Anyone who has PreCheck (and by this point, over 20 million of us do) knows that being a member of the program can be a great convenience and time saver when traveling through airports.
But convenience has its costs, and PreCheck isn’t free.
According to <href=”https://www.tsa.gov/precheck” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>TSA’s website, it currently costs between $76.75 and $85 to apply for PreCheck (depending on enrollment provider). This price mainly covers the expenses required for the vetting the federal government does to ensure the traveler can be considered a “trusted traveler” (read: they do a “deep dive” into your history to make sure you’re not considered a risk on a flight).
Active military and select other groups get PreCheck for free because they’re already vetted anyway. With some exceptions (see below), veterans, retired military personnel and those in occupations that would typically get free PreCheck no longer get that high-level vetting once they’ve retired or moved on to other careers; they no longer get PreCheck for free at that time.
Who gets PreCheck for free?
These are the groups that currently get PreCheck for free:
- Active members of the U.S. military
- Certain severely injured or disabled veterans (President Biden signed this into law in January 2025)
- Certain Hazardous Materials Endorsement (HME) holders
- Children aged 17 and under who are accompanying their parent/guardian who has PreCheck
- Gold Star family members
And that’s it, for now. As much as it would be lovely for senior citizens, disabled people, first responders, etc., to get PreCheck for free, the federal government apparently doesn’t agree at this time.
What about discounts for seniors, disabled travelers, first responders, etc.?
There’s one group that doesn’t get TSA PreCheck for free, but does get a discount:
- Spouses of active military personnel are eligible for a $25 discount on TSA PreCheck
For the rest of us, TSA sometimes offers a BOGO deal (there’s one going on as of this writing). Before you get excited about the potential of a “buy one, get one free” offer, it’s actually not that good – it’s typically “Buy one, get one $15 off,” which translates into less than 10% off the entire cost.
Maybe a special line for seniors or the disabled?
In recent months, the TSA has begun offering expedited lanes for certain groups:
- Expedited access for military members in TSA PreCheck lanes are available at select airports (typically near larger military installations), at select times.
- “Family lanes” are available at select airports, for families who need more time due to the needs of their small children.
Meanwhile, we’ve seen the occasional comment that elderly and/or disabled individuals should get special lines at the TSA security checkpoint. And we hear you.
Unfortunately, although both groups sometimes get those types of benefits in the civilian world, it’s highly doubtful either will ever be seen at the TSA security zone. The TSA security checkpoint is 100% accessible as per ADA standards. If someone has difficulty standing or walking through the queue, there is personnel available at airports to help them maneuver through it, even via an airport wheelchair (and yeah, I agree that system is not always super dependable).
Can anything be done?
Reimbursement via credit card
Of course, some co-branded airline, hotel and other credit cards will offer statement reimbursement for the fees associated with obtaining TSA PreCheck – here are a bunch of them (caveat: this list is about a year old. But it’s a start. TSA also offers a list, but we don’t know how up-to-date it is). Of course, none of the “free” cards reimburse you for PreCheck. But there are a handful of relatively “cheap” (read: annual fees of $100+/-) cards that do.
Pay with points or miles
Some rewards programs have partnered with TSA to offer PreCheck enrollment as a member benefit or by redeeming points/miles.
- IHG® One Rewards
- Marriott Bonvoy (cost is 25,000 points. At a value of roughly 0.82 cents per point, you’d be spending about $205)
- Orbitz Rewards Platinum Members
- United MileagePlus (cost is 11,000 miles. At a value of roughly 1.21 cents per mile, you’d be spending about $133.10)
So yeah, you can use miles or points, but we don’t recommend it.
The bottom line
Although the TSA has offered discounted or even free PreCheck for some select groups, they’re still not extending the offer to seniors, most disabled people, or first responders.
Feature image created with assistance from AI
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