Tip for Your Trip: TSA-PreCheck
- Oct 22
- 7 min read
Disclaimer: This information is not intended to provide legal consultation. All links were accurate at the time of publication and will be monitored accordingly. MC Enterprises takes no responsibility for the reader's application. Readers should go to either a TSA Enrollment Center or check with the TSA's website for current regulations and procedures. This article is an introduction to current information only.
Get TSA-PreCheck
Security checks, part of our lives in the USA even before 9/11/2001, is now almost a guarantee before entering almost every public venue. Getting through airport security is especially frustrating because of all of the steps involved: have your boarding pass and ID in hand and at the same time take off your shoes, take out your laptop, no items in your pockets, no more than 3 ounces of liquids, creams or oils in bottles that fit into a 1 quart bag while perhaps juggling kids in tow. Whew!
When the pandemic started in 2020, travel was already affected. In fact, it was travel that helped spread the Covid-19 virus extremely quickly. Cruise ships were denied port entry and forced to stay at sea. By the time the world had figured it out, millions of people were sick and had died.
Thankfully, the situation improved. And travel started up again. People started making up for lost time. There were some temporary restrictions put into place: wear a mask, stay six feet away from one another. Planes did not sell out the entire flight so that there could be seats in between passengers. Hotels, cruises and theme parks limited how many people could be in their locations.
Little by little, restrictions started to be lifted. This blogger was actually in Disney World the day the mask restriction was abandoned. We literally had to wear the mask to enter the park. Suddenly, in the middle of the day, a notification came through on the Disney app and in our emails. The restrictions were over. People literally took off their masks right then and there.
Travel picked up with more speed that one could imagine. People started booking the trips they had to postpone for almost two years. And air travel got crowded again.
Real ID regulations were delayed for a few years to allow for the chaos of the pandemic. For the United States, it meant that you had to have either a passport (book or card) or an upgrade to your state issued ID (driver's license or non-driver ID) to fly domestically, within the 50 states and territories. Applications for passports increased. When REAL ID finally kicked in, travelers started understanding exactly what that meant and how important it was to travel within their own country.
Meanwhile, those who could actually guess that the pandemic would not last forever started making plans to renew passports and their TSA Pre-Check enrollments. Those who did not have TSA Pre-Check started investigating how to get it.
TSA-PreCheck, for those of us in the United States, means you can go through US airport security in a different line from the general security line, keep a light jacket on, as well as keeping your electronics in your bag in addition to your clear bag of liquids in your carryon. You theoretically will get through security faster than the general line. Of course this privilege is all for a fee of course. One bonus was phased out: all adults traveling together must have their own TSA PreCheck. In the past, if airline tickets were booked together, everyone was waved through on one person's enrollment. Not anymore.
The best way to be pre-checked for USA domestic flights is to pay the current fee for five years. If you fly often or if you don't like the long lines or inconvenience, this may be worth it. You might be able to use the enrollment when you fly out of the United States to other countries (you will still be in the US, after all), but you may not be able to have such privileges when you return. It all depends on the security procedures in a particular country and/or airport.
For those of us in the United States, this is the current procedure: 1. Pre-register online: https://www.tsa.gov/precheck 2. Make an appointment at a center: https://www.tsa.gov/precheck/enrollment-centers 3. Bring the necessary documents. 4. Be ready to scan your fingerprint. 5. Pay the fee, valid five years. 6. After a background check based on your application, you will receive an email and/or a letter with your Known Traveler Number (KTN). Unfortunately, you don’t get any type of card, so hold onto that email/letter. You can also look up your number.
7. You will get an email when it is time to renew.
Getting Through Security even with TSA-Pre-Check:
If you have a lot of electronics, your bag might be examined again, so it is advisable to remove one of them when you go through (for example, a tablet and a laptop). Those of us who travel with cameras have adopted some interesting procedures.
My Tips: There is usually an agent at the pre-check lane checking your boarding pass to make sure it says pre-check or has check mark on your boarding pass. That agent might also enforce the carryon rules (one carryon and one personal item). I usually have my camera on crossbody style and I quickly tell the agent that I will put it in the bag after I go through security. If they insist, I don't argue, but more often than not, they understand.
So if you have a lot of electronics, put them in smaller bags within your personal item, which most likely will be the easier bag to open. Use those foldable shopping bags that can be compact.
When you reach security, immediately explain to the agent that you have a lot of electronics, pull the one or two bags out quickly, place them in the bin and breeze through. For me, putting my action camera gear in one bag and my phone gimbal and mic in another is usually enough. When I also put my tablet and regular camera in the bin, it works. I move quickly enough not to hold people up. And because everything is in a bag with a handle, it's easy to grab on the other side. Take the time to secure everything immediately when you come through the scanners so that you don't lose or leave anything.
The second possible flag is a lot of cords and cables. I leave one in my personal item so that I can charge my phone. The rest are put in my carryon, not the personal item. And I secure the cables with cord wraps. My favorites are these:
And if I have to check my carryon, the cords are ok to go below in the cargo hold.
Finally, many airlines have put in restrictions about portable chargers. They should be below a certain wattage but bloggers who use their phones know that having enough portable power throughout the day is crucial. I found one that will charge my phone at least twice and still have some power left over and made it through 3 different airlines and countries. You cannot use an external battery pack on many planes (hence the cord that I put in my carryon), but you cannot check it in your checked luggage either. This one was very good, a little heavy, but it's what I need.
The question we get asked is "is it worth it." And our answer is, for us, yes. Even though the "take off your shoes" rule has been suspended, you might be asked to take them off and scan them separately if they have a lot of metal in/on them. But that can happen even when you have the pre-check.
The lines are still shorter although more and more people are getting the pre-check. But airports are accommodating them: certain security stations will be converted to a pre-check line when needed.
So, for this blogger, we will continue to keep our enrollment. When you travel often, one less delay can make a difference, even when you're traveling economy on the plane itself. You can get through to the terminal faster, to enjoy the amenities of the airport while you wait to board.
So, judge for yourself if you want to make your life a little easier, you might want to spend the money to get you through the hassle of flying just a bit faster.
Disclaimer: This information is not intended to provide legal consultation. All links were accurate at the time of publication and will be monitored accordingly. MC Enterprises takes no responsibility for the reader's application. Readers should go to either a TSA Enrollment Center or check with the TSA's website for current regulations and procedures. This article is an introduction to current information only. The NYC Traveler Presents Tips for Your Trips
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