My Wife Made a Rookie TSA Mistake on Our Flight Home Yesterday: Here’s How to Avoid Making the Same One

After spending exactly seven weeks traveling through 17 cities in 10 countries, my family and I finally began the journey home yesterday.

Our last flight was on American Airlines from Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Los Angeles (LAX). We arrived at Terminal 3 around 6:50 a.m. and headed straight to the Priority baggage drop (I checked in online), where a friendly American Airlines employee tagged our two heavy suitcases.

The airport was packed but I knew I had one advantage.

The fastest security lane in the airport

I’m enrolled in TSA PreCheck Touchless ID, which uses facial recognition to verify your identity instead of having you hand over your driver’s license or passport at the checkpoint. It’s optional, but if you’re eligible, it’s one of the easiest ways to speed through airport security.

When I reached the entrance to the Touchless ID lane, the TSA officer looked at my boarding pass to make sure it displayed the Touchless ID indicator. It did.

Then I looked over at my wife. “You didn’t register for Touchless ID?” She gave me that deer-in-headlights look I’ve grown to know. She’d forgotten to enroll.

I’d reminded her several times before our trip because I had recently written about how TSA is expanding the program nationwide. Enrollment takes just a couple of minutes, but like many travel tasks, it’s easy to put off until tomorrow … and then forget completely.

So I told her I’d meet her on the other side of security. I breezed through the Touchless ID lane in seconds and headed toward the X-ray machines. Just as I was placing our bags on the conveyor belt, my phone started buzzing.

It was Natalie FaceTiming me. She was panicking. “I don’t have my passport!” In my rush to get through security, I’d unknowingly walked off carrying all four of our passports inside one of the bags I had with me. Thankfully, I hadn’t gone through the scanner yet.

“By the way, the TSA PreCheck line is insane,” she said. I thought she was exaggerating even though she doesn’t exaggerate since PreCheck is usually quick.

So I turned around, exited the secure area and walked back out to find my family. She wasn’t exaggerating.

The longest TSA PreCheck line I’ve seen

The TSA PreCheck line stretched farther than I could remember seeing at any airport. Passengers around us kept asking each other: “Is this really the PreCheck line?” It was.

The good news is that TSA officers kept the line moving efficiently. Despite its intimidating length, we made it through in 20 minutes, which is impressive considering how many people were waiting.

Still, those extra minutes mattered. Instead of relaxing before our flight, we lost time we had planned to spend exploring O’Hare, one of my favorite airports for food and amenities. We also almost missed out on visiting the American Airlines Admirals Club, where I grab breakfast and catch up on emails before boarding. (Access is one of the many perks I receive through my Citi credit card.) Here’s a list of my favorite travel credit cards.

What is TSA PreCheck Touchless ID?

TSA PreCheck Touchless ID is an optional identity verification program that lets eligible travelers verify their identity using facial recognition instead of presenting a physical ID during the ID check portion of security.

To be eligible, you need:

• An active TSA PreCheck membership
• A valid passport
• A participating airline profile (or Google Wallet with a supported Digital ID)
• Your Known Traveler Number (KTN) saved in your airline profile
• To opt in through your airline or Google Wallet

Once you’re enrolled, a Touchless ID indicator appears on your boarding pass whenever you’re eligible to use the dedicated lane.

Participating airlines currently include:

• American Airlines
• Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Southwest Airlines
• United Airlines

Google Wallet also now offers another way for eligible travelers to opt in using a supported Digital ID.

The program is currently available at 65 airports, including many of the country’s busiest hubs like ATL, ORD, DFW, DEN, LAX, LAS, MIA, MSP, PHX, SEA and DCA.

Don’t forget one important detail

Even if you use Touchless ID, you still need to bring a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or another acceptable physical ID, such as your passport. TSA officers can still ask to see it if identity verification can’t be completed electronically or if additional verification is needed.

According to TSA, participation is completely voluntary, and images used during the Touchless ID process are deleted within 24 hours of your scheduled flight departure. The agency also says the images are not used for law enforcement or surveillance purposes.

Natalie’s mistake wasn’t catastrophic. We made our flight with time to spare. But it was a reminder that the smallest travel tasks can make a big difference.

Spending two or three minutes enrolling in TSA PreCheck Touchless ID before your trip could save you 20 minutes (or more!) standing in a security line when you could be chilling airside.

Natalie’s Aura

One final thing. Even though Natalie missed enrolling in TSA PreCheck Touchless ID (which I’m sure she’ll remember next time!), she remains, without question, the most amazing person I know.

Just before we landed in Los Angeles, one of our American Airlines flight attendants squatted down next to her and said, “I’ve never met anyone with your energy before.” He said that he meets thousands of passengers every year and never says anything like this, but he felt compelled to tell her. “You’re so different,” he said. “And your looks don’t hurt, but that’s not what I’m talking about.” He said it was her energy that radiated from her and stood out to him and that he knew he’d regret it if he didn’t say something before we landed.

What made the moment even more remarkable was that just three weeks earlier, Natalie and I had attended a Hyatt and Aeroplan event that featured an aura portrait station as part of Hyatt’s wellness program. When Natalie’s portrait appeared almost entirely purple, the woman running the station was genuinely surprised. She told us she’d never seen an aura like that and described it as representing compassion, intuition and a deeply positive spirit. Whether you believe in aura readings or not, it was fascinating to hear. Then, just days later, a complete stranger said something remarkably similar without knowing anything about that experience.

So yes, she forgot to spend two minutes enrolling in Touchless ID. But after seven incredible weeks of traveling together through 10 countries, I’d happily stand in the longest TSA PreCheck line in America if it meant getting to share the journey with her.