TSA PreCheck
Trusted traveler program in Outdoors & travel
Lets approved travelers skip some screening steps, with lines often short at many airports. Critics call it a paid two-tier line and say it is often no faster.
Lets approved travelers skip some screening steps, with lines often short at many airports. Critics call it a paid two-tier line and say it is often no faster.
25 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 15
- approval share
- 40%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 0.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Short waits, often a few minutes
“Precheck w/ touchless ID lines are virtually empty at most airports”
Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Japan's New Hypersonic Engine Could Make 2-Hour Flights to the US a Reality” “I have never waited more than 1-3 minutes in TSA precheck”
Comment from 2 May 2026 in “SFO Gate Explorer” “with TSA Precheck Touchless, it was a few minutes”
Comment from 26 Mar 2026 in “Airport wait times are longest in TSA history, agency says” Works well with digital ID
“It's pretty optimal if you have TSA PreCheck + digital ID.”
Comment from 4 Feb 2026 in “The TSA's New $45 Fee to Fly Without ID Is Illegal” “with TSA Precheck Touchless, it was a few minutes”
Comment from 26 Mar 2026 in “Airport wait times are longest in TSA history, agency says”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Called security theater
“They could have done the population a (rare) solid and found a way to phase out the security theater.”
Comment from 6 Sep 2026 in “Gateside by TSA Precheck” “Precheck always struck me as a tacit admission that the TSA is security theater”
Comment from 6 Sep 2026 in “Gateside by TSA Precheck” “all of this is absolute garbage security theater”
Comment from 6 Sep 2026 in “Gateside by TSA Precheck” Lines often as long as regular
“Except sometimes the TSA precheck and regular lines are the same”
Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “Dear people who work at the airport” “The TSA Pre lines are often as long as the standard lines.”
Comment from 29 Mar 2026 in “TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters” Charges extra for faster lanes
“It's a two tiered security line - theirs is faster, but you need money to get into it”
Comment from 23 Dec 2025 in “Flock Exposed Its AI-Powered Cameras to the Internet. We Tracked Ourselves” “in paying them again nothing changed except they took more money from me”
Comment from 6 Sep 2026 in “Gateside by TSA Precheck” “The service we paid for on top of all of our taxes.”
Comment from 22 Feb 2026 in “DHS Will Suspend TSA PreCheck and Global Entry” Collects biometrics, enables surveillance
“You submit permanent biometrics as part of PreCheck and Global Entry.”
Comment from 31 Jan 2026 in “Court Filings: ICE App Identifies Protesters; Global Entry, PreCheck Get Revoked” “It is just a new way for the goverement to spy on citizens.”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “TSA PreCheck Touchless ID”
What people recommend instead
The same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSA PreCheckThis page | 10 | 15 | 40% | 5 | — | — |
| Global Entry | 9 | 9 | 50% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
24 of the 26 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Even paying for PreCheck doesn't get her off the hook.”
“all of this is absolute garbage security theater”
“adjusting the level of screening based on a per-passenger threat assessment seems reasonable”
“They could have done the population a (rare) solid and found a way to phase out the security theater.”
“Precheck always struck me as a tacit admission that the TSA is security theater”
“in paying them again nothing changed except they took more money from me”
“the TSA check magically vanishes before you can update it in their app”
“Except sometimes the TSA precheck and regular lines are the same”
“since I got PreCheck, it's gotten easier”
“Precheck w/ touchless ID lines are virtually empty at most airports”
“I have never waited more than 1-3 minutes in TSA precheck”
“The TSA Pre lines are often as long as the standard lines.”
“with TSA Precheck Touchless, it was a few minutes”
“It is just a new way for the goverement to spy on citizens.”
“so you can walk through the metal detector instead”
“The service we paid for on top of all of our taxes.”
“they are federal requirements, de facto socialization”
“It's pretty optimal if you have TSA PreCheck + digital ID.”
“It is privatization of public transportation and a net negative for society.”
“it's intentional money grab. But then again, so is PreTSA”
“I also find Global Entry, TSA Precheck, and especially Clear to all be problematic”
“You submit permanent biometrics as part of PreCheck and Global Entry.”
“In the US you pay not to go to the theatre, they call it TSA PreCheck®”
“It's a two tiered security line - theirs is faster, but you need money to get into it”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.