I damn near lost it a few a minutes ago. I’m traveling with a friend that’s on exactly the same routing. As we approach the TSA checkpoint at JFK my friend gets selected for TSA PreCheck, while I don’t.
Let’s step back for a second. I was thrilled when TSA announced the Pre-Check program a while back, whereby certain travelers could use a special lane where they don’t have to take their shoes off, don’t have to remove the liquids and laptops from their bags, and go through a metal detector instead of a full body scanner. Basically it’s the opportunity to experience pre-9/11 security once again. My frustration has been that in over a dozen transits at Pre-Check airports I haven’t once been selected for the Pre-Check line.
I chalked it up to bad luck, strange itineraries, etc. But today after going through security with a friend on the same itinerary and seeing him selected for Pre-Check while I wasn’t, I nearly lost it. Actually, I think there was cartoon style steam coming out of my ears as he stood on the other side of the checkpoint taunting me.
So when we got to the Flagship Lounge he suggested he look at my profile to make sure I had my info loaded in there correctly. I responded with “how stupid do I look?” though I reluctantly agreed.
He logged into my profile and saw everything looked correct, though asked to see my Global Entry card just to make sure the number looked correct. Again, I responded with “how stupid do I look?”
Well, as it turns out I had the wrong Global Entry number in my profile all along. Instead of using the number on the left side of the card, I had entered the number on the top right of the card.
At least I rest well knowing this is the same friend that lost his passport on a trip… twice. Makes me feel just a little bit less stupid (or at least makes me feel like I’m in good company).
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