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My ID expired, which was not caught on the flight TO but was caught on the flight BACK. They tagged me and my 2 year old daughter for additional screening.
It was great. With a 2 year old, you can imagine that going through security is a nightmare (even though we fly often enough, I have it down pretty well). They took us aside and even talked to my daughter about what they were doing, how it would not hurt her Dora doll, etc.
Perhaps not exactly kosher, but a great back-up plan if there is a 2 hour wait and you have to make your flight.
~ Elizabeth
So, in short, I'm sure on my trip traveling without ID could only have slowed me down. But I appreciate your continual experimentation and reporting back. I love being better prepared, informed and more alert than those around me.
Here's a Tip (perhaps already covered): Flying Southwest, you can usually get the key benefit of a much more expensive Business fare (i.e., an early boarding number) by checking in online exactly 24 hours before your flight. I was able to check in at 8:30:01 a.m., Wednesday for my 8:30 a.m. Thursday flight, and got position A20 -- 20th person aboard after special-needs pre-boarders. On the way back, I forgot and ended up with B32, which was at the front of the third (of 6, I think) group aboard.
Many airports (cough cough SFO) would require you to have the airline agree to having no ID first so make sure you tell the airline when getting your ticket as well.
This is a total ninja move and completely legal (look into the supreme court decision). There's no real security in checking IDs anyway if you think about it. As recent hacks have shown, people on the TSA no-fly list can buy a ticket under someone else's name, do the print boarding pass at home, photoshop the name to their real name, print the ticket and go through security with their real ID.
I'll have the keep this in mind next time I'm flying, though.
The next time I'm late for a flight I'm going to arrange to have my ID stolen :-)
For another good airline hack, check here for a good a Dumb Little Man article about how to score free airline vouchers by reserving overbooked flights.
Thanks Tim,
Clay
You should do a post on having an efficient wallet and how you handle keeping your wallet nice and neat.
it would be great if you would take a few minutes to tell us if that worked on your way home...
It is NEVER fun to stay in those lines..
Thanks
Well done!
I hope you had a good time in your travels. I am thinking that joining the mile high club without ID is dangerous, could Mr. Ferriss pull that off? That would be an interesting experiment aye! ;)
Hugs
Jen
Thanks for the excellent comments and suggestions.
A few asked if I like the FlyClear card. I LOVE IT. Worth 10x the price. See the link to my article on this in the post. It's paid for itself many, many times over.
Tim
~Marcie
Hopefully I never lose my wallet, but some good tips here.
Also... I posted a few photos of you at SXSW to Flickr, a couple of good ones: http://flickr.com/photos/deckoff/sets/721576041...
Cheers!
David
One of the fellow lock-picking "students" from ETech. Sorry to hear about all this - I wondered what happened to you at the end there - but glad that you were still able to get out to Austin safe and sound and without too much hassle. I'll be interested to hear how well this works on the return trip - if it's just San Diego or it varies by airport.
Thanks for the great talk at ETech also. I've already cut my e-mail and RSS consumption in half, and have intentionally disabled push e-mail on my crackberry as an experiment in personal sanity. So far it's working ;)
###
Thanks for the comment, Sean! Congrats as well for taming the e-mail beast -- well done, sir :)
Tim
And, guess what? I don't miss it at all. Flying domestically now seems to be the US equivalent of traveling the subway in Tokyo during rush hour. Been there. Did that. Never again.
TimW
Phoenix
Analogously, the welfare system is in place to help people who really need it, but is often abused by people who want free money.
Otherwise, thanks for providing us with a good guide to not panicking when we lose our ID right before flying.
Trust you to turn it into positive though! :)
It doesn't cost anything to give a compliment, right?
I ain't got no place to go in a hurry. I show up at the airport 2 hours in advance to avoid lines. I'm rarely in a rush. I setup shop with my laptop, read a book, or a mag, people watch, strike up conversations with random people. I actually enjoy being at the airport! (I *hate* on the other hand, being *in* the plane, esp for short trips)
How are you enjoying my town? Are you tired of the men wearing women's jeans and geometric haircuts yet? You're a southby vet; you're used to this by now.
A couple years back, when I first moved to Austin, I had a temporary drivers license which functioned exactly the same as no license: no line, a quick swab and pat, and I was on my way. I've used it 3 times since, depending on the check-in congestion.
Best,
Skyler
This goes to show you never know until you ask! People keep doing things because they feel that's how it has to be.
Sorry you lost your wallet. Glad you made it to Austin. We liked it! = )
Talk about topical...
-Nate
to be continued, as you say sir. ;)
I don't know that I got through the line any faster, but I was in relatively short lines both times, anyway. And I hope to have my new ID before I fly next, rather than them having to fuss with me. But I will give kudos to the TSA for creating a good process here.
Tim
A coloured friend of mine spent 2 DAYS stuck at airport/police following wallet being stolen.
In my case, I get a "SSSS" on my b.p. just when I show what country I am from (it's not Iraq or Afghanistan). I have never found this to make things go faster - I have to get to the airport 3 hours before my flight each time. I've had this experience for 17 years, every single time I fly.
I think you were really lucky and resourceful, but I would not have similar hopes if I were a reader of ths blog.
You have officially been bumped up to my new hero.
I love the contrast between this and the clear blue card.
Hacking life for what is truly important rather then worrying about MIGHT happen all the time.
I love how you used both PRO-system and ANTI-system type tools to gain more of the good stuff out of life. Like Time!
I have used the fruit trick to pass customs quickly. I know by putting it here I will probably lose this trick when TOO many people do it and customs adjust BUT....
Basically you just bring some something innocent that you KNOW is going to get confiscated when traveling internationally. Bananas are good for Australia and Apples are good for California. :-)
Then simply declaring it and LETTING them confiscate it. Because as soon as you declare it they put in in a shorter faster line. Heck sometimes after they to not search or scan my bags at ALL!
I have saved myself hours in line many times at an average of about 78 cents per hour. :-) Outsourcing my line waiting time to an apple. :-)
Tom
P.S. It is fun when the beagles find your illegal apple AFTER you have already filled out the form declaring it. :-)
P.P.S. Being a dyslexic writer I really appreciate the spell checking on your blog. Probably just saved my post about 17 times.
First off love what your doing! Its not to often that I stumble upon something that I'm truly impressed by. Keep it up!
I've got a question about travel for you. I frequently travel via plane with a bike (in a large protective case) or snowboard and was curious if you had any solutions to the crazy airline charges for oversized (sometimes upwards of $200) luggage on a flight. It be great to hear your thoughts!
Thanks in advanced, TOM
While I'll probably never have to use this, it's a prett cool work around.
I like the way your mind works:-)
Our society, unfortunately, has created all sorts of rules. Some, like airport security have been made necessary, however there are even more that are totally unnecessary.
To live free, we have to challenge them sometimes and, as long as no one is harmed or compromised, break them. You seem to get that:-)
We had made the police report BEFORE she went to the airport, and we took a copy of that along with.
While I agree that doing this on purpose would completely mess up the TSA system, and therefore, endanger all travelers, it is great to know that if you are in this situation you don't have to panic. Thanks for the great post--the letter is a super addition to any traveler's items.
In my previous "job-job" I used to travel, tons, to the point where it became too much. (I knew I had officially burnt out when, on one trip to Stockholm, the hotel receptionist asked if I'd like to go to a party with her when she finished work. It was a Saturday night. I replied that, "I was tired, there was a Metallica concert on TV, and I was in the middle of game of Command and Conquer on my computer.)
The only problem I ever had getting out of a country was when I was on a - again business - trip to San Salvidore Island. I used to travel without cash, all the time, depending on credit cards. On the transfer in Jamaica, they ask for a $5 exit fee - cash only. I had about $2 on me. After push came to shove, they finally took the visa.:)
Sorry for getting carried away!
Kevin
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13739_3-9962760-46.ht...
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/06/tsa-ni...
This hack wont work no more.
Stumbled
http://cbs5.com/local/tsa.security.clear.2.7880...