TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin TSA Pre-check free

Just in case you weren't aware:
Check your credit card as it may reimburse you for TSA pre check. My card, a Venture Capital does. Just fill out the TSA pre check form, pay with credit card, you will be reimbursed for up to $100.00 within 2 billing cycles.

NOTE: Starting June 12th Global Entry will be reimbursed.

If the card covers up to $100 go for Global Entry, so much better value

Wish it would work for global entry. I have to renew mine before it expires in May. Maybe I'll give my issuing card a call.

Renewed my wife's GE a few months ago with United Explorer card...debited $100 and issued a $100 credit on the same statement. Available once every FOUR years so the 5 year expiration works fine

American Express reimburses GE.

Have never paid for it and have been precheck every time for a few years now

LeeLee--I think it's only AE Platinum card or similar?? I don't think my lowly AE Gold card gets me anything..

Here's a link about cards that reimburse for GE and PreCheck

"Top 8 cards for Global Entry" link

We get TSA pre check without charges also for years.

Still need an interview with Global entry! The custom agent told us that we could not do our interview because of the Fed. Shut down and-that is was not deemed essential!

Same here - we never applied for TSA Pre-Check since we only fly usually once or twice a year these days. But somehow, we always seem to end up with it. I thought it might have had something to do with First or Business Class tickets on the customary airline we generally fly but then we started flying on JB a lot and always end up with it there, too. I can’t tell you how disappointed I was when it was suggested to me that it might have something to do with age. Don’t know one way or the other for sure, but whatever the reason, I enjoy the reality.

I don't think it's age---we get TSA Pre-check every time, but I still get patted down!!!

LOL

Not for renewal.

Those of you saying you get TSA Pre-Check without paying for it I think are admitting you're "getting on in age". 70 and over. And some airlines put it on some boarding passes using a system of every X number, example every 16th ticket.

I don't think so. Got a couple of years left!

My take on it is it's because we've been making the exact same trips for years!

I think that's a lot more likely, the same trips, than purely age. We often get TSA pre-check when we go to SXM on AA from Miami.. My mom is over 90 and she flies only occasionally, and she has never gotten TSA pre check. ...now I have to tell you though that she reported to me one time the TSA guy let her keep her bottle of water because she said she needed it for her pills!!! Could have knocked me over with a feather!!!

We have been doing the exact same trips to SXM for years and always seem to get TSA approval regardless of which of the two carriers we typically use. Last March we went to Antigua instead and still got TSA approval so perhaps it’s a combination of both along with your airline affiliation? This past November we used the same typical carrier but a totally different route to SXM and back and still got it, so who knows?!

Several years ago we started receiving TSA Pre for free on a regular basis. It was not something you could bank on. We did not always get it and sometimes Mary got it and I did not. We are well short of 70, BTW. Before you print your boarding pass, your flight information is sent to TSA. They have an algorithm that assesses your risk based on past flight history and characteristics of this specific flight. I'm not sure they even know your age, so I don't think that's part of the calculation. I could probably guess some things they do look at (which probably includes some name-based variation on racial profiling). If you fly regularly (for years!) and are flying a route you regularly fly, your risk will likely be very low and they will give you TSA Pre. If you fly regularly on a variety of different routes they probably consider that low risk as well. They are not going to tell you how the algorithm works for obvious reasons.

Even though we had been getting it fairly regularly, we just did Global Entry. I already had a United card and we got another for Mary and got GE for free, which includes TSA Pre. Had to go to Detroit and be interviewed, but have it now for five years.

Thanks for the post!

Thanks for the link! I have 2 of these cards. Will apply and hope Fed opens up before we head to SXM in 4 weeks!👍🏻

I thought it was age because we fly yearly to SXM but no other pattern of travel. Hubby always got pre-check and I did not then on my 70th b'day I too started getting pre-check even on the first time places we've flown as well as SXM. Hope it continues whatever it's based upon.

We left SXM on Sat, Jan 5, and the lines were horrendous. They were not recognizing the TSA Precheck plainly printed on our tickets. We stood in the long security line along with everyone else. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Yes, we have often had TSA pre-check printed on our tickets in SXM, but it means nothing. There IS no TSA pre-check in SXM. TSA does not exist in SXM.

That TSA PRE only helps you when you arrive in the States for you connecting flight and have to go through security.

Except at ATL where there is no TSA PreCheck for connecting flights :-(

THat's to bad. We usually connect though MIA or CLT when we return from SXM. THey both have the PRE screening lines.

The day may come when the free ride to PreCheck given selectively by the airlines comes to an end. In the last (115th) Congress HR6265, the PreCheck is PreCheck Act, which would generally restrict access to PreCheck to those who had actually signed up for it, passed the House. Last seen In Committee in the Senate.

I'm embarrassed to admit that given that there is now a new Congress (116th), and that the bill never passed the Senate, I don't know enough about the legislative process to know if the bill is still alive or if it dead. I thought that I paid attention in my High School Civics class, but I've obviously forgotten a bunch. Anyone care to opine on the status of HR6265 with a new Congress?

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/6265

Since the gov. shutdown, I can not renew my Global Entry. The site does not function!

Good to know. I planned on doing that this week. Mine expires this May.

Joe. Once they issued me a new login password and user ID I was able to complete the renewal and payment for Global Entry. Nothing was said about it being held up because of the Gov shutdown other than it was pending which would be normal on a renewal application.

I think the website has changed and you need a new login, from what I read somewhere

Correct. They said that your old user ID would not work and had to request a new one. But then my wifes old one allowed her to log in and it was the same age as mine. Hers was also good for a year longer than mine even though we took them out at the same time because of her birthday was 6 weeks prior to when it started. So hers is good for almost 6 years for the 100.00

Strange