New survey finds TSA PreCheck membership reduces stress, not time

By Mia Taylor, TravelPulse

Most travelers can probably agree that going through airport security screening is an experience that falls somewhere on the fun meter between going to the dentist and paying taxes.

To avoid this less-than-pleasant experience, some 20 million travelers have joined the TSA PreCheck program, according to the latest data from the Transportation Safety Administration.

The program, launched in 2013, promises “shorter wait times of under 10 minutes, greater checkpoint efficiency and improved security.”

However, newly released research from Upgraded Points, a travel and credit card points resource, reveals that despite the promised “under 10 minutes” wait time with TSA PreCheck, many program members experience substantially longer processing timelines.

Based on a survey of 1,517 Americans conducted this year, the research found that TSA PreCheck members are not necessarily speeding through security as the program promises.

More specifically, surveyed PreCheck members said that the average security screening processing time they experience is closer to 36 minutes. And that’s only 7 minutes faster than travelers who do not have PreCheck and reported an average processing time of 43 minutes.

Moreover, the research indicates that saving time is not necessarily the top attraction of TSA PreCheck membership in the eyes of harried travelers.

Instead, it may be the reduced stress associated with passing through security at the airport as a TSA PreCheck member.

The research shows that people with PreCheck say their airport stress levels are cut in half by their membership. These same travelers rate their stress when going through traditional security lines at a 7.4 on a stress scale of 1 to 10. However, the stress levels of surveyed travelers drops to just 3.5 out of 10 when in a TSA PreCheck screening line.

Additionally, when asked which TSA PreCheck member benefits are most important, 38.7% of travelers said the reduction in stress associated with airport screenings was the number one benefit.

Having access to shorter airport screening lines, meanwhile, came in second, with 34.4% of surveyed travelers saying it was the most crucial benefit of TSA PreCheck membership.

“Even if PreCheck isn’t saving a ton of time, travelers still like the peace of mind that comes with it,” Kyle Beierlein, the researcher for Upgraded Points who spearheaded the study, told TravelPulse. “I think it makes people feel like they’re doing everything they can to make getting through security easier.”

Underscoring that point, 94% of PreCheck holders who participated in the Upgraded Points survey said their membership improves the overall airport experience, and 92% percent said the $78 cost of membership is well worth the service.

“Plus, there are real perks like not having to take stuff out of your bag, being able to bring your young children through with you, and not stripping down to bare feet and short sleeves. That definitely helps cut down on stress,” Beierlein continued.

Indeed, about 11.5% of travelers said the ability to keep their shoes on during the airport screening process was the most important value of TSA PreCheck membership, followed by 11.1% who said not having to remove laptops or liquids from carry-on luggage is the top benefit.

Ironically, going through airport security screening without TSA PreCheck is far more stressful for those with the membership. When asked to rate how stressful it is going through airport security without TSA PreCheck (again on a scale of 1 to 10), TSA PreCheck members rated the process a 7.3. However, travelers who are not members of TSA PreCheck said the process of going through security only rates as 5.5 out of 10 on the stress scale.

Time spent at airports: TSA PreCheck vs. nonmembership

Circling back to how TSA PreCheck membership impacts a traveler’s overall time spent at the airport, the research provides a few more data points.

For instance, the researchers found that TSA PreCheck travelers typically arrive at the airport about one hour and 41 minutes before a flight, while those who do not have PreCheck membership generally arrive at the airport one hour and 47 minutes before their scheduled departure.

In other words, having TSA PreCheck membership only shaves about 6 minutes off the amount of time travelers feel they need at the airport before a flight.

And, of course, there’s the initial data point about TSA PreCheck membership only reducing airport screening time by about 7 minutes on average.

There’s likely a variety of factors at play regarding the variance between what TSA promises for PreCheck members (less than 10 minutes to pass through screening) and what many travelers are actually experiencing, Beierlein says.

“First, TSA PreCheck is available at over 200 airports, so smaller, less busy airports are likely bringing the average down,” Beierlein told TravelPulse.

“But most travelers are going through larger hubs, where wait times would typically be longer,” he added.

What’s more, the number of people who have TSA PreCheck membership is increasing, and as a result, the program’s expedited screening lines are becoming less exclusive, added Beierlein.

There may be another variable at play as well, admitted Beierlein: Both TSA and the travelers who were surveyed for the Upgraded Points research are merely estimating.

“TSA hasn’t said exactly how they calculate their times, and our travelers are going off memory, so there’s room for some fluctuations on both sides,” he explained. “That said, people are pretty clear: they don’t typically get through in under 10 minutes. It usually at least feels about triple that.”

It’s also important to remember that the figure in the survey is merely an average. Some travelers said PreCheck saves them a lot of time, while others said it still takes over an hour to get through screening.

“Overall, the reality is probably somewhere in the middle: at smaller airports, it might still be under 10 minutes, but at bigger ones, especially during busy times, it’s often 30 minutes or more,” said Beierlein.

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