General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsOMG TSA PreCheck rocks!!!
Or, rather, regular security sucks.
I just got ushered out of a long line into a non-line and sent through with shoes on, no body scan, laptop in bag, jacket and belt on and nonmetal stuff in my pockets.
We'll worth the interview process.
The Straight Story
(48,121 posts)Cause I am wondering how it would have turned out...
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)Funny thing-- flight delayed due to TSA security delays.
Doremus
(7,273 posts)NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)Plus a $100 fee, I think, then you can waltz through security faster than first class.
International travel is similarly simplified!
Doremus
(7,273 posts)cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)Like the rich folks paying disabled people to give them head-of-the-line privileges at Disney, this smacks of elitism.
How about all travelers (or at least frequen ones) get the pre-check interview once, then get to bypass security, for free?
Glad you had a good experience. Too bad for all those suckers standing in line...
snooper2
(30,151 posts)cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)Creating a system that is more theater than security which impedes traffic, irritates travelers, and does little to stop "terrorism" that rich people can buy their way out of is bullshit.
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)Companies will pay the fee.
MindPilot
(12,693 posts)Kind of weird since they have already foot the bill for most of us to get clearances.
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)In your case, I would assume the Pre-Check isn't something your employer can get reimbursed from the government on, and the employer doesn't want to cover it either.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)that kind of thing is helpful. Fortunately, I am not anymore, but I used to be.
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)Where they give you glass and metal knives and free drinks, just for money.
Please also be upset about that.
ecstatic
(35,133 posts)tammywammy
(26,582 posts)NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)I went for Global Entry, the ID card, a bunch of stuff that I think goes beyond just PreCheck.
Must be good for five or six years, expires on my birthday but I got it a couple months after my 2013 birthday.
kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)everything else.
MindPilot
(12,693 posts)You are now one of the untouchable elite?
I have heard tales--wild stories about the before time--all American subjects were allowed to travel unmonitored. What a dark and dangerous time that must've been.
hatrack
(65,128 posts)Once you had a good grip on its coat, the ride was quite pleasant.
NightWatcher
(39,382 posts)And they wouldn't even really check you out?
How's that secure?
The tsa is not about real security, it's about perceptions.
ecstatic
(35,133 posts)I'm guessing the TSA realizes the risks and the background check is SUPER thorough and discriminatory against certain races and religions.
NightWatcher
(39,382 posts)If USIS did the check, odds are nobody did the check, and now here's a guy who isn't going to be screened and would make a perfect bomb mule.
ecstatic
(35,133 posts)NightWatcher
(39,382 posts)and use it to blackmail the guy with the prescreen pass to get him to carry whatever said package I want onto a plane.
This is why background checks are important. It's not only about keeping people with skeletons in their closet out of secured positions, but it's about making sure that those in secure positions cannot be blackmailed by the skeletons that they were trying to hide....that the background check missed.
ecstatic
(35,133 posts)Where someone goes crazy or becomes radicalized after being approved for PreCheck...
But I just can't imagine someone being *blackmailed* into bringing down an airliner. At that point, it's so much easier to flee the country or just confess to whatever the blackmailer knows. Even if a blackmailer threatens to kill the family, there's still no guarantee that the blackmailer won't kill them anyway after the person being blackmailed is killed or captured.
hunter
(40,851 posts)I wonder how much they pay someone who can pass the background check?
Or is this one of those perks given only to corrupt insiders using ordinary people like yourself as cover to "explain" to the rest of us why some people can pass security without fuss?
MadrasT
(7,237 posts)There was an hour long "regular" line. I got to use TSA precheck and there was NO ONE in the line at all.
I got to opt in when it was a pilot program due to being a very frequent flyer at the time - the airline invited me to participate. Didn't have to interview or do anything special at all.
I fucking love it. I was virtually skipping through the airport after that.
MineralMan
(151,532 posts)couple of flights each year. I'm strictly a carry-on guy, and I've learned how to make my trip through security as painless as possible. The lines can be an issue, at times, but I've found screening areas in most terminals that are less well-known, and use them rather than the ones being used by most travelers. A little more walking, but
I really fly between only two airports, MSP and LAX, and both are quite efficient. Their TSA workers are all professional and the ones at MSP are even friendly. It's just not an issue for me.
I fly on Sun Country airlines exclusively now. It's in the smaller Terminal 2 at MSP and in Terminal 2 in LAX, as well. At MSP, there's a second security screening area at the very end of the terminal. It's small, and most people don't even know it's there. You just walk down, go up a flight of stairs and walk right through. There's a similar one at LAX in Terminal 2, also. It's quite a way from the check-in kiosks, but I always have my boarding pass from home, so it's not an issue, since I don't check a bag. Going back, it's the same thing. I just go in the door nearest the screening area.
Most people see the nearest security screening location and just get in line. If the line's long, ask one of the nice TSA folks if there's another screening area in the terminal. They'll point it out to you, and you'll see that very few people are using it, so there you go. You'll walk a bit farther to your gate, but...you won't be standing in the long line, watching people fumble through their stuff.
I stopped carrying a notebook computer long ago, and just have my little Kindle Fire tablet. That's already in my carry-on. Everything else on my person, including my belt goes in one of the pockets in my travel jacket, which I chose for its numerous large pockets that have button flaps. It's actually a Czech Army dress uniform coat that I bought brand new at a surplus store for $10. It's a great travel garment.
When I get to the belt, I slip out of my shoes, put the carry-on on the belt, put my jacket and shoes in a bin, and I'm done. I walk through the metal detector or the scanner, and then pick up my stuff off the belt, sit down on one of the handy chairs, put my shoes on, put my belt and other crap on or in my pockets, put my jacket on and roll my carry-on to the gate. It's a simple routine. The whole thing just takes a few minutes, and I'm done.
Oh, yeah, I arrive at the airport with plenty of time to spare, too, so I usually have a bite to eat at one of the handy places near my gate. I'm in no hurry.
backscatter712
(26,357 posts)cbayer
(146,218 posts)As the wait at the Tijuana border can be up to 3 hours (or even more), it is well worth the fee and time to get the approval.
They will also be inspecting my car so that I can drive through the border without any hassle.
It's not elitist at all, imo. The background check is extensive and if your time is worth more than about $1/hour and you have to cross borders frequently, it pays for itself very quickly.
It's totally optional and every individual has to make the decision as to whether it is worth the cost to them.
How soon after the interview did you get the authorization?
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)Interviewed on Saturday, approved on Monday, card came on Friday.
Quick!
cbayer
(146,218 posts)In addition to needing to cross the border in my car, I will be taking more international flights over the next couple of years.
My understanding is that when entering the country, you can use a kiosk to do almost everything that needs to be done. This is also going to be extremely efficient and time saving.
Very glad to hear that it is working out for you.
Matariki
(18,775 posts)Do you get a tattoo during the interview?
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)And she hailed me over.
HipChick
(25,615 posts)I just stay in the top tier of my airline FF program...I just look at the plebs that still have to go through the body scanner, take out the laptops, take off the jackets and belt and ...
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)This process is for Global Entry, which includes PreCheck.
Comes with a fancy card and everything!

obnoxiousdrunk
(3,118 posts)mainer
(12,579 posts)I got the GOES card because I make multiple international trips for business. Makes coming back into the country so easy, using just the kiosk and no waiting in line for the immigration agent. However, even GOES approved flyers will sometimes randomly be sent through regular screening, just to give the system some semblance of security.
As for domestic pre-check, yeah it's great.
flamingdem
(40,978 posts)Sounds worthwhile
cbayer
(146,218 posts)upaloopa
(11,417 posts)I mean what's with paying to get on board first? You get to cram a storage bin with all your stuff before anyone else gets a chance to put theirs in?
Flying sucks I think. I flew a 767 from Atlanta to LAX and it was hell. I could not recline the seat. I was forced to watch travel commercials on the screen in front of my face and the seat was so small with no let room.
I'd rather stay home or drive or take a train.
Link Speed
(650 posts)I love that part.
upaloopa
(11,417 posts)Link Speed
(650 posts)GF and I are so fortunate. Two-seat rows (so we don't have to share a row with someone who should be required to purchase two tickets) and no kids.
Most of our flights are coast-to-coast and my knees and hips barely survive Coach flights.
flamingdem
(40,978 posts)Each to their own!
RobinA
(10,478 posts)but they wanted my fingerprints. My aim in life at this point is to die an old lady without ever giving government my fingerprints, my blood, or my DNA.
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)I'm keeping my DNA.
They have my prints already from other clearance procedures.