TSA PreCheck - did not apply but boarding pass indicated
 

Are they doing this at random for fliers based on something, chance, profiling - or what? Flew last weekend JetBlue BOS-DCA and TSA PreCheck was printed on my boarding pass in both directions. I thought this was something one had to apply for, get fingerprinted, etc. Since I didn't do that, am I correct in assuming there is some formula and randomness for designating fliers as such? Figures, the one time I wore easy to remove shoes I did not have to.

TSA, in a marketing attempt to get people to sign up for paid PreCheck, allows random people to use the PreCheck lane.Once they reach their "quota" they will stop giving it away for free. It isn't to keep the line moving.

Their idea is that if you try it, you'll like it enough to pay for it.

Actually Gail, I think it <u>does</u> depend on your shoes:

Wearing slip-ons I was selected for the random PreCheck lane.
Coming back with lace-up shoes, I was not.

You don't need to apply for it. Your airline will nominate you for it, and you may get it on some flights, but no guarantee all. My parents who are UA Gold haven't done anything, but haven't missed a TSA Pre-Check for many months on many flights.

Pre-check is not something you pay for. Unlike Global Entry.

And I have also seen a TSA agent randomly put people, myself included, into Pre-Check lines when those lines are not long. They use a tablet with a randomizer. Press a button and it decides whether you go in regular or pre-check line.

There is an application fee for PreCheck - $85.

http://www.tsa.gov/tsa-precheck/application-program

It does NOT depend on shoes.

The TSA guy put me in the "you are special" line at Logan, handing me a wrinkled piece of paper indicating what I did and did not have to do.

But flying from DCA to BOS, when I printed my boarding pass the night prior to flight, it already had TSA PreCheck printed on the top. If it matters, I was flying JetBlue and have flown 4 roundtrips so far in 2014 - not a huge number.

Does it matter that when I was printing my boarding pass I was barefoot?

Yes Gail, I believe footwear or lack thereof, is the determining factor.

Barefoot at home, printing away, ever wonder why TSA and NSA are only one letter off?

Pfui.

Age. Destination. Number of flights. Online checkin?

We fly JetBlue a lot and got it free. We hardly ever fly United any more but had it on our round trip RIC-OKC recently. I wore tied shoes both times because I am old.

I just printed out boarding passes for tomorrow --United from Santa Fe to Philadelphia and was surprised they come up clearly marked "TSA Pre" with a check mark. Of course at that tiny airport at 7AM I don't suppose it really means much.

Just cleared security in DEN - red light lit up when boarding pass of lady in front of me was scanned. She was perplexed, as was I, as she lost her place in line just to be sent to another one. Huh.

I've had it for free at SJC. It seemed like the lines were long, and the pre-check line wasn't much faster than the regular one.

I got it outbound from Boston on Tuesday but not on my return flight Friday. So who knows? It sure was nice leaving my shoes on and my computer in my knapsack. Made security feel like nothing.

TSA pre-check was a lifesaver for me last week at JFK. I've been through JFK a few times and I have never seen lines like that.

Now that I have a life-threatening allergy to the blue gloves the TSA people keep on all the time (gross), I require special security handling.

It means it takes them twice as long, and I have to explain it repeatedly, even when I call them ahead of time, and try to arrange it all in advance. Good luck trying to stop them from touching all your stuff with those stupid gloves. They are such morons.

Not sure when I'm going to travel again. The flights to/from SA really stressed me out.

I have been TSA approved on several flights and I did not pay nor apply. A gate attendant told my friend that once TSA approved you will always have it on boarding pass but that has not been the case with me. Sometimes I get it and sometimes I don't. Even when my DH and I fly together and he makes reservations we both may not get it....

have not idea how it works but I sure like it when it does work :)

I had a TSA PreCheck on my flight from LAX to DC back in December without applying for it. I was curious why that happened, so I did a search and found what DebitNM said in the first response on this thread.
http://www.tsa.gov/tsa-precheck/like...g-tsa-precheck

Have been on two recent flights and was surprised to have TSA precheck printed on the boarding passes: SJC to Miami and LAX to SFO. Didn't make much difference at SJC, but there was no line at LAX for precheck and a looong regular line. YMMV.

I'm not sure footwear has anything to do with it. It's always printed on our boarding passes which we get at the kiosk at the airport. We've had it several times and have been told that our profiles (age, flying history, etc.) indicate we are low risk and can go pre-check.

BTW, if you're 75 or older, you don't have to take off your shoes.

My husband has been approved for it on some flights and I have been approved for it on some flights, so I believe it is totally random at this point.

… but we were never approved on the same flights.

"Actually Gail, I think it does depend on your shoes:
Wearing slip-ons I was selected for the random PreCheck lane.
Coming back with lace-up shoes, I was not."

Ummm. Many of us here are finding "precheck" printed right on our boarding passes that we print at home the night before we even go to the airport. Are you suggesting TSA has a spy in our homes who has checked to see what shoes we will set out to wear tomorrow to the airport?

Yes, Neo - never forget Metallica's admonition to sleep with one eye open:

<i>Hush little baby, don't say a word
And never mind that noise you heard
It's just the [TSA] under your bed,
In your closet, in your head</i>

But seriously, I check in on line but get my boarding pass at the airport.
I never looked for the "pre-check" notation so was surprised to be summoned to that line.

TSA is only 1 letter away from NSA - of course they spy on what shoes we plan to wear.

What paranoia! TSA does not spy on what shoes you plan to wear. What they do is plant the image of what shoes you *should* wear in your mind while you are sleeping, thus saving the time and trouble of having to spy on you. They also put subliminal images on your boarding pass (embedded in the QR codes) but that's another story.

So stop being so paranoid and just relax.... relax.... relaxxxxx....

I like to play mind games with the TSA regarding my shoes and change them enroute to the airport.

They knew you would do that, Gail.

If you really want to throw them, wear one soft shoe and one hard shoe!

OMG I cannot believe how many people keep trying to say that they give you a security clearence based on your shoes. Its comical. Do you guys even know what TSA pre check is in regards to? It has nothing to do about how little clothing you have on, it is implying you are a low security risk suck as no prior felony convictions listed on the disqualifying felony TSA requirements list, whether you are a U.S. citizen, etc. They are simply giving travelers that are not a security threat like the lunatics from 911 a "pass" on having to go through the more intensive security search. If you guys would read the multiple replies or have any common sense you would realize that not everyone is at the airport when they get their pre ✔ on tbeir boarding passes......which can only mean what?.... That the airport has no clue what shoes you plan on wearing nor do they care. So you think if you come through the airport looking like a terrorist but you have flops on they are going to pre check you? Um no, flip flops is hardley a factor in low threat security, and definetly not a deciding factor. Like multiple of the smart folks on here have mentioned they simply let you get it based on travel history and so many people pass through the requirements in order to get a free preview. The only way to actually get pre check every single time is to apply, which I just did which I will have to go to the TSA office, pay $85, and the application didn't ask me what shoes I wore since they dont make you remove your shoes, they don't care. If that was the case I should be on the free pre check list everytime but I'm not and I travel 10 times a year, its very random and not all airlines participate.

" The only way to actually get pre check every single time is to apply, which I just did which I will have to go to the TSA office, pay $85,"

Talk about not understanding the system! Maybe this is being picky, but you will still not be guaranteed Precheck "every single time". And another way to do what you're doing is to get Glibal Entry which includes Precheck. There are still random "overrides", hover, in either case. As I mentioned above on our recent departure out of PHL for Spain, Peter did not get Precheck on his boarding pass despite having Global Entry. A friend has had his randomly blocked twice on perhaps his last 10 flights. It happens. The airline said there is nothing they can do when that happens -- it's randomly done by TSA. Ironically today both our boarding passes from Barcelona are marked Precheck -- kind of funny since that doesn't exist in Barcelona.

Latasha - the shoe thing is a joke. I think everyone here is well aware that the only way TSA would be aware of shoe choice prior to the airport is if one lives with a TSA agent.

Welcome to Fodors Latashak2000, but curious what you googled to find this old thread?

>>Do you guys even know what TSA pre check is in regards to?<<

Uh -- yes. Many of us fly many times a year. Can you tell when someone is joking?

I've been approved for pre-check both on my boarding pass and also in line. It seems random.

I've also had a code printed on my boarding pass that has meant an extra check - also seemed random. And annoying!

Janisj, I think this thread surfacing is due to the new Search method. I just entered "TSA PreCheck" and this one came up first, by relevance of course, not by date. So we can probably expect to see more, older threads resurrected?

nyse: My point was Latashak2000 joined Fodors last night specifically to top the thread so he must have been looking for something to pounce on . . .