After Thanksgiving, Christmas ranks as the highest volume of travel. I am one of the masses this weekend as I am flying across the country for a two-week break.
In the US, passing through TSA security can be a real pain.
Standard security sucks. You have to take your shoes off. You have to remove any electronics bigger than a phone from your carry-on bags. You have to have all your liquids in a clear bag and separate from your luggage.
Five years ago when I became a consultant I signed up for TSA Pre-Check. This is a program run by the US government that allows you to pass through expedited security. The program costs $85 and is good for five years. You have to attend an in-person interview and submit to a background check. Once you are approved, you receive a Known Traveler Number that you apply to your airline accounts to signify that you have TSA Pre-Check on your boarding pass. The Pre-Check line is shorter. You can leave your shoes on. You can leave everything in your carry-on bag. It’s worth it.
In November, my five years were up and it was time to renew Pre-Check. A friend of mine told me about another program called Global Entry. This program expedites the process when traveling outside the country. While I do not have plans to travel abroad anytime soon, the Global Entry program includes Pre-Check. It costs $100 for five years. This sounded like a great deal, so I signed up for Global Entry about a month before my expiration.
Fast forward to the middle of November. My application to Global Entry was still pending review. I had not been granted an interview yet. I started to panic, so I went to the TSA website and paid $85 to renew TSA Pre-Check, even though I’m paying twice since I already paid $100 for Global Entry that includes Pre-Check.
I had to travel for work the Monday after Thanksgiving. When I checked in on Sunday, I looked in horror at my boarding pass to see the absence of the Pre-Check symbol. I was faced with going through regular security during the biggest travel weekend of the year.
To be continued…