Alaska Airlines Offers a New Short-Cut Through Airport Security

Waiting in long airport security lines is no fun. In an effort to help its frequent fliers, Alaska Airlines is allowing its members to use their rewards miles to pay for TSA PreCheck.

Alaska is the first airline to offer its frequent fliers the ability to redeem their miles to cover the $85 TSA PreCheck screening charge, according to the carrier.

The PreCheck program allows travelers to enjoy five years of flying without the hassle of removing their shoes, belts or light jackets when going through security. They can even leave their laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags.

“TSA PreCheck is a game-changer for those of us who travel frequently for work or pleasure,” Sangita Woerner, Alaska’s vice president of marketing, said in a statement. “This partnership between Mileage Plan and the TSA will allow more of our customers to take the guesswork out of the day of travel.”

If you want to redeem 10,000 Alaska Airlines miles to cover the $85 application fee for TSA PreCheck, here’s what you need to do:

• First, make sure you’re eligible for the TSA PreCheck program. This is important, because if you’re not eligible but you’ve already told Alaska that you want to use your miles to pay for the PreCheck fee, you just wasted 10,000 miles!
• If you’ve determined that you are in fact eligible for PreCheck, you need to send an email to “[email protected]” by April 30. Make sure to include your name and mileage plan number. Within three days of receiving your request, Alaska will deduct 10,000 miles from your account and send you an email with an authorization code.
• Apply for TSA PreCheck and schedule your screening appointment. Make sure you bring proof of citizenship status and your printed email from Alaska with the authorization code. TSA will need that info to cover the application fee.

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