IAD and DCA are terrible for PreCheck because everyone in this area has Clearance or a DoD number, which automatically allows a traveler to go through PreCheck.

It's really annoying if you don't work for GovCo or the Military Industrial Complex.

I was distracted once and walked through the metal detector with my company badge on (not actually a DoD ID). Evidently they are so used to this, the TSA agent just said something like "oh did you forget to take out your CAC?" and I was like "oh yeah" and showed them the badge - forget if they even made me go back through :p

EWR also.

do you have a source for this? I know many in these communities who paid for precheck because it was not automatic. Maybe a CAC gets precheck, but there is no obvious documentation to prove one has a security clearance, for good reason.

A lot of civilian government travelers also do what private-sector frequent travelers do - pay the $85 (or $100 for GE) to get Pre-check access. I think most of what you're seeing are simply that a lot of people in the Washington area who travel realize it's sensible to have precheck.

FWIW, it's hard to tell the difference in lines at IAD because non-precheck is out of sight down the stairs. At DCA it's easy, and I've seen equally long lines during business travel times to an almost empty precheck line (walked up) vs. a massive regular line a few days after Christmas.

Having a clearance alone does not get you Pre, but many people in DC have a CAC - you don't even need to be directly employed by the government.

I don't know how you get that AT ALL from my comment. I was simply saying that CLEAR was mismanaging the flow of the line. Had nothing to do with how many CLEAR employees are at their kiosks. That wasn't the issue. Issue was flow thru security.

As a general proposition, I find that Pre-Check at both IAD and DCA runs quickly and with minimal intrusion. Even a physically long line moves swiftly.

yep, I’ve had one myself at prior points. I doubt it would give you automatic access to precheck though. Maybe it does, I certainly didn’t try. But you”d think reports of people flashing CACs at the entry to the precheck lines would be numerous if so.

A CAC does not get precheck (it used to but not anymore). A Gov CAC number can be put in a passengers record and will get precheck. Contractor CAC cards or numbers will not get precheck.