More PreCheck tips

The June 24 letter describing the writer’s TSA PreCheck experience caught my attention. While TSA PreCheck employs a random exclusion factor, travelers who’ve enrolled and received a Known Traveler Number (KTN) should receive TSA PreCheck expedited screening on a consistent basis. Here are some tips to make sure that happens:

1. Your KTN needs to be included in every flight reservation. Adding it to your airline profile is no guarantee that it will convey to every trip.

2. If you make a reservation via a third party (like Expedia), the KTN likely won’t transmit to the airline. Solution? After the reservation is made, contact the airline with your KTN or enter it yourself on the airline’s website.

3. Still having problems? Call the airline to verify your name, gender and date of birth match what you provided when you applied to TSA PreCheck. Incorrect biographical information could be the reason you aren’t receiving TSA PreCheck benefits. This is the most common problem we see.

4. Finally, if you check in online and don’t see a TSA PreCheck indicator on your boarding pass, contact the airline. You may be able to update your information, allowing you to reprint your boarding pass, becoming TSA PreCheck-eligible.

More information on TSA PreCheck is available at http://www.tsa.gov/tsa-precheck/faqs. Following the steps above should allow travelers who’ve enrolled in TSA PreCheck to experience expedited screening consistently.

Lorie Dankers

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Seattle