Why I Am Not Getting TSA PreCheck On My Southwest Flights?

Last week, Southwest announced that they are joining TSA Prechcek.

I am a big fan of TSA Precheck and was excited that Southwest was joining. Over the next few weeks, I have a ton of travel on Southwest and not having to take my laptop out of its sleeve is a big help.

Therefore, I was a little disappointed that I did not get Precheck on my fight to Connecticut for Thanksgiving. When I arrived at BWI, the C Concourse Precheck line had no one. I mean no one in it. However, my boarding pass didn't have that great little sign like this:

I sent out this tweet while waiting in security:

A few hours later, I got this response from the Press Secretary for TSA, Ross Feinstein:

Here is the link to the TSA Blog post he mentions.

Reading the post, one of the suggestions stood out:

• Didn’t enter their full name: first, middle and last name. These should match:

• TSA Pre✓™ participants who qualify via their membership in a CBP Trusted Traveler program should enter their full name — first, middle and last — exactly as it appears on their Global Entry card or in their Global Online Enrollment System (GOES) account, along with their date of birth, gender, and nine digit Membership Number / PASS ID when making a reservation for travel. A reservation made with a name that does not exactly match a passenger's Global Entry card or GOES account will result in the passenger not being considered for TSA Pre✓™ expedited screening. If you click the “manage membership” button when logged into your GOES account, it will direct you to the page in the image below where you’ll be able to ensure your account info — under the personal information section — matches the information in your travel reservation and your frequent flyer program: first, middle and last name fields.
• You should make sure your airline frequent flyer profile and any current and/or future reservations matches this information. You may have to reach out directly to your carrier to make sure this information is correct and consistent, especially your first, middle and last name. You should ask them to update your profile information and/or saved Secure Flight data.

You see my legal name isn't JD. Its a name that was created by my elementary school. I quickly went to my Southwest Rapid Reward profile, sure enough my name at Southwest is JD:

However, Southwest doesn't make it easy to change your name. You have to mail them paperwork:

The other few times I got Precheck, I was flying United and US Airways. In both instances, my name on my frequent flyer account is JD. So, I don't necessarily know if this is the reason why I did not get it this time. Southwest has setup a whole webpage for Precheck, which can be found here. Reading through the page, I came across this tidbit:

Could it Prechek be for only new reservation made after Southwest getting into the program? I hope this is the reason and not my name. Regardless, I will forward the required paperwork to Southwest to change my name.

Has anyone had luck with Precheck on Southwest?

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Shaving On A Plane

Shaving on an an airplane? The idea has never crossed my mind. Normally, I don't shave before flying. I once heard that by not shaving, you can protect yourself from getting sick. It's probably one of those old wives tales, but I live by it. The idea behind the "no shave before flying" belief is that any germs floating around the airplane with stick to your stubble and can be saved away upon landing. So, shaving on an airplane never crossed my mind.

LA TIMES

That was until I received an email from Birchbox advertising the joys of shaving in transit. Say what? The post can be seen here and makes a strong enough argument that has made me rethink my "travel shaving habits." The author Martin Mulkeen recalls,

"A few weeks ago I found myself entering hour 21 of a 22-hour flight to Singapore for a friend’s wedding. I would soon arrive in the early morning, but for my internal clock it would be just approaching bedtime. With an hour left to fly I knew I had to do something to kickstart my morning. So I locked the door to my private airplane apartment, pulled out a disposable razor and a my travel-friendly sample size of Vitamine and Sea’s shaving cream ... and scraped away the vagaries of what had been, legitimately, the longest night of my life. Granted, just a neck clean up, but the simple act of running the razor over my face helped me re-orient my thoughts towards the morning (and my imminent groomsmen duties)."

 On long flights, a shave may give me a pick-up I need prior to landing. Mulkeen argues that shaving won't cure jet lag, but it may help:

"The most important rule of getting over jet lag is setting your watch to local time the second you board the plane, right? Well, the more I travel the more I realize how tied simple acts of muscle memory and routine are for recalibrating one’s internal clock. Flossing, brushing, mouthwash, followed by 30 minutes with my book, and I’m out like a light. Conversely, exfoliating, moisturizing, and a big bowl of granola and suddenly it’s 8am no matter what the clock says. Of course, a glass of wine or a cup of coffee can help with this on either end too."

The big question many of you may be having is shaving on an airplane possible. More importantly, can you bring a razor on an airplane? According to the TSA blog disposable razor blades are allowed in your carry-on. However, old fashion blade type razors are not allowed.

With the razor allowed, the next important thing is shaving cream. Any 3oz container or less of shaving cream is allowed, but I would recommend a cream vs. traditional shaving cream due to time and easy of clean-up. Remember, other people need to use the bathroom as well.

Maybe on my next long flight, I will pop into the "airline apartment" and give myself a quick clean-up. I know the shave won't reduce jet-lag, but I bet it could give me a little pep in my step to start/end my vacation.

Have you ever shaved on an airplane?
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 Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for me? E-mail me at jd@doitforthepoints.com