So you finally got TSA pre-check. Here's how to avoid being the most annoying person in line and get

Joey Hadden Oct 24, 2023, 10:41 AM CDT

TSA PreCheck is an airport-security express lane that can save you time while traveling. Gilbert Ott, a travel expert, said that security etiquette can keep you from holding up the line. Ott said you should take off your jewelry and empty your pockets before you get to the airport.

TSA PreCheck can save you so much time over the years.

Take it from Gilbert Ott, who flies more than 200,000 miles a year and has been blogging about flying for the last decade. Ott's blog, called God Save the Points, covers everything from airline news and flight reviews to travel tips and money-saving hacks, such as how to best use credit-card points.

In the TSA PreCheck line, pre-screened travelers can go through security quickly without taking off their shoes or removing electronics or liquids from their carry-on bags. It costs $78 to enroll for five years, but you can get the service essentially for free through credit-card rewards. Many credit-card rewards programs, including Capital One Venture, Capital One Venture X, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Delta SkyMiles, and American Express, include this perk.

In March, the TSA reported that more than 15 million Americans have TSA PreCheck, which is about 5% of the country, according to data from the US Census Bureau. Ott told Insider that the express airport-security lane makes his life easier.

"I spend too much time in airports. As much as I may love them, sometimes the less time I spend in them, the happier I am," Ott said. "So the quicker I can get through and just be on a plane, the better."

While the TSA PreCheck line is often full of frequent fliers, those new to the program, which requires a background check, may not be too savvy when it comes to security etiquette. Ott said that this can cause the line to move slower.

Pre-strip before you even get to the airport

Pre-stripping is removing everything you may need to remove at security, from big jackets to the contents of your pockets, before you get there.

"When I go to the airport, I take my belt off before I get there. I have it in my backpack, knowing I'll put it on as soon as I get through PreCheck," Ott told Insider. "So keep the jewels and the watch in your bag. Then when you get to the other side of security where you're not holding people up, you can do the glamour."
Ott said this process will make people move through the line quicker.

"My routine is somewhere along the lines of comfy jeans, a T-shirt or hoodie, and then a bomber jacket," he said. "Essentials like my phone and passport go in my bomber jacket pockets while I wait in the queue so that when I step up to the scanners, my jacket is off, pockets are empty, my bags go on the trays, and off we go."

Leave the flashy shoes in your bag

TSA PreCheck passengers aren't required to take off their shoes. But in Ott's experience, passengers who wear fancy loafers or shoes with buckles or studs often get stopped because they set off the scanner.

"The main thing is metal, either as part of the shoe or in the boot or heel of the shoe," Ott said. "Ceramic and rubber are usually fine. Basically, sneakers tend to always work."

Be ready before it's your turn

When you first get in line, Ott has long recommended having your boarding pass and identification out before it's your turn to show them. That way, you won't spend time searching for them while others wait behind you.

If everyone followed Ott's advice, he said he thinks we'd all get through security faster.

"If you think of the 20 seconds it takes somebody to do this very basic thing, and you'd multiply that by 50,000 people going through an airport's screens a day, you could pretty much just walk through an airport without stopping," Ott told Insider. "We can all have a better time."

Source: Insider.com