Make Getting Through TSA Easy on Yourself

H4 Solutions ^ | 04/11/2019 | Kelly Hoggan

[BigKahuna]

Does anyone who flies in the U.S. look forward to going through a TSA security line? You could probably make good money in Vegas by putting all your chips on “No.” You can make the TSA security line experience easier on yourself, however, just by taking a few simple steps.

1. Even if you fly only a couple times a year, it’ll be worth it to you to apply for the Transportation Security Administration’s Precheck program. It costs $85, is good for five years and requires an application and background check, but nothing else comes remotely close to getting you through TSA airport security at top speed and with no additional examination.

2. If you travel with a carry-on bag, do whatever you can to make it easy for TSA security officers to see everything in it on their x-ray machines. Cluttered carry-ons almost always lead to a further examination by explosive trace detection machines.

3. Don’t go through a TSA security line wearing a bunch of jewelry. The agency uses metal detectors for the most part to screen travelers, and metals trigger them. The same goes for belts with metal buckles as well as shoes with steel-reinforced soles. Here’s a rule: Travel for comfort, not for the disco.

[BigKahuna]

“Mostly to make the public “feel” like something is being done...”

I’ve heard it called “security theater” on numerous occasions.

[minnesota_bound]

This guy would get passed thru. However anyone else will get a cavity search.

[dljordan]

“Sane immigration policies, no chain immigration, no amnesty, etc.”

We’re not going to get that. The Progs aren’t going to stop pushing and the Republicans are too spineless to do anything like fight back. They are killing this nation with legislation from the bottom up. It should be interesting to see what happens in the end when the cat ladies realize that they are going to die in poverty.

[Mom MD]

Fly naked without luggage....

[Mom MD]

Fly naked without luggage....

[MayflowerMadam]

“When did they start letting you wear shoes through TSA check point.”

We haven’t removed our shoes or outer jackets for a couple years with a TSA Pre-Check. (Don’t know how we got it, but we have it. Could have to do with DH’s security clearances.) We also don’t have to take out laptops.

[freedumb2003]

I have a travel vest (ScottVest but a lot of people use fishing vests) with 20+ pockets. I just throw it on the belt.

[ssaftler]

One more suggestion, especially for California people:

If you have a passport, bring it with you. Better yet, spend the $25 or $30 to get a passport card, which fits in your wallet. No mucking about worrying if your driver’s license is a TSA-approved version.

Also, the price difference in CA between a regular license and a “OK to travel” license is more for 5 years than you pay for a 10 year passport card, and the passport card requires a lot less hassle!

[BigKahuna]

This has been a very enlightening thread. It’s clear (no pun intended ;-) that some very smart travelers are on the thread. I’ve learned a lot for sure.

[BigKahuna]

“No mucking about worrying if your driver’s license is a TSA-approved version.”

I finally got around to getting the Real ID compliant driver’s license the other week. I had to bring in my birth certificate and then put up with the DMV. It was like a double-whammy kick in the ‘nads. ;-)

[mcmuffin]

Also works great if you’re a CCW, believe me.

What does a CCW have to do with TSA check ins?

[Buckeye McFrog]

IMO Real ID will NEVER be enforced.

The most conservative estimate is that there are 11 million illegals in this country (personally I think that’s WAY low). They can’t get Real ID because they lack the required documentation.

Do you REALLY think that Liberals in the Federal judiciary are going to allow them to be barred from boarding airplanes?

[Buckeye McFrog]

Fly naked without luggage....

Preferably in a plane.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Even if you fly only a couple times a year, it’ll be worth it to you to apply for the Transportation Security Administration’s Precheck program.

I did the Global Entry program, which includes TSA Pre-Check, since I have to travel overseas a few times a year and it's worth it to skip the immigration lines. TSA Pre-Check is always a crap shoot - sometimes you can save a lot of time skipping the regular security line and sometimes the Pre-Check line is just about as long.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Two words:

TrustedTraveler.

[AlaskaErik]

1. Get pre-check 2. Understand what clothing and accessories set off even the pre-check body scans (had to STOP wearing my fave cowboy boots) 3. Get Global Entry (45 seconds to clear US customs, yep, really) 4. Enroll in CLEAR. 5. Don’t be a noob - observe the process — be a grey man in the line.

Global Entry includes TSA PreCheck.

[dfwgator]

I’m confused as to what’s the difference between CLEAR and TSA Pre-Check, I have Global Entry, so why would I need CLEAR?

[trebb]

I have just eschewed flying....haven’t been through a TSA check in over a decade...

[BigKahuna]

“Also works great if you’re a CCW, believe me.

What does a CCW have to do with TSA check ins?”

I was talking about being a “gray man” when it comes to having a CCW. Ideally, no one around you should even know you’re armed, nor should you stand out or be memorable in any way to them. That’s being a “gray man.”

Try to take a gun through TSA, though, and I don’t think even being the world’s greatest gray man is going to help you.

Or maybe it will, considering the agency’s performance on catching inspectors’ fake weapons when they’re sent through the security devices, especially in Minneapolis, from what I’ve heard. ;-)

[Chuckster]

I used to fly around the Hawaiian Islands several times a week for business. After 9/11 I was spending so much time in airports going through security, my boss decided it was more cost effective for the company to pay for my flight instruction so I could get a pilot’s license, rent a plane (Or fly my boss’s Cessna) and fly myself.

That took the job to a whole new level of fun.