TSA to open PreCheck to all for a fee
 

Discuss.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel...polis/2568101/

Extortion.

For some time I've been describing it with the kinder and gentler Baksheesh. I won't quibble with your description, however. ;)

Baksheesh makes things go more smoothly.

$85 to possibly not be groped, photoed in the nude is more akin to the bribe/"fine" one might have to pay the Policía in certain cities to avoid being arrested. Or to Tony Soprano (RIP) so that your health remains pristine.

I already have Nexus but seldom fly a Pre-Check airline. Will I need to pony up another $85?

I have NEXUS and top tier elite status on 2 PreCheck airlines - I haven't gotten LLL'd in over a year.

No. Nexus/SENTRI/GE are still going to be included.

One of the attractions is a smaller line.

Only benefit I see here is that I'd rather see these clowns expand it then shutter it. So guess having the unwashed masses invited to the program is a consequence of having it stay around.

So we get to pay "extra" to get the type of screening we ALL should be getting anyway.

If enough people sign up for this, it seems to me we can significantly downsize the number of blue shirts at our airports and give them their walking papers.

And if you /pay/ for the privilege, are you guaranteed PreCheck, as opposed to it being random now?

PreCheck LLL screening outcomes are not going to be guaranteed by this.

Note this does not state that it will be expanded to all:

It is still for US citizens only. Meanwhile, foreigners will continue not even to have the choice of non-harassment upon payment. I truly fear the day in which 90% of all travelers will qualify for expedited screening in the US while I will be sent off to a corner for the extra-special suspicious person screening for the crime of travelling with a scary European passport as ID.

Of course this harassment is only valid for flights within or leaving the US. I will continue to be able to fly into or over the US without being scoped, groped, removing shoes, etc.

Sigh.

I'd be inclined to agree, but one of my favourite benefits is the shorter lines.

Whether that is the intent or not, the practice is a bit different at least. Even now, some non-US citizens are getting PreCheck LLL screening outcomes indicated by way of their boarding passes.

Doesn't the US Citizen requirement only apply to those acquiring Precheck by way of Nexus/GE membership? (i.e. as opposed to airline elite status)

Nope. From the TSA PreCheck application page: "The TSA Pre✓™ fee-based application process will allow U.S. citizens the opportunity to apply for expedited screening without a passport."

Technically, PreCheck is for US citizens (and Canadian citizens with NEXUS).

As a practical matter, technically it has worked for non-US (and non-Canadian) citizens too. Whether that was intended or not by the TSA, it just adds to the ways in which the TSA can be consistently inconsistent.

It says the "fee-based application process" is open only to US citizens. It doesn't say that non-citizens can't get in by other means (like being recommended by the airline).

I have Nexus and am a sxcking 1P with United but I was never cleared for pre-check. :mad:
As far as I can tell, either I am not yet an US citizen :td: or it might due to a space in my first name so the name check between airline ticket and TSA will never be the same. The airline won’t add space between my first name and GOES system does not allow me to remove the space. So I am stuck. I hope they issue a TSA pre-check number to all GE/Nexus/SENTRI members. I really hate to pay another fee to evil TSA for the precheck. :td::td:

Polar Bear

Governmental confusion about citizenship may be a factor in not getting PreCheck.

At least Canadian NEXUS are included:

http://www.tsa.gov/press/releases/20...-nexus-members

"The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today announced the inclusion of Canadian NEXUS members in TSA Pre✓™ as part of the Beyond the Border Action Plan. Beginning November 15, Canadian citizens traveling domestically in the United States who are members of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) NEXUS program are eligible to participate and may receive expedited screening at participating U.S. airports."

As a practical matter, it now applies also to Canadian NEXUS users flying internationally from the US. The relevant thing to get it to work (with PreCheck carriers at PreCheck airports) is to get the known traveler number into the proper field with the airline and to not have too little of an "exact" name match.

There is anecdotal evidence non-US citizens have gotten PreCheck, but it seems all have US addresses, which is not my case...

As a Nexus member, you already have a "Precheck" number. It's the PASS ID on the back of your Nexus card. You need to make sure that your name and number in your SecureFlight info matches exactly to GOES.

Not all such persons have US addresses; some even never had US addresses. The more common a name, ironically, perhaps the more likely it works regardless of DHS's desire to discriminate based on nationality.

"Exactly" need not be exact, but it may help.

I have yet to see anything close to a line at the IAD pre check - it's walk up, present BP, proceed to conveyor belt, drop bags, walk through WMD, grab bags, and I'm off. You could probably triple the number of people with pre check, and it wouldn't cause appreciable crowding.

Most casual flyers aren't going to shell out the $100 for qualification.

I have checked every place where I can put my “PASSID/Nexus member ID” in United.com. I know there is one for the profile and also every reservation record. I have also called United reservation 3-7days before the departure time to verify my name, my birth day and my passid are associated with my reservation every time. BUT I have not cleared for any pre-check yet. I studied really hard on Flyertalk so the only two reasons, I can come up with this, are I am not US citizen or the space between my first name. I have asked for help in other thread but nobody knows why. I was really annoyed but what can I do.:mad:


Polar Bear

Here is the PR:

http://www.tsa.gov/press/releases/20...tsa-precheck-0

Frankly it is BS. I have Pre✓™ via the airline. The TSA Pre✓™ application program requires a background check and fingerprints. Yeah, the airline has a bunch of the same info for a background check. But I sure as !@#$ did not have to give them fingerprints.

Sounds like GE light. If the same process is applied as to GE, why bother? Because it won't require the person to have a passport to apply?

How much traveling must a kettle do before they would find this worthwhile?

That will be it - even with Global Entry you don't get PreCheck I am afraid.

It won't be the same process, because it won't involve CBP, but simply TSA. It will by necessity be less intrusive, because they won't have to take into account the possibility that you might sneak something through customs, but simply whether you're a threat to safety. That's a much smaller percentage of people.

As a concrete example, my partner and I were quickly approved for Clear but both denied Global Entry. Still can't figure out why, as neither of us has ever had the slightest run-in with the law or CBP, but that's covered in another thread. I fly maybe 20 times a year, but I loathe security lines and will gladly pony up the $85.

If he's a Canadian citizen, he should be getting Pre with his Nexus membership.

The difference is that you have Pre with a specific airline. This new program (along with GE and Nexus) allows you to have Pre on every Pre-enabled airline.

Indeed.
I got Pre ORD-YUL once..

Selfishly this can't help those that are Pre eligible now in that you'll have more passengers using the lines, many with little checkpoint savvy/experience.

It absolutely does not make financial or security expense for someone to pay through TSA to get PreCheck when GE would give so much more (expedited DHS screening from International destinations) for $15 more dollars.

If Mr. Pistole wants up to 25% of passengers using the service, then it should be expanded to more locations. For example Pre Check at LGA's Central Terminal is in Concourse D, but not A or C.

It does make sense - while more Americans hold passports now than at any time in the past (+/- 33%, according to the Bureau of Consular Affairs in January), the majority of Americans (+/- 60%) still do not have passports. This program offers them a way to take advantage of expedited security screening without Global Entry. If one holds a US passport then for certain it is better to sign up via Global Entry.

I don't foresee the average domestic flyer laying out the money for this, especially families where there are multiple travelers. Just not worth it for the few annual trips they make. It might capture a wider net of the business traveler who don't hold passports or don't want to bother with Global Entry.

Yesterday at CLT the Precheck line was quite long, because it was full of people who thought it was the F/elite line or whose BP didn't display the new-ish Precheck logo. I'd say about 10% of the line actually had Precheck. So this needs to be managed a lot better, at least at CLT.

This is happening more and more at DEN too. Many are going into precheck knowing they aren't eligible because if they fail you you get a front of the line premium line pass.

I'm much less afraid of the kettles as I am Southwest getting into the program. Then the line gets long......

Most airports pre-check line is as you describe. I have definitely seen a pre-check line of 10+ people multiple times at SFO T3 (still much better than the 50 people in the elite security line). But everyone at SFO seems to have status.

I agree this program will not likely have a big impact though, as most of the people willing to pay for it already have it.

although the ratio of people holding passports are lower than most countries, I suspect that the % is much higher for those (business travelers) who would want the service (and not the ones who fly once or twice a yr). As for hassle or bother, if TSA is not doing a check of the passenger's then it lacks the whole purpose of why PreCheck exists! And to be honest, it was pretty easy to get PreCheck from DHS.

It absolutely does not make security or financial sense for someone to pay through TSA when NEXUS is $50, and auto qualifies members for Global Entry.