CarefulBuilder14

My mother (US citizen, senior citizen) gets PreCheck whenever she flies despite having never paid or interviewed for it. Before I applied for and received PreCheck and GE, I would get PreCheck if I was traveling with her. I never got PreCheck when she wasn't on my reservation.

So a plausible explanation is that they think elderly women are a low-risk group...and that if I was going to do something violent, I wouldn't do it when my mother was on the plane.

stargold

I'm not sure when was the last time your mother flew, but my understanding from this thread and elsewhere is that most (if not all) groups of people who used to "get it for free" no longer do - the only exceptions that quickly come to mind are travel companions of trusted travellers (same PNR), military personnel and minors under the age of 14 who are accompanying a trusted traveller.

TWA884

Passengers 75 and older receive expedited screening and more often than not full PreCheck benefits.


[with my moderator's hat on] And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming, which is non-PreCheck or GE enrolled passengers who are traveling with companions or family members who receive the PreCheck designation on their boarding passes. [moderator's had off]

CarefulBuilder14

We last had a reservation together in April 2017 (before I joined TTP) and both got Pre then.

We both have solo reservations later this month, as well as one reservation together. I'll ask her if she gets it on her solo flight and give an update after all the flights.

I know some articles suggest the practice of giving Pre to people who didn't interview or pay was discontinued in late 2015 or early 2016, but that has definitely not been the case for her.

*She's a few years younger than 75.

drewguy

Seems like it can be summarized as this:

Precheck for non-precheck passengers when traveling with (on same PNR) someone who has precheck: likely

Global entry for non-GE passengers when traveling with someone who has GE:
never

TWA884

That's a subject for another thread:

CarefulBuilder14

She received Pre on a solo flight today.

On a separate flight, I got semi-Pre as a GE member. I kept my shoes on but had to take liquids out. There was no proper Pre line at ONT.

TWA884

AKA PreCheck Light.

joeypore

Hello, I noticed a thread on this a while back, but it didn't have all of the information I was looking for on it.

I know officially speaking this isn't supposed to happen, but I've noticed that every reservation I've been on lately with a traveling companion, they have gotten TSA PreCheck along with me, though they do not have a KTN. Additionally, my parents are in their mid-60s and have gotten it every time in the last 2 years (even when not traveling with me)

I'm booking a trip with 3 other people soon and wondering if we should book all 4 people together in hopes that all 4 of us get PreCheck... (reasons why we would book separately have to do with basic economy and seat assignments, you have the best chance of getting better auto-assigned seats with parties of 2)

Curious if anyone else has had these experiences lately with PreCheck and traveling companions.

TWA884

Your question is a proper subject for that thread, so I have merged the thread that you started into it.

To answer your question, there are numerous reports in this thread, some of them as recent as the second half of 2017, of companions traveling with trusted traveler on the same PNR receiving PreCheck on their boarding passes.

TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator

ashill

+1

And I have consistent experience both with that and the converse: when my companions without known traveler numbers are on different PNRs, they never get PreCheck. This is definitely a reason to keep all passengers on a PNR with at least one traveler with a KTN. (This really only applies to adults; kids without PreCheck can accompany you in the PreCheck line anyway, so they can be on their own reservation, though with some airlines it can be tricky to convince them to let you do that without treating them as an unaccompanied minor.)

mandabear

I recently traveled with my mom (no KTN) and I have Global Entry. We booked our flight together with my KTN appended to my ticket and she was able to get PreCheck to and from our destination.

GUWonder

Ari

That's one way to put it.

TWA884

This thread is for discussing traveling with companions who are not "Trusted Travelers."

Please discuss non-trusted travelers, including senior citizens, who received the PreCheck designation on their boarding passes when they were not travel companions of trusted travelers in the following thread:
Thank you,

TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator