Travel Debates is a series in which our editors weigh in on the most contentious issues that arise in-transit, like whether you should ever switch seats on a plane or if you should check your work email while on vacation.
You’ve got TSA PreCheck and Clear, your travel partner does not. To stay or to leave, goes the modern moral dilemma. Sacrifice time (and clean socks) in the name of a shared journey or go solo in an ever-so-slightly shorter queue, emerging on the other side with a bottle full of water yet a heart racked with shame. Or you just might be the PreCheck-less traveler who knows very well your partner’s enrolled yet still guilts them into sticking it out with you—a punishment for their planning ahead.
This patience-testing, potentially combustible situation is one we’re very familiar with at Traveler. Should you ditch your travel companion if they don’t have TSA PreCheck? Are you inclined to use what you’ve paid for—or are you set on leaving no man behind? Is there a way, dare we say, to use your lack of PreCheck to your advantage? Below, senior features editor Rebecca Misner, global digital director Arati Menon, destinations senior editor Shannon McMahon, and senior visuals editor Pallavi Mohan Kumar weigh in on all that could go down at the security crossroads.
This article has been updated with new information since its original publish date.
See you on the other side?
“Hard yes. Unless your companion could use a hand or is traveling with young kids (in the latter case, if this person also happens to be your spouse or partner, really not cool to leave them with the stroller, diaper bag, squirming kids). Otherwise, ditch away. Getting through security is often stressful, especially at airports where you’re still taking out your laptop or seemingly putting every item in its own bin. A little alone time for both parties during a potentially high-stress point—especially at the start of a trip that you’ll have plenty of togetherness on—isn’t a bad idea. The kind thing to do, if you’re first through, is to go get in the coffee line or scout the best food options.” —Rebecca Misner, Features Director
Think of the traveler you once were…
“I have plenty of family members who don’t have TSA PreCheck, so my answer is easy: I wait with them. Now, I should probably disclose two things. First, I have a planet-sized guilty conscience, so leaving a loved one to the regular security line while I breeze through would haunt me all the way to my destination. Second, I vividly remember instances (not dissimilar to this) where I was the one with the weaker passport in the travel hierarchy, and had folks willingly stand with me in the much longer immigration queue. That kind of solidarity sticks with you. To me, it’s a small price to pay for traveling together—and racking up brownie points as the favorite family member or best friend.
That said, I do have a larger question, perhaps for another discussion: what happens when everybody gets TSA PreCheck and the balance tips the other way? If everyone gets the privilege lane, who ends up waiting with whom? Is there a new hierarchy?” —Arati Menon, Global Digital Director
…and the traveler you have become
“I usually don’t mind being separated from my husband or travel partner while traveling—it’s fine to have some alone time and pair up later. But recently I gave birth to twins and am a first-time mom, and so I think that really upends things. My days of saying to him ‘see you on the other side’ are over. With one baby I think we would both say that ditching the other is grounds for divorce, so with two, you better stick with me and take those shoes off. If we’re alone somehow though and his TSA PreCheck has lapsed while I still have mine? See you on the other side with a coffee, like Becca said.” —Shannon McMahon, Senior Editor, Destinations