Cost may kill travel program
 

USA Today article

ROTFLOL. As if we expected anything less out of these @$$ clowns ...

Ahoy, USS Clueless!!! :mad:

If it saved me five minutes per airport trip they could charge me double that every year.

"Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!" -Representative Robert Goodloe Harper, Address, June 18, 1798.

I don't care if it's $2 or $200, I am not participating in the Extorted Traveler Program.

If this is what it takes to kill Extorted Traveler, than so be it.

Knock yourself out, TF. It is, as they say, a free country after all.

Frankly, I'd rather drop 400 greenbacks on something else than aide and abet mission creep in the name of "national security."

The United States does not negotiate with terrorists and neither do I.

Die, Extorted Traveler, Die!

Sidebar info graphic:

N.B. this does *not* include the estimated $80 in annual fees to the companies maintaining the program. *feh*

I won't participate in it either, but I find it utterly amazing that they can screw up something that is that simple. Is this the least competent handful of fools in the world or what?

Viva la libertad!

You're amazed? This is the government we're talking about. Do the words, "I'm from the government, I'm here to help" mean anything to you?!

Just say NO to the Extorted Traveler program!

Since they're charging for it I would call this program a consumer product. As a consumer product, it doesn't get me anything. A maybe shorter line? The airlines and airports are slowly but surely taking care of that by introduction of elite lines, which I feel work very well at the locations where they are available.

Shorter lines mean nothing at most small and medium airports where there is routinely only one security line open. Are they going to guarantee that even at the smallest airport there will always be a seperate line, even if only a few people per day use it? If there isn't a seperate line, can a Trusted Traveler cut in to the one line like airline and airport employees do? If so, then maybe it's worth something.

It would be worth something, regardless of lines, if you received a credintial that you could hand to the first screener and would allow you to keep your shoes on, take all the water and toothpaste you can fit into your carryon bag through, no need to take your computer out of the bag, and never a secondary search. If you're trusted you're trusted, so no need for any of the theatre.

As is, of the little I personally have experienced with this program (early beta test via American Airlines at National a couple of years ago) it really gets you nothing of value on a daily basis.

Assuming you get the card in the first place. @:-)

Does anyone honestly believe that in the case where you've plunked down your $200 and one or another of the background checks either doesn't come up clean, or isn't even your record to begin with, that you'll get all (or even some) of your money back? Hah!

I'm sorry, but this is the U.S. Federal Gov't we're talking about it. If they can **** up the No-Fly List w/nil-to-zilch accountability or mechanism for redress why on earth would anyone pay for the privilege to chance it? The chasm in logic here is stunning.

absolutely!
 

My worry is 'who will have access to the information and how far out of control will that information get?'

I'm not paying!

That's an extremely important point. Why give anyone the chance to put you on a no-fly list??? ^ ^ ^ ^

All it will do is effectively get you near the front of the queue. You will still have to take off your shoes, place baggage on the conveyor, walk through the metal detector and possibly receive a secondary screening.

The cost for all this might be $200 on paper but having all your personal information in one database managed by these monkeys will probably not be worth it.

Glad to see the reality check of money.

I'm not voluntarily paying money for these kind of things, and I've turned away opportunities to enroll in some of these "protection" rackets without charge.