How to Skip Long Lines at the Airport

As amazing as it is to fly – trips that would take days in the car can be made in mere hours – the waiting in line can be maddening. Follow this advice to skip long lines at the airport and make air travel even more convenient.

If you fly regularly – and especially if your trips are often near holidays and other busy periods – signing up for a program that speeds your journey through the airport can be well worth the fee. According to the Transportation Security Administration, about 99% of those who are enrolled in TSA PreCheck wait less than 10 minutes to get through security. Following a trip abroad, Global Entry, another government program, offers expedited clearance through customs upon your return to the U.S. And biometrics company Clear provides a faster route to the front of the security line with its identity-verification services.

Avoiding the long lines at the airport

Compare your choices. With TSA PreCheck, available at more than 200 U.S. airports, you usually get access to a separate security lane. During screening, you can skip certain steps, leaving your laptop as well as travel-size liquids inside your carry-on bag, rather than removing them and placing them in bins. And you don’t have to take off your belt or light jacket. (You can keep your shoes on, too, but that’s no longer a special benefit; last year, TSA lifted the requirement that passengers remove their footwear for standard screening.)

Your PreCheck membership lasts five years, and the first-time enrollment fee ranges from $76.75 to $85, depending on which of three enrollment providers you use. Start the application at tsa.gov/precheck, then visit an enrollment center (search among more than 1,300 locations at tsa.gov/precheck/enrollment-centers), where you’ll provide your fingerprint and present identification. Approval is usually complete within three to five days. When your PreCheck membership expires, renewal fees range from $58.75 to $79.95.

If you travel abroad often, consider Global Entry. With a fee of $120 for a five-year membership, it includes TSA PreCheck eligibility, and you can go through a dedicated screening lane when you return to the U.S. after an international flight, visiting a kiosk to proceed through customs. The application process, however, is more lengthy and rigorous than for PreCheck.

After your online application (get started at ttp.dhs.gov) is conditionally approved, you must schedule an interview at any of about 100 Global Entry enrollment centers nationwide, many at airports (see a list at cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry/enrollment-centers). If you can’t make it to an interview before your international trip, you may be able to complete it at a participating airport upon your arrival back in the U.S. Most travelers with no criminal history receive their Global Entry membership within four to six months of applying.

At 62 U.S. airports, Clear+ (clearme.com/clear-plus) members can verify their identity with a scan of their eye or fingerprint, bypassing the lines to show identification to a TSA agent. If you travel frequently and saving time at the airport is critical, paying the $219 annual fee may be worthwhile, says Tym Lewtak, travel expert and founder of LuxAtolls.com. If you apply for the Clear+ and TSA PreCheck bundle (tsaprecheckbyclear.tsa.dhs.gov) and are approved for both services, Clear+ will refund the PreCheck fee.

Some credit cards reimburse the application fee for certain programs if you charge the fee to the card. Find a list of cards that reimburse TSA PreCheck fees at tsa.gov/precheck/credit-cards-offer. Most of the cards have an annual fee. Notably, however, the no-fee U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature card reimburses up to $100 toward TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.

Ella Vincent is a staff writer at Kiplinger Personal Finance magazine. For more on this and similar money topics, visit Kiplinger.com.

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