Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
René wrote a post earlier this week about his airport security experience with an Analogic CT-based security imaging system.
Basically, the scanner (which many people will surely refer to as the “x-ray machine”) is advanced to the point that laptops and liquids don’t need to be removed from carryon luggage before the bags are examined by machines.
TSA Pre√ members have long enjoyed the privilege of not needing to remove their laptops and 3-1-1 compliant liquids. After all, we’re deemed “low-risk” of carrying out any terroristic behavior. (Not needing to remove belts and shoes before walking through magnetometer or other body scanning machines is another perk.)
Folks without Pre√ membership still must go through all that hassle.
But thanks to CT-based scanners they may eventually be spared the annoyance of taking out laptops and liquids.
What?! I can hear some Pre√ members complaining. Isn’t this what I’m paying for? Why can “normal” people now get this for free?!
Before your travel undies get into a twist, let’s consider a few points.
TSA Pre√ is Still Worth It for Frequent-ish Travelers
I say, yes, TSA Pre√ is very much worth its weight for people who travel at least several times a year. Here’s why.
You’re Probably Not Paying for TSA Pre√
Many people hold at least one credit card offering reimbursement for the TSA Pre√ application fee ($85) or Global Entry application fee ($100) every four or so years. (Global Entry includes TSA Pre√ and is, in our opinion, a far better deal if you plan to travel internationally every year or so.)
As I often say, “Is a travel credit card even a travel credit card if it doesn’t offer Global Entry or TSA Pre√ reimbursement?” Seriously. It was kind of a special thing a few years ago. But now it’s almost a standard perk many travel credit cards offer.
Given this is a travel-and-miles/points blog, chances are at least one of your cards has you covered for Global Entry or TSA Pre√.
Even if you shelled out $85 for five years of Pre√ membership, that’s still a decent deal. My aunt Abby paid out of pocket for Pre√ and always says it’s the “best $85 I ever spent.”
Advanced Scanners Aren’t Everywhere
I regularly fly out of Los Angeles International (LAX). It’s one of the world’s busiest airports in terms of passengers.
I almost always fly Delta — but occasionally make cameos on Southwest, United, and American.
Never have I seen one of the CT-based scanners at LAX. Maybe they’re in place and I just got shuffled off to a different line I don’t know. I wouldn’t doubt it.
I was stunned to hear that freaking South Bend (SBN) had one — and LAX is still using old technology. (Although, really, I shouldn’t be. LAX is an excellent, 19th Century airport.) Nothing against South Bend. I hear lovely things.
We’re still a while from CT scanners being status quo at airports. So, don’t cancel that Pre√ membership quite yet.
Shoes and Belts
Even if laptops and liquids can remain in bags, remember that non-Pre√ members must still remove footwear and belts before walking through a magnetometer or standing in one of those body-scanning thingamies.
If you don’t regularly travel, that’s not such a big deal. But for folks who find themselves on planes several times a year (or week), keeping shoes and belts on feels like a priceless luxury.
Heck, I’d pay for that even if I didn’t hold a jillion credit cards offering Pre√.
Final Approach
CT-based scanners are rolling out to various airports. These machines allow laptops and liquids to remain in carryon bags.
This means non-TSA Pre√ members can enjoy privileges many of us love. And that’s fine with me. If it means shorter lines and a better experience for everyone, I’m all in favor.
Something tells me that as long as the government can charge money for some sort of extra perks, they’ll do something to keep TSA Pre√ and Global Entry members happy. So, stay tuned.
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
The TSA Pre lines at AUS are longer than standard security. I have CLEAR and its the only thing really worth having now. So many people have TSA Pre that its value is much lower. CLEAR is the only way to go (Unfortunately not available at many airports)
What does a 19th Century airport really look like? I guess better phrased is what does an airport from the days before airplanes existed look like?
@Matthew, if regular security lines are shorter then just go use that instead, it really isn’t that much of a problem. But, for me, 9 times out of 10 PreCheck is just fine
I was being snarky.
I travel 4x weekly through different airports.
Regular lines are sometimes shorter than Precheck lines but they move MUCH slower. Unfortunately, the PreCheck lines have gotten longer AND slower too. Without fail, on EVERY-SINGLE-TRIP there are multiple people on the Precheck line who have no clue what precheck is. They’re asking about laptops, taking off their shoes, unpacking their liquids, etc.
I’ve been saying this for years. There needs to be a quick quiz that you must pass to get precheck. You should be required to watch a 2 minute video and answer 10 questions about it. This will hopefully educate some of these “frequent” travelers and speed up the precheck lines.
So much this.
Well said! At Dallas Love Field, there is an airport agent that makes sure your boarding pass has PreCheck or they don’t allow you to get in the PreCheck line. I appreciate the easy solution to a common problem.
Sadly the Precheck here in Omaha requires appointments months out and hours of waiting in line at “Identigo”.
so really a matter of waiting a few extra minutes at an airport or spending a day waiting at a private company and paying them for it. Like most government programs great idea, but when it comes time to perform its at the lowest bidder who can’t provide the service
Your Aunt Abby is right – pre check is the best $85 you’ll ever spend!
No TSA Pre-Check by itself is not worth having because it is useless overseas. My family and I opted for Global Entry which comes with TSA Pre-Check and New York State Enhanced Drivers Licenses. Have of the time in New York Airport, the TSA Pre-Check Lane is inoperable.
I have CLEAR; Global Entry and PreCheck. (The pre-check line seems always to be full of amateur travelers).
I flew on BA out of Tom Bradley a week or so ago with no Pre-check (since BA doesn’t have it). I have never been as aggressively fondled by a TSA agent who seemed to take particular delight in searching every inch of my body. Then the next TSA agent removed my running shoes from my bag (for no reason that i could see, or that he would tell me). He also removed a bag with international plugs to re-run through the scanner that somehow got lost and was never returned.
I recently renewed my Pre-Check/Global Entry; the process was entirely online, the renewal came through very quickly, and of course my credit card reimbursed the fee. Simple and painless! Most of the routes I fly have relatively short Pre-Check lines, and few of them have Clear. Even if I were not getting the fee reimbursed, I would continue to keep Pre-Check if only for the luxury of not having to remove my shoes – something that always bothered me (even with socks) given the number of other people doing the same thing on the same small area of flooring.
SBN, my home airport, is used as a training facility quite often. Hence the new equipment. That being said, the TSA lane is shut down 50% of the time and the only benefit is not taking off my shoes as I go through the old school detector vs the scanning technology.
Didn’t do me any good. I had precheck, got in the precheck line and finally got to the end and if you have metal implants in your body you still have to go through the scanner in the regular line. I’m 83 so don’t have to remove shoes, belts, etc. anyway. So my wife goes through the quick line and still has to wait for me.
Aunt Abby is right…the best $85 ever spent…