TSA cut the price of enrolling in PreCheck by $20 for travelers 30 and under this spring, the agency’s first age-targeted discount on its expedited-screening program, according to TSA’s own press release.
- The “$20 Take Off” promotion applied only to new PreCheck enrollments from travelers aged 30 and under.
- It ran for one month, May 1 through May 31, 2026, and did not apply to renewals.
- Standard PreCheck enrollment runs $76.75 to $85 depending on the provider; the discount brought that down to roughly $56.75 to $65.
- Applicants enrolled through one of TSA’s three authorized providers — CLEAR, IDEMIA, or Telos — at roughly 1,300 locations nationwide, including retail stores and airports.
- Most applicants received their Known Traveler Number within three to five days of enrolling.
PreCheck has never before offered a discount tied to age, and the gap it targets is a real one. Enrollment costs the same $76.75 to $85 whether a traveler flies once a year or fifty times, so the fee lands very differently on a 24-year-old flying home for the holidays than on a road warrior who earns it back within a single trip. TSA framed the spring discount as a deliberate effort to build the habit early rather than wait for younger travelers to age into frequent-flyer status.
“With this special discount, we’re empowering the next generation of travelers to make TSA PreCheck a part of their journey,” said Ha Nguyen McNeill, the TSA official serving in the senior administrator role, in the agency’s announcement.
The underlying program benefits are the same regardless of age. TSA says 99% of PreCheck members wait under 10 minutes at the checkpoint, and members can leave shoes, belts, laptops, and 3-1-1 liquids packed rather than pulling everything out for separate screening. The agency has also expanded free Touchless ID verification, which uses facial matching instead of a boarding pass and ID check, to 65 airports across six participating airlines. Children traveling with an enrolled parent already fly free under the program, discount or not.
Telos, one of TSA’s three vetted enrollment providers, confirmed the same pricing and eligibility details in its own announcement, noting the discount was verified at enrollment using a government-issued ID and applied automatically for qualifying applicants rather than requiring a separate promo code.
The one-month discount window closed May 31, and travel deal trackers reported no extension had been announced as of the most recent check. For now, travelers under 30 hoping to enroll are back to paying the standard $76.75 to $85 fee for a membership that runs five years before renewal is required.
