Why is a BP with a PreCheck indicator still needed if a valid GE card is presented?
 

Why is a BP with a PreCheck indicator still needed if a valid GE card is presented? Is PreCheck only available to GE members at certain times/on certain flights?

LAX

PreCheck is not guaranteed. Please refer to the following thread:

You passport, even linked to GE, does not control access to TSA Pre Check.

TSA Pre Check selection marked on your boarding pass does. Your Known Traveler Number you got with Global Entry, not your passport number, must be linked to your airline reservation to enable selection for Pre Check. Even having a KTN linked to your reservation does not guarantee selection for Pre Check, it just increases the odds of such selection, though by quite a margin.

It also has nothing whatsoever with departing the US. Pre Check is part of the overall air travel security regimen that applies to all flights originating in the US, domestic or international. It has nothing to do with immigration/emigration.

Enter your GE PassID/KTN on your reservation and you probably will be selected for Pre Check. But maybe not.

I apologize if this is mentioned in a separate thread dedicated to TSA Pre-Check. So, the assignment for Pre-Check on a particular flight is "random" since it's not guaranteed? Is that how it works for people who has TSA Pre-Check vs GE?

LAX

It's the same for all Trusted Travelers whether their KTN was issued by the TSA or the CBP (Global Entry and NEXUS).

Please refer to the following TSA website pages:

Access to Pre Check is never guaranteed.

Anyone having a Known Traveler Number (members in various DHS Trusted Traveler Programs, TSA Pre Check, Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI) stands a very good chance of Pre Check selection as long as the KTN is attached to the airline reservation.

But a "very good chance" is not a guarantee and should not be confused with a guarantee.

Each airline has to register for PreCheck. I believe there are still some airlines (primarily foreign airlines) that don't participate in the program.

To be more specific, Precheck requires an integration to/from the TSA that is at least in-part separate from Secure Flight. While I am not an absolute expert, at a minimum the KTN has to transmitted to the TSA (which may be included in secure flight), and then the airline has to take a response from the TSA on whether or not Precheck will be on the boarding pass or not. Airline IT being glacial and expensive to customize, not all foreign carriers with flights departing from US airports have chosen to integrate.

It's also worth noting that GE or any other KTN source is not an absolute guarantee of Precheck, the TSA computers decide, which is why they enforce the requirement that the boarding pass contain the TSA's response on whether the traveler is given Precheck/standard/selectee screening.

I think I understand the intention of making PreCheck a "perceived random" process. But the "randomness" should be based on the traveling individual only. I mean if I show up at the airport tomorrow with my GE card, I can be denied PreCheck regarding of wherever I travel to/from. Based on what I have been told thus far, the decision of granting/denying PreCheck seems to factor in the flight I will be traveling on. Is that because only a certain % of eligible passengers on a particular flight can have PreCheck? I realize the selection criteria are not publicized for good reasons, but why not just scan my GE card when I show up and decide on whether I can use PreCheck instead of asking the airline to submit data (via BP) to then figure out if I would be granted PreCheck or not?

LAX

At last count there were 100 participating airlines - TSA PreCheck® Participating Airlines | Transportation Security Administration

Because the airline does not make the decision. TSA makes the decision. Therefore, airlines must submit the KTN to TSA in order for TSA to let the airline know whether it is okay for Pre-ck to show on the BP. As mentioned earlier, having a membership in one of the Trusted Traveler Programs only makes one eligible to receive Pre-check screening - it does not guarantee actually getting it.

Many things can happen between a) being approved for a TTP and receiving a TTP card and b) when printing a BP and showing up to board a flight. So just showing a card at the screening checkpoint is not enough.

But to your question "Why cant I just show up and then they figure out if I get Pre?" That can and does essentially happen. If your BP does not show Pre-ck because your KTN was not entered or there is some data discrepancy, you can go to the ticket counter and have the airline update the reservation with the KTN or correct info. The databases are updated frequently but not in real time so it may take a little while (as much 20 minutes) for the databases to update and Pre-ck to be approved for the BP.

But the process is much smoother when the KTN is sent to TSA long before the pax checks-in.

Although PreCheck isn't guaranteed for any given flight, I would hardly call it random or unpredictable. I would say there is something amiss with a PNR if it doesn't appear on the boarding pass of a TTP while traveling on a participating carrier.

That said, one can hypothetically have a GE card and be a GE member yet be on the PreCheck Disqualification List as a result of attempting to bring certain prohibited items through the checkpoint (firearms, for example), or getting into an altercation with a crewmember. Also GE status can be revoked, but the GE card can remain in the possession of the traveler.

So just put the number in your PNR and make sure your name and DOB match (gender no longer has to).