Is it worth it to do a TSA pre-check?
If you've traveled by plane in the past聽five years, you may have seen a separate TSA line clear security much, much faster than yours. This is TSA Pre-Check, a special program that takes a large suffering out of traveling in the United States. How do you get into TSA Pre-Check? Read on, dear readers!
What are the benefits of Pre-Check?
Not only do you get your own, much shorter聽line at security, you'll also have the privilege of not taking off your shoes, not separating your liquids and not聽removing your聽laptop from your bag. Anything non-metal can stay in your pockets, and your watch and belt can stay on. Basically, all you have to do is put your bag and cell phone through the metal detector. When there's no line, the whole process can take less than 30 seconds.
Ok, I'm in. How do I get it?
TSA Pre-Check costs $85 for a five-year membership. If you just want to pay, you can do so , and you'll need to set up a time for an appointment at the airport, and not have one of these .
Don't want to pay? There are ways that you can get this聽membership for free, like if聽your credit card includes a membership credit for Global Entry, which is a fast pass for customs, you'll receive TSA Pre-Check automatically. This normally costs $100, but credit cards like the and include it as a membership benefit. If you just want TSA Pre-Check, that is reimbursed instead of Global Entry (but why not get both?).
Keep in mind that Global Entry is a harder-to-get membership. I've seen聽friends denied for past arrests, even minor ones. If you've ever been arrested, you may have difficulty getting this membership.
Just this week, the TSA unveiled another option to pay for your membership -- Alaska Airlines Miles. You can redeem 10,000 miles for the $85 membership fee. I wouldn't recommend this, as it's a terrible redemption value, but if you're miles-rich and don't care, this is an option.
In all, I'd estimate that TSA Pre-Check has saved me from spending about聽two聽days of my life in line over the last three and a half聽years. The value is there.
This article first appeared at .
