pre-Check was announced, the TSA made a point that the intended that no one be able to determine in advance if he or she was selected for expedited screening or not. There was a lot of discussion upthread regarding this.

Originally Posted by MikeFly
A couple of data points today. I was checking in at ORD for my flight to LGA as I received a call from AA telling me my flight was delayed. Agent put me on standby for earlier flight. She mentioned that I was not cleared for Pre-Check but she resubmitted my name and I was cleared. Same day, I'm checking in for a flight from JFK to SFO and I ask the agent if I was cleared for Pre-Check; she responded that she could not tell ( I was). So is it a difference in training, stories or software?
There've been reports upthread of agents casually mentioning to people while checking them in that they were (or not) selected. No idea if it's a difference in knowledge, training, equipment, or what.

Originally Posted by AA2070
They're actually not encrypted at all. BPs printed online and mobile BPs have a signature appended to them to validate the data, but the data is still plaintext. Agent and kiosk printed BPs have no signature at all. This is why you see 'BP Signature not verified' on the TSA ticket scanners. The LLL/CLR are not encoded in text after your name - otherwise you'd see it on the gate ticket scanners.

If I had to take a wild shot-in-the-dark guess at it, and not run afoul of any DMCA-type laws which probably criminalize reading unencrypted data from a piece of paper, I would guess that the boarding pass contains the following data in the following order. If I were so inclined, I could verify this by reading and comparing several tickets on different airlines from before Pre-Check, from flights where I wasn't selected, and from flights where I was. Theoretically.

Char 2: Leg of the flight you are on
Char 3: Name in Last/First format.
Char 23: Designation of whether your ticket is paper or electronic.
Char 24: Record Locator
Char 31: Origin
Char 34: Destination
Char 37: Airline code
Char 40: Flight number
Char 45: Day of year (1-366) of flight
Char 48: Cabin (agent and kiosk printed BPs only say F A or J, online or mobile BPs actually contain the bucket letter)
Char 49: Seat assignment
Char 53: Sequence number
Char 66: Check in location (online(WW), kiosk(0K), agent (R0))
Char 69: Day of year of check-in
Char 73: Marketing airline code
Char 89: Not sure, AA puts 29 here, AS puts 25.
Char 91: Ticketing airline 3-digit code (001, 027)
Char 94: Ticket number
Char 104: Selected for pre-check (will trigger LLL)
Char 105: Enrolled in pre-check (will trigger CLR)

Char 109: FF program airline code
Char 112: FF program number
Char 129: AS puts gate number here
Char 138: AS puts the name of the kiosk you used here

If all of the above were theoretically true, it wouldn't be hard to use your smartphone to scan the barcode and check the data in the 104th character of an unencrypted block of text to see whether you're getting to leave your shoes on or not.

Also, it would be weird if all of this were described on page 39 of a document somewhere.
Heh. Thanks! By the way, how do you get page 39? I don't see page numbers, and going to the 39th page is a diagram of a seat map.

By the way, some BP tools online are linked to upthread in post 1981.

Originally Posted by ESpen36
I completely agree. And for those who say it is semantics, it is not. Being accurate is very important on a web forum where our postings will be published FOREVER. Guests many years in the future will be looking at this thread to find out about AA's involvement with PreCheck that began in 2011-12, and the information should be accurate, not based on insider sloppiness/code that "we all know what he means." We might, but not every guest will.

For the same reason, it is a bit unfair when some of us old-timers make references like "oh boy that sounds like Chuckie all over again." It does nothing but create confusion for visitors and new members who have no idea what we mean by this insider joke.
Yes, being precise in terms is helpful. Also, one way to handle the "Chuckie" problem is to include a link to one of his posts (but that's more work than most are willing to do).
anabolism is offline  
Old Aug 5, 2012, 7:37 am
  #2583  
Original Member
 
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Orange County, CA, USA
Programs: AA (Life Plat), Marriott (Life Titanium) and every other US program
Posts: 6,411
Originally Posted by anabolism
There's no indication that the selected for expedited screening or not decision is made at the time the BP is printed, while there is at least anecdotal evidence that re-printed BPs retain the same status as the original.

Note that when Pre-Check was announced, the TSA made a point that the intended that no one be able to determine in advance if he or she was selected for expedited screening or not. There was a lot of discussion upthread regarding this.

There've been reports upthread of agents casually mentioning to people while checking them in that they were (or not) selected. No idea if it's a difference in knowledge, training, equipment, or what.
She looked at a certain screen (not the BP) and said "Oh, you don't have it." She made changes. She went to reprint the BP and said "Oh, it didn't work, you still don't have it." Then she fixed it again and said "Now it will work" and, when I went to the checkpoint, it did.
sbrower is offline  
Old Aug 5, 2012, 8:37 am
  #2584  
wjj
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: ORD and RSW
Programs: Former long time AA EXP and CK - 4 MM; Now LTPL; Hilton Diamond; UA Platinum
Posts: 380
The check in agents can see it on their screen. And they can fix it and have done so for me several times now if the issue is something in the system and not a random denial. They cannot do anything with a random denial, which is the way it should be.

As I posted up thread, the last time I was told that the problem was a conflict between my middle name on my GE card and my middle name on my AA.com profile. Apparently, she fixed it by deleting my GE number since it was not in my profile when I looked yesterday and I have cleared since then.

Could it be as easy as simply not putting in your GE number in your AA.com profile? If I already qualify as an EXP, there really is no reason to put in my GE number.

I do have my GE number in my profile for other airlines where I do not have elite status. I am flying DL next week (no status). We'll see if it works there.
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Old Aug 5, 2012, 1:49 pm
  #2585  
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: ORD-JFK-EZE-MAD
Programs: AA LT PLT 4mm / Free Agent / GE / Secret Handshake
Posts: 854
Originally Posted by wjj

I do have my GE number in my profile for other airlines where I do not have elite status. I am flying DL next week (no status). We'll see if it works there.
Same situation like yours. It worked in DL for me too.

--J
jcf27 is offline  
Old Aug 5, 2012, 2:16 pm
  #2586  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Originally Posted by wjj
The check in agents can see it on their screen. And they can fix it and have done so for me several times now if the issue is something in the system and not a random denial. They cannot do anything with a random denial, which is the way it should be.

As I posted up thread, the last time I was told that the problem was a conflict between my middle name on my GE card and my middle name on my AA.com profile. Apparently, she fixed it by deleting my GE number since it was not in my profile when I looked yesterday and I have cleared since then.

Could it be as easy as simply not putting in your GE number in your AA.com profile? If I already qualify as an EXP, there really is no reason to put in my GE number.
I've read your upthread posts, and appreciate the detailed information you've provided, which I think has been very helpful.

One reason to want to keep your GE number in your AA profile is that it might increase your odds of being selected for expedited screening on any given trip.

Regarding the potential for conflict between GE and AA information, I noticed that if I log into GOES and look at my approval letters or summary information on the left, both have just my first and last names, but if I look at my detailed personal information, it has my middle name as well. I enrolled before they issued GE cards, so I don't have one to check. But I wonder what the best way is to check that the GE and AA names are an exact match?
anabolism is offline  
Old Aug 5, 2012, 4:10 pm
  #2587  
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: WAS
Programs: AMEX Platinum, Global Entry, Priority Pass, SPG Gold, HHonors Gold
Posts: 1,594
Originally Posted by anabolism
But I wonder what the best way is to check that the GE and AA names are an exact match?
Your best bet is to ensure that the detailed CBP name information (with full middle name) matches the name included in the Secure Flight profile for each AA booking.
14940674 is offline  
Old Aug 5, 2012, 4:33 pm
  #2588  
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 324
Just more security theater?

My wife and I are both pre-check qualified. We went through ORD last week, and I passed pre-check control, while she was denied.

At which point I said to my wife, in front of the BP scanning agent, "Let me take the 2 bags with the computers, you take everything else." And so it happened, that we switched off bags between us, right in front of the TSA agents. She went her way and pushed everything through the regular x-ray belt without having to unpack a thing, while I breezed through pre-check with all our electronics.

Flash forward to the return trip from DFW: I pass pre-check, and my wife is again denied . This time the screening agent says to us that I should just take the bags with all the electronics, and my wife can go through the regular line without any bags!

What a great loophole!
Alfonso XIV is offline  
Old Aug 6, 2012, 8:35 am
  #2589  
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Programs: Hyatt Diamond, SPG LT Plat, AA 3MM EXP
Posts: 397
A probable theory on why I'm STILL not getting LLL:

GetThere, a SABRE company, is where I book tickets, then ultimately issued by a travel agent (Carlson Wagonlit). According to AA Web Services my middle initial is being ADDED TO THE FIRST NAME FIELD on the record locator. So, if I were John L. Smith, FIRST NAME is "JOHN L", last name is "SMITH". WebServices agent said this is odd, and could be the problem. Further, I have checked my itineraries on those that DID work with Pre-Check and they all DO NOT have the middle initial. Those that have failed DO have the middle initial.

So, my resolution (hopefully) is to be sure they don't issue tickets with my middle initial anywhere in the record. This MAY have been a software change at Sabre/GetThere that appends the initial to the first name box, or MAY be some with the travel agent, I'm not sure. I haven't changed my profile on Sabre/GetThere.

My theory is also that the middle initial on AA has absolutely nothing to do with 1) what prints on a non-AA issued ticket, and 2) whether you get Pre-Check or not.
gozetta is offline  
Old Aug 6, 2012, 8:53 am
  #2590  
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: AA PLT 3MM
Posts: 1,135
Originally Posted by gozetta
GetThere, a SABRE company, is where I book tickets, then ultimately issued by a travel agent (Carlson Wagonlit). According to AA Web Services my middle initial is being ADDED TO THE FIRST NAME FIELD on the record locator. So, if I were John L. Smith, FIRST NAME is "JOHN L", last name is "SMITH". WebServices agent said this is odd, and could be the problem. Further, I have checked my itineraries on those that DID work with Pre-Check and they all DO NOT have the middle initial. Those that have failed DO have the middle initial.
I noticed a similar thing when booking with AAVacations yesterday. The website doesn't allow you to log in to your AAdvantage account, so you have to enter all the details. Even though I correctly entered one word for each of first, middle and last names, when I look at the reservation on aa.com it shows a two-word first name and no middle name. I will try calling them to see if this can be fixed.
dmsdfw is offline  
Old Aug 6, 2012, 9:43 am
  #2591  
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: MYF/CMA/SAN/YYZ/YKF
Programs: COdbaUA 1K MM, AA EXP, Bonbon Gold, GHA Titanium, Hertz PC, NEXUS and GE
Posts: 5,839
Originally Posted by aafreq
Enjoy this 'advantage' while you can...
If the iPass for tolls is any indicator, as more &
More sign up..less & less enjoy the 'exclusivity'...
Its not about the exclusivity. Even if all passengers had the pre-check treatment, things would move much faster
N1120A is offline  
Old Aug 6, 2012, 12:09 pm
  #2592  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Originally Posted by gozetta
According to AA Web Services my middle initial is being ADDED TO THE FIRST NAME FIELD on the record locator.
I often see my middle name added to my first name, in the first name field. Sometimes there isn't even a space there. I don't know if that might be why I have never gotten LLL, because I mostly travel through non Pre-Check airports.
anabolism is offline  
Old Aug 7, 2012, 9:46 am
  #2593  
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: DFW
Programs: AA EXP, LT Gold
Posts: 3,148
I was 0-3 over the weekend on a 48hr trip from DFW-SEA-PDX and back. My traveling companion was 3-3. Booo.
econometrics is offline  
Old Aug 7, 2012, 11:20 am
  #2594  
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Fort Worth, TX
Programs: AA EXP, Marriott Plat, HH Diamond, National Executive Elite
Posts: 62
Originally Posted by anabolism
I often see my middle name added to my first name, in the first name field. Sometimes there isn't even a space there. I don't know if that might be why I have never gotten LLL, because I mostly travel through non Pre-Check airports.

So I have been having a lot of the same issues as the posters above me particularly those with GetThere Travel.

Originally I had my middle name in my GetThere Profile, prior to precheck this wasn't a problem. When I got into the Global Entry Program(note I didn't say card for those were worried) this became an issue because GetThere was appending my middle name to my first name, i.e., RICHARDJAY not RICHARD JAY. I noticed that this was happening and so I removed my middle name from the GetThere Travel Profile. I would have to manually link my reservations with my AA account but that really wasn't an issue. This worked up until beginning of July. I have be 0-5 in LLL's since then.

I had spoken to multiple TA's and none of them savvy enough to figure it out. Most said that it was a TSA program and they couldn't nor could they try to understand or troubleshoot with me to try and make a change. Most would give me the "you need to contact TSA we are part of the program but we don't run it" or the "the program is random" response.

Monday, I was connected with a woman named LISA from the desk and she actually took the time to look at my ticket information. She told me that the name in my secure flight data which was being sent from GetThere Travel was not including my middle name and that she would put it on my tickets. Took her a few minutes but she was able to complete it. She also told me what I needed to tell GetThere to fix on their end.

The problem I find is that with GetThere they are so large that to resolve the issue would probably take an act of congress, which means that it will never change. So I am probably going to keep booking like am and then call once a month and have them change all my tickets to correct the issue.

If anyone has a better solution to fixing the GetThere problem or has the same problem I would definitely like to hear what yall are doing.
dickferd is offline  
Old Aug 7, 2012, 3:41 pm
  #2595  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Originally Posted by dickferd
She also told me what I needed to tell GetThere to fix on their end.
What did she tell you to tell GetThere?
anabolism is offline  


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