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Brett Widness
Formerly of AOL, Washington Post, Verizon, and AARP

Why All Americans Who Can Afford It Should Get TSA Pre

According to the New York Times, “A combination of fewer Transportation Security Administration screeners, tighter budgets, new checkpoint procedures and growing numbers of passengers is already creating a mess at airports around the country.”

I finally got TSA Pre last year when my fiancé and I were planning a trip to Puerto Rico. We ended up not making the trip after she broke her collarbone which required surgery. But the first time we flew after getting it, it really makes a difference in terms of not missing flights.

  1. Yes it costs $85, but it lasts for five years. Would you pay less than $20 a year to have shorter security lines every time you fly? Plus what is your time worth?
  2. You don’t have to take off your shoes at all.
  3. You don’t have to take out your laptop.
  4. I forgot to take out my 3–1–1 plastic bag and they didn’t even care.
  5. You don’t have to take off your belt.
  6. You don’t have to take off your jacket.

The only issue I had this most recent time was I had a Leatherman on my key chain with a small knife so I just tossed it. Stupid of me to forget to take it off.

The one thing I would point out is you generally have to do the fingerprinting etc. at an airport. But at least in Washington, there are little firms who do this kind of work in strip malls and other storefronts. The one that I went to is down near the Landmark Mall in Alexandria, Virginia, which sucked but at least I was able to get the appointment fairly quickly.

On a related note, my fiancé recently travelled to Atlanta, and she said the TSA Pre line was actually fairly long. But I see that as a good thing, that people are actually adopting this, and in theory that line should move faster.

The only objection I could see is that there is something a little bit messed up about “rich” Americans paying to bypass security. But I think to the extent that the people who can afford it are removing themselves from the “full service” security lines, for people who rarely fly and thus don’t see the value of it, hopefully both lines would go faster if more people signed up for Pre.

This is my first Medium post so please go easy on me in the comments (if I get any.)