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I commented on the blog last evening regarding TSA Pre-Check and thought of a couple of other things you might be interested to know. TSA Pre-Check has a separate TSA line for Pre-Check members at most airports.  The line is almost always shorter or non-existent.  When going through the TSA Pre-Check inspection you don't need to remove your belt, shoes or computers.  Also some liquids are exempt from inspection.  To obtain Pre-Check also called a Known Traveler Number, it costs $85 dollars for 5 years and is readily obtainable.  TSA Pre-Check offices are at most major airports, some Staples Stores and other locations depending on location.  We went to the local Staples Store without an appointment.  We walked up to the TSA Pre-Check office spoke with the official who was very polite and waited on us immediately.  Total time for both of us in and out of Staples was 30 minutes.  There are a number of companies which will assist you in obtaining a TSA Pre-Check for a fee.  I would suggest you follow the included link to a U.S. Gov site and avoid the private companies that charge a fee.  The first time we used Pre-Check was in March on our ExOS.  When we arrived at the airport the security line wrapped around and out the door.  The Pre-Check line was virtually empty and was literally a walk through.  From the time we applied until our Pre-Check number was issued was 4 days.  Here is the link: https://universalenroll.dhs.gov/workflows?servicecode=11115V&service=pre-enroll&utm_campaign=WT-TSA+|+Enrollment+-+Priority+Direct&utm_source=google_ads_search_direct&utm_medium=Precheck&utm_term=tsa precheck&ds_rl=1283576&ds_rl=1283576&gclid=CjwKCAjw2rmWBhB4EiwAiJ0mteI7pueB8RGqJVW7JecVQ9VBp6bPWrU__ZpyJVg7MF2iCfFberSRJxoCFKUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Bill

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I have TSA pre-check, and I'm still often required to nearly completely undress for them.  And if that's not enough, occasionally they take me to the interrogation room for the second string to also feel me up. 

But the line is shorter to get to this point.

So as soon as we think we've got it figured out, we don't.🥴

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I fully support @Paid4c4's post.  This may sound like I don't but I do.  Just a little experience that you may want to be aware of:

We have Pre-Check.  Why?  I don't know other than I have to have the latest and greatest!  Anyway, on our way back home from Seattle, we go through the Pre-Check line, we don't remove our shoes or belts.  Well, the beeper goes off because of my metal belt buckle AND my wife and I both have bionic knees.  There is no body scan at the kiosk we went through.  So, we are told to follow one of the TSA agents.  We walk from one side, the very first kiosk on the left to the very last kiosk on the right to go through the body scan device.  All the time, I have my wallet, electronics bag, and drone sitting somewhere over at the first kiosk area.  We actually had to wait for a TSA agent to become available to do the body scan.  It wasn't long but it was a bit of a wait.  So, I suggest that you take any clothing and/or accessories that contain metal off before going through the mag machine.    

People say, including the surgeon, that the replacement joint will not effect security Mags.  Well, when I'm not going through Pre-Check, I always take off my belt, if wearing one, ring, and so on.  I try to make myself invisible to the mag machines.  My wife does the same.  Well, the mag machines ALWAYS go off on us.  This includes getting on a Royal cruise ship.  We get the wand treatment.  They can't find anything with the wand and then it's like a light goes off in their head, "do you have any metal joints, screws or plates?"  Yes, Okay go ahead. 

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1 hour ago, WAYNO said:

I have TSA pre-check, and I'm still often required to nearly completely undress for them.  And if that's not enough, occasionally they take me to the interrogation room for the second string to also feel me up. 

But the line is shorter to get to this point.

So as soon as we think we've got it figured out, we don't.🥴

REALLY?!

Damn. My plan was to finally commit to the process of TSA pre check. For some unknown reason I get stopped A LOT, like a lot a lot. I've never been arrested, don't have speeding tickets (I know that doesn't count), never tried to get away with anything, don't do drugs...the list of how boring I am continues yet I've been stopped for feel-ups and full checks many many times. I present as a short and chubby Italian American woman who's probably middle aged and my last name isn't common. It's always NY (my home state) I have a problem, never within the country or even out of the country. I've never even had a meltdown on the plane. 

Good to know that there is still a chance of a full body pat down. 

 

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18 minutes ago, ellcee said:

REALLY?!

Damn. My plan was to finally commit to the process of TSA pre check. For some unknown reason I get stopped A LOT, like a lot a lot. I've never been arrested, don't have speeding tickets (I know that doesn't count), never tried to get away with anything, don't do drugs...the list of how boring I am continues yet I've been stopped for feel-ups and full checks many many times. I present as a short and chubby Italian American woman who's probably middle aged and my last name isn't common. It's always NY (my home state) I have a problem, never within the country or even out of the country. I've never even had a meltdown on the plane. 

Good to know that there is still a chance of a full body pat down. 

 

That's where I'm at too.  I've never done anything to make me in any way a threat, but I seldom get thru TSA without the full TSA special.  My wife, always in the line ahead of me to retrieve all my belongings when I get stripped and/or groped, is never stopped.  She sails on through every time.  Ironically, she used to travel with her very elderly mother a lot, and her mother was often singled out for the whole deal.😲  There is no understanding.

But, as I said, the shorter line is still a perk.🤩

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I guess it all depends on what airport your are traveling from/to, vice versa, and the time of your flights... my husband will not shell out the $85.00, and I hate to admit he was right the last time we traveled, there was hardly no line in the regular tsa line on our 1st  flight and on our way home from Miami, there was maybe a 5 minute wait through tsa, and taking off shoes and belt really isn't a big deal, imo.

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I second TSA pre check.  Last month my mother and I breezed through MCO TSA (even after double checking my mother's knee scan). My daughters family didnt want to pay the money for the service so she waited in line. My mother and I went ahead to the gate area- we ate lunch before my daughters family made it to the gate. So at MCO- its def worth it!

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Interesting.  I followed the link.  It is quite thorough and lists the documents I would need as a married woman. (birth certificate, marriage certificatae-both need to be original/certified and my drivers' license.)  The only thing about the website I did not care for was having to enter all my info to be able to find out the locations I can go......Closest is 40 minutes away.  Duly noted and I will likely regret not doing this for my July flight.  The earliest I could get an appointment was one week. (not bad)

I travel with tons of snacks for my kids. I was stopped once  and they unpacked my very well packed bag, that took me "forever" to strategically pack.  Apparently the Little Debbie brownies look like C-4. (yes, that's what they said after my search-surprised they said anything).   Thankfully I carry an extra bag with my carryon stuff, because I would have been standing there forever to get that bag repacked.    Needless to say, I no longer pack Little Debbie brownies.

Btw-for those who do not know, you CAN bring a sealed bottle of water through.  I try to remember to leave it out of my bag .  If I forget they look closely at my entire bag-takes longer-  Either way they tell me I am not allowed to have it,  I tell them it is for me to take my medication (you are allowed to bring it through for this purpose). It usually garners an eyeroll, and  they then  put it in some machine for a special scan and hand it back.  
 

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55 minutes ago, Pattycruise said:

Interesting.  I followed the link.  It is quite thorough and lists the documents I would need as a married woman. (birth certificate, marriage certificatae-both need to be original/certified and my drivers' license.)  The only thing about the website I did not care for was having to enter all my info to be able to find out the locations I can go......Closest is 40 minutes away.  Duly noted and I will likely regret not doing this for my July flight.  The earliest I could get an appointment was one week. (not bad)

I travel with tons of snacks for my kids. I was stopped once  and they unpacked my very well packed bag, that took me "forever" to strategically pack.  Apparently the Little Debbie brownies look like C-4. (yes, that's what they said after my search-surprised they said anything).   Thankfully I carry an extra bag with my carryon stuff, because I would have been standing there forever to get that bag repacked.    Needless to say, I no longer pack Little Debbie brownies.

Btw-for those who do not know, you CAN bring a sealed bottle of water through.  I try to remember to leave it out of my bag .  If I forget they look closely at my entire bag-takes longer-  Either way they tell me I am not allowed to have it,  I tell them it is for me to take my medication (you are allowed to bring it through for this purpose). It usually garners an eyeroll, and  they then  put it in some machine for a special scan and hand it back.  
 

The website doesn't mention this but the registration sites do take walk-ins.  You may have to wait a few minutes, in our case there were two appointments that didn't show and we took their time slots.  

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8 minutes ago, Paid4c4 said:

The website doesn't mention this but the registration sites do take walk-ins.  You may have to wait a few minutes, in our case there were two appointments that didn't show and we took their time slots.  

Great info!!
 I happened to have been at this Identgo site when I took my daughter for fingerprinting for her teacher's licensing.....it's a hard pass on walk in.  This particular location is NOT friendly-even with appointments.  Reminds me of the "old government workers at the DMV in NY" when I was growing up.    it was never a good experience. That and the "catch Covid" exposure this close to my cruise makes  it not worth it.  I will definitely look into this when we return for our future sailings.  (and of course as I get stuck in the inevitable line at the airport I'll remember this conversation and kick myself!!)

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1 hour ago, Pattycruise said:

Interesting.  I followed the link.  It is quite thorough and lists the documents I would need as a married woman. (birth certificate, marriage certificatae-both need to be original/certified and my drivers' license.) 
 

just need your Passport, it will cover all documentation requirements

Also just noticed they now have a Renewal option which they did not have the last 2 times mine expired.  Then i had to do the whole process again

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2 hours ago, Cruisegirl1976 said:

I guess it all depends on what airport your are traveling from/to, vice versa, and the time of your flights... my husband will not shell out the $85.00, and I hate to admit he was right the last time we traveled, there was hardly no line in the regular tsa line on our 1st  flight and on our way home from Miami, there was maybe a 5 minute wait through tsa, and taking off shoes and belt really isn't a big deal, imo.

Certainly the airports, time of day, and time of year play into it as well.  At our home airport (SDF) it really doesn't help a lot most times since we fly at about 5:00 AM.  However at places like Miami, we've had to wait nearly an hour for my in-laws to go through the regular line (they don't have precheck yet) when our line was less than 5 minutes.  

I like pre check since (most times) i don't have to take my CPAP or computer out of my bag when going through.  We've had it for 5 years and just renewed, and the only time i've had to take the cpap out was in LAX, on September 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the trade center attacks, so I just attributed it to extra security on the anniversary.  Even then the line at LAX was less than 10 minutes

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2 hours ago, WAYNO said:

That's where I'm at too.  I've never done anything to make me in any way a threat, but I seldom get thru TSA without the full TSA special.  My wife, always in the line ahead of me to retrieve all my belongings when I get stripped and/or groped, is never stopped.  She sails on through every time.  Ironically, she used to travel with her very elderly mother a lot, and her mother was often singled out for the whole deal.😲  There is no understanding.

But, as I said, the shorter line is still a perk.🤩

does it tend to happen at "smaller" airports.  There is some randomness to the extra security and if you're flying at a smaller airport during less busy times you may be flagged often.  Before I had pre-check i got stopped often at my home airport for extra security checks and swabbing my hands.  But our airport is not very busy most times at 5:00 AM so it's like i was always the "5th caller!"

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36 minutes ago, Reigert2008 said:

does it tend to happen at "smaller" airports.  There is some randomness to the extra security and if you're flying at a smaller airport during less busy times you may be flagged often.  Before I had pre-check i got stopped often at my home airport for extra security checks and swabbing my hands.  But our airport is not very busy most times at 5:00 AM so it's like i was always the "5th caller!"

I dunno... Is PDX a small airport?  Or Kansas City, or Lauderdale?

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4 hours ago, Moby Dick said:

I fully support @Paid4c4's post.  This may sound like I don't but I do.  Just a little experience that you may want to be aware of:

We have Pre-Check.  Why?  I don't know other than I have to have the latest and greatest!  Anyway, on our way back home from Seattle, we go through the Pre-Check line, we don't remove our shoes or belts.  Well, the beeper goes off because of my metal belt buckle AND my wife and I both have bionic knees.  There is no body scan at the kiosk we went through.  So, we are told to follow one of the TSA agents.  We walk from one side, the very first kiosk on the left to the very last kiosk on the right to go through the body scan device.  All the time, I have my wallet, electronics bag, and drone sitting somewhere over at the first kiosk area.  We actually had to wait for a TSA agent to become available to do the body scan.  It wasn't long but it was a bit of a wait.  So, I suggest that you take any clothing and/or accessories that contain metal off before going through the mag machine.    

People say, including the surgeon, that the replacement joint will not effect security Mags.  Well, when I'm not going through Pre-Check, I always take off my belt, if wearing one, ring, and so on.  I try to make myself invisible to the mag machines.  My wife does the same.  Well, the mag machines ALWAYS go off on us.  This includes getting on a Royal cruise ship.  We get the wand treatment.  They can't find anything with the wand and then it's like a light goes off in their head, "do you have any metal joints, screws or plates?"  Yes, Okay go ahead. 

As long as I do not need to take off my shoes I'll remove what I have too. 

We were on a western Caribbean cruise on Explorer and there was a Goth group on the cruise.  Security at the cruise port were making them take off their big boots some of which laced up almost to their knees.  It looked like quite an effort and they were not happy!

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I have TSA Pre-check and haven't noticed so much of a pattern as inconsistency between airports and times of day. When I travel with my wife who does not have TSA pre-check, and I maybe added a ticket for her at a later date after mine, and I go through the pre-check line and she doesn't, I get through quicker about 60% of the time. She gets through quicker about 40% of the time. It all depends on how may pre-check buiness travellers are ahead in line.

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16 minutes ago, WAYNO said:

I dunno... Is PDX a small airport?  Or Kansas City, or Lauderdale?

I'd consider FLL "smaller" since it is so close to Miami, but i've never been to the others (yet) 🙂  It's all relative, i just noticed that I got stopped a lot at my home airport in Louisville, KY which shuts down at basically 8:00 PM, so not a lot of traffic.

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3 hours ago, WAYNO said:

That's where I'm at too.  I've never done anything to make me in any way a threat, but I seldom get thru TSA without the full TSA special.  My wife, always in the line ahead of me to retrieve all my belongings when I get stripped and/or groped, is never stopped.  She sails on through every time.  Ironically, she used to travel with her very elderly mother a lot, and her mother was often singled out for the whole deal.😲  There is no understanding.

But, as I said, the shorter line is still a perk.🤩

you must look shifty 🙂

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I have TSA precheck and before I had it, I was always stopped for a frisking. I never wear jewelry or have any metal in my body. Yet after a full body scan, I am always patted down. I was told during a flight to CT in 2020 that because I look so young, and was flying alone, I look like I might be an "innocent" drug mule. At ORD, where I always fly from, TSA pre check is a life saver even with a 5am flight. 

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1 hour ago, CruiseGus said:

just need your Passport, it will cover all documentation requirements

Also just noticed they now have a Renewal option which they did not have the last 2 times mine expired.  Then i had to do the whole process again

that was not offered as an option....perhaps because of the "maiden name" question.  I will double check that though.  I would sure make it easier on me when I'm ready to do this!

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1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said:

 I look like I might be an "innocent" drug mule.

This isn't intended to be contrary to your statement, it's funny.  People just need to know what TSAs mission is.  And it ain't Law Enforcement, at least not the TSOs that work the Mag machines at the airport.  True, if they open, legally, a bag and find what they believe is a controlled substance or other illegal/prohibited items, they can call Law enforcement in.  But, they, the TSOs (Transportation Safety Officers), have no arrest powers and don't carry weapons. That's why local law enforcement are always hanging around the inspection areas.

Their mission isn't Law Enforcement, it's to "Protect the nation's transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce".  Doesn't say a word about Law Enforcement.  

https://www.tsa.gov/about/tsa-mission

 

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I have it but my wife doesn’t want to pay for it.  Most of the time I have to wait for her. 
 

That being said, the last couple times I flew out of Miami, Precheck had to wait in the same long line as everyone else until you showed your ID and boarding pass.   At that point I was given a large card saying precheck and went through a different detector and skipped the machine where you have to hold your arms over your head.  My belt, boots, etc stayed on. 

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16 hours ago, Cruisegirl1976 said:

I guess it all depends on what airport your are traveling from/to, vice versa, and the time of your flights... my husband will not shell out the $85.00, and I hate to admit he was right the last time we traveled, there was hardly no line in the regular tsa line on our 1st  flight and on our way home from Miami, there was maybe a 5 minute wait through tsa, and taking off shoes and belt really isn't a big deal, imo.

My husband had me do that online.  However, after filling in all the info, when it came to “check out”, the total was over $200.  Needless to say, we never followed through.

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Paying the fee for TSA Pre check is a personal choice based on one's value system.  For us, it is worth it as we frequently fly out of Chicago - Midway (MDW)  and the TSA Pre Check lines are always much shorter than the regular security check lines.  Not having to take off shoes is an added bonus. 

By the same token, we have neighbors who hired a "Pooper Scooper" service to pickup their dog's piles on a weekly basis.  They are both physically capable of doing the job but they find value in that expenditure.  I don't.  

How one spends their money is their choice.

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I have pre-check and renewed it and plan on keeping it even though I literally travel once a year on average.

But I do think it's best for places where TSA have their own lanes (I fly from O'Hare) I've left from Kansas MO before and they don't have their own lane, so no perks on skipping the lines (fortunately, I've never experienced excessive length there). Once I got to the agent they highlight where my boarding pass says TSAPre but it's up to me to wave and holler and make sure the person at the scanner sees it well in advance so I don't have to remove my shoes.

Also had a not great experience leaving I think Houston. We had one of the first flights of the day and security was only just opening. They made the choice not to open pre-check. I thought it would be fine but my boarding pass was on my phone. Phone had to go through the scanner. I showed one person my precheck info and that person was going to tell the person on the other end of the scanner. Only they didn't. They vanished like a ghost (literally no one knew who I was even talking about) and I had to stop the whole line while I fought with my shoes which were not TSA-friendly.

 

So yeah....if your home airport doesn't have a dedicated lane...maybe think twice.

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So true!  We have TSA Precheck because we frequently fly in & out of MCO.  Makes life much easier IMO.  My money my choice.  But I often question OTHER people’s choices😁.  My perfectly capable neighbor sits reading a book while someone else cleans her house.  I do not get it!!  Like us, it’s just 2 of them in an empty nest so how dirty can a house get?!?!?  Her money, her choice 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

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20 minutes ago, Pooch said:

Truth be told, I have a maid too but I’m married to him!  He keeps the house pretty spotless.  His mom taught him well and I learned early on not to get in his way.  I do the cooking, most of the laundry, finances and trip planning.  He does the rest.

^^^^  SAME!!!!  ^^^^ 

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20 hours ago, not easy being green said:

We all have TSA Pre Check and also Clear - some credit cards reimburse you for Clear.  At some airports this has even a faster than TSA Pre Check.  We usually fly out of ORD and you jump the line (even the TSA Pre Check), this cuts out more stress.  Also you can add your covid card and it works.

At ALL airports that I have seen and have "Clear" terminal it is always faster than TSA Pre Check.  Clear deposits you right into the scanner area ahead of those in line. 

A quick look at their web site now indicates that you only get expedited screening (ie Pre Check keep shoes on etc) If you have Pre Check also.  Essentially what it does is allow you to cut the line ahead of those waiting to first see the document checker.

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