keeton

I actually added my full name (first, middle, last) to my Delta and SkyMiles profile in January. I am PM and have been getting PreCheck on DL (only, not other carriers) 100% of the time, including the boarding pass I just printed out for tomorrow's flight.

DrJohn999

Earlier this year at IAD again, I walked into the regular security line with a PreCheck pass (didn't even notice or think about it) and was told I had to go to the PreCheck line. 100 yards down, thru the check, down one escalator, and 100 yds back for the second escalator to the train.

At PDX, PreCheck is at the ABC gates, but Delta is at D. I go through the FF checkin lane all the time with a PreCheck BP and no-one says a thing; they just look to see the BP is OK for the FF line. Imagine if they started to insist that PreCheck pax walk to the ABC, thru security, and then back around the other side (there's a moving-walkway in the secure area between the ABC and DEF gates). Lots of pissed-off pax I'd think! PreCheck is useless and redundant for PDX on Delta or UAL (E gates).

Are there any non-Medallion PreCheck pax who might benefit from the quicker check?

gooselee

I agree that the pax should be able to choose whether they want to go through a Pre line or a SP/FF line if they're eligible for both.

That said, I had Pre before I had SP, so I got in the habit of seeking out the Pre lanes even if they were a bit more of a walk back to the gate. The time savings vs. the general lines were well worth it.

Even with SP now, I would always consider a walk to/from a Pre checkpoint since a) sometimes even the SP lines are outrageous, especially in ATL, and b) I very much enjoy not having to do the whole song and dance during the actual screening.

FriendlySkies

Who said you couldn't go through the regular security? A TSA clerk, AirServ, etc?? Just ignore them and continue on if you prefer to go through the NoS, and the rest of the security theater..

While it is a long walk for UA pax (I've done it several times), it will always be better than having to opt-out, or deal with the rest of the security b.s. that regular screening entails.. Lines are always short at PDX for PreCheck, so it's not like you're taking a whole lot more time to use it. I imagine they'll add PreCheck to the DEF checkpoint in the future, but it works as of now..

puddinhead

The name in the secure data must match the Global Entry info - and the profile name must match the passport. All four must be the same FN, MN and LN.

The advantage with GE/NEXUS is all airline PreCheck plus special security lines in Canada if you have the card in hand.

gooselee

Hey, I've just got an initial, too! And I had the same problem with people trying to spell it out, so I mostly just try to use nothing. Most of my legal documents aside from SSA now just have nothing in the middle name field at all, including my passport.

But when I moved states a few years ago, to one I had lived in previously, the initial popped back into my DL even though it was nowhere on my paperwork.

Notice I didn't mention birth certificate. The origin of my middle initial is my parents chose to be surprised, but planned for me to be a girl. When I popped out with a different set of equipment, it took them three days just to pick a first name. The nurse drew a squiggle or scratched something out or something in the middle name box on the birth certificate, and somewhere along the way that translated to a letter G.

To keep us back OT, I've had a DL FF account going back to the mid-80s, but have never used my middle name/initial in anything with DL. I intentionally left it out of my legal name in my GE app, though I think I included it in a AKA/FKA field or something. I don't use a salutation or have a suffix. And I'm batting 1.000 for precheck. ^

DrJohn999

The TSA clerk at the front-end checkpoint turned me around; didn't have to wait to get up to the ID/BP check.

Point is, I dont' mind the choreography so much, it's the time wasted in the process from start to finish. At the time at IAD there would have been maybe 3 people in front of me; having to head over to PreCheck increased the through-time. I wasn't in a hurry -- had plenty of time for a glass and snack at Vino Volo -- but I keep mental notes on this stuff for the next time when I'm down to 30-minutes...

CJKatl

And you base this insight on what, exactly?

Why? It's not a reward, flight-by-flight honor or paid-for service. It's an acknowledgement that TSA knows enough about you and your flying habits to know you aren't a threat. It saves TSA money and frequent passengers time. Under what rational would TSA decide those who are trusted should no longer be trusted, so the TSA should spend more money on them? TSA invested time, money and effort on figuring out who qualified for the program. Do you really think they are going to go to Congress and explain it was money and effort wasted? That it didn't work?

Somewhat similar story here. I was born in NYC, despite my parents not living there. They were told in the delivery room that the name had to be recorded before they could leave the delivery room. Also, I had my middle name/initial removed from my DL account, and it reappeared a couple weeks later, but this time, with a space between the first and middle initial.

MNAudiS4

it was mentioned in my GE interview by US Customers, maybe he wasn't fully up to speed, but with a number of people starting to see %'s decline.

CJKatl

So let me get this straight... You're saying a low level worker at US Customs told you something about TSA and you think that's a reliable source? It's so super-secret that it hasn't been leaked anywhere else, but a low level person in an entirely different organization who just happens to know about it blabs to you. (You do realize while both are under the US Dept of Homeland Security, there are two distinctly different organizations, right?)

Again, it makes no sense for TSA to take what is working and make it more expensive, especially given the flack they got a few months ago when the lines were slowed at the start of the forced government budget cuts. At that time, TSA made it clear they were looking for ways to move more people into the Pre-Check lines, not a way to move more people back to the regular lines. Given that nothing has changed budget-wise, it seems unlikely TSA would be thinking of anything like this, could afford to move people back, nor could handle the PR backlash if they did.

MNAudiS4

Not trying to start a fight, it is what it is. If TSA is so proud of this and giving airlines freebies for flyers that fly a lot why come out with a program and make people Pay to get Pre-Check!

It will be phased out all good things phase away when money gets involved.

GUWonder

Money is already involved. The PreCheck-enrolled airlines airlines are a substantial material contributor to PreCheck's cost.

readywhenyouare

Look, all I'm saying is that from what I've seen the evidence seems to indicate that those without Global Entry and a trusted traveler number do not have as consistent of an experience getting Pre-check as those that do.

mdb

I think of it as extra love ;-)

CJKatl

Again, ridiculous...

Pre-Check started with a group the airlines and TSA were able to identify as the lowest risk. The next group doesn't automatically qualify as the lowest risk, but upon more detailed examination may fit the criteria. By paying a fee, those in that second group are able to have a background check and interview to determine if they do qualify. The fee pays for the background check, fingerprint check and interview. The first group didn't need those things, so they didn't have to pay for those things.

You are not paying for Pre-Check. You are paying the costs associated with being qualified for Pre-Check. Pre-Check saves TSA money. With their current budget concerns, TSA isn't about to make things more expensive by taking those who have already been deemed trustworthy and push them into the more expensive line.

For that matter, those with GE haven't paid for Pre-Check, either. Once they've been approved by that other government agency, TSA knows they are trustworthy and puts them through the cheaper line.

BTW, I've paid for TSA 100 times this year. Putting me through the cheaper line is what makes the most money for TSA.