How a Free TSA-Precheck Membership Can Help You Breeze Through Airport Security (CruiseCompete Cruise Bite #4)

No one enjoys waiting in line, especially as part of a long day of travel. Fortunately there is a very easy way to breeze through security at US airports. Today I’ll be telling you about a program called TSA Pre-Check--and how to sign up for a five-year membership for free. 

Transcript

Speaker 1:

0:00

[inaudible. Hi Bob Levinstein here with a CruiseCompete Cruise Bite.

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0:17

No one enjoys waiting in line, especially as part of a long day of travel. Fortunately, there was a very easy way to breeze through security at U S airports. Today I'll be telling you about a program called TSA precheck and how to sign up for a free five-year membership. I'll be back with the details right after this cruise. compete.com is a simple concept. We give you the tools to find the perfect crews and request quotes. Independent travel agents can then see your requests and they respond with the best custom cruise offers they can all competing to offer you the best deal. You compare these offers in one convenient place along with consumer ratings and reviews of the agencies as only the best agents survive in this competitive environment. You'll have some great options to choose from. You then remain anonymous unless or until you decide to contact an agent by phone or by email to ask questions or to book. Find out why more than a million cruisers are members of our free unique service and start saving both time and a significant amount of money on your cruise vacation via cruise compete today.

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Speaker 2:

1:45

If you've been to a U S airport lately, you've seen the signs that security TSA pre pointing to the lane where the shortest line, this is TSA precheck and it's awesome. Once you're accepted to the program you just enter your known traveler number. When you book your airline tickets and TSA pre will automatically appear on your boarding pass. Kids 12 or younger traveling with you are automatically pre-check as well. Not only do you get the shortest line, but you can keep your shoes, belt and light jacket on through security checkpoint and leave liquids and laptops in your bag. The programs available to us citizens, nationals and permanent residents. To sign up, just go to the TSA website to complete and submit a very short online form and schedule an appointment and an application center near you. There are over 450 centers nationwide, so you probably won't have to travel very far.

Speaker 2:

2:39

You will need to bring identification--a valid passport will do though there was a long list of other acceptable IDs on the TSA website. If you don't have one, the appointment takes less than 10 minutes. Mine took less than five and while the official line is that getting your known traveler number takes two to three weeks, I was approved that had mine in just two to three days. The membership costs $85 for five years, which I think is quite the bargain at 17 bucks a year, but you don't even need to pay that. A number of credit cards in loyalty programs will pay the entire fee for you. So the final cost is that's right free. You can find an updated list of cards and programs that will do this for you on the TSA website. In their Q and a section under the pre-check information.

Speaker 2:

3:24

Now I have both the United mileage plus card and the city American airlines American express card. Both of these have no fee for the first year so you can certainly sign up for a card, use it to pay for TSA pre and then cancel. But I will note that both of these cards paid me a considerable amount of money to sign up both in statement credits when I booked flights on their airlines and in bonus frequent flyer miles, I think my first year net was between 300 and $400 on each card, not including the $85 TSA fee. And while my fees in year two are close to a hundred dollars each, these cards do increase the miles I earn when I fly on these airlines. Uh, you should note that you will maximize your bonus if you apply for these cards right before you book a flight on the airline. I even get early boarding on my flights when I use these cards yet another line I get to skip while saving money. I hope you find TSA precheck is useful as I do, and then it makes your travels easier and more relaxed. I'm Bob Levinstein and this has been a cruise compete cruise bite.