But while it sounds simple, there are nuances to the Secure Flight program that youll want to be aware of before you book your next trip. The current welcome offer on this card is quite lucrative. Then your boarding passes should print out as you wish them to be. Meta has agreed to pay out $725 million to Facebook users to settle a class action lawsuit concerning user privacy. This should be at no charge. Updating your Social Security card should be one of the first things you do when you change your name. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on a federal government site. Some changes will have to be made in person, such as getting your new drivers license. Just change it so it matches your passport information. 7. One had a long dropdown box with almost every imaginable name suffix; another just had a box into which you type the suffix as you like to use it. Thanks you. Sarah Horowitz of the TSAs Office of Strategic Communications & Public Affairs notes that at the security checkpoint, TSA strives to ensure you are who are you say you are. Ed Hewitt started traveling with his family at the age of 10 and has since visited dozens of countries on six continents. TPG values it at $1,600. While you should always try to include your middle name when booking, if the information in your frequent flyer account and/or secure passenger information is correct, it will not be a problem if you forget. Thank you so much for all your help, I am so relieved!:D. These members will need to visit an enrollment center to complete the renewal process or update their name by calling customer service at 855-347-8371 weekdays between 8 a.m. - 10 p.m. It's really no big deal to fill in the information. This even includes some ultra-low-cost carriers like Spirit. She has come to realize writing as a way of sharing travel experiences brings her a lot of pleasure! Verifying accurate names, including middle names, helps avoid misidentification. 3 words: lightweight, durable, & multi-functional. This process includes checking a persons name, date of birth, and gender information. The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox. Once youve decided to move forward with the process, youre going to need to prove that you have a legal name change to get started. Passengers are able to clear security without including their middle name on their ticket because the Secure Flight passenger information matches their airline profile or the information on their ticket. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Yes. If youre changing your name whatever the reason follow this guide to make sure youre ready to enter this paperwork gauntlet. For example, if your middle name is not listed on your state-issued ID, passport or drivers license, do not state your middle name to the travel agent. Period. Always good to know specific airline procedural rules and what they can and cant do. I actually thought the name listed first on his birth certif. What You Need to Do to Conform to Secure Flight Requirements Your ticket reservation must contain your exact name as spelled on your passport or drivers license. Traveling on award travel using your frequent flier account seems the most likely source of problems for many travelers; these programs tend to issue tickets in the name you used at sign-up for the program, not the name you might supply at the time of booking. Normally you can just update this information on the airline web site but just call the airline reservation department and let them know you need help to update your Secure Flight Information. You will need to be insistent in this case, and you should check your itinerary immediately upon receipt when mailed or emailed to you. Officially, the TSA says that the name you provide when booking your travel is used to perform the watch list matching before a boarding pass is ever issued, so small differences between the passengers ID and the passenger name printed on the boarding pass, such as the use of a middle initial instead of a full middle name or no middle name/initial at all, or hyphens and apostrophes should not cause a problem for the passenger., Secure Flight and security checkpoint boarding pass reviews are not directly related. We also have passengers with no I.D. ET. 8. Secure Flight is a behind-the-scenes pre-screening tool that compares the name of the traveler booking a reservation to the official no-fly list. Pro tip: My #1 hack for saving money on all your hotel stays! DHS has extended the REAL ID enforcement deadline to May 7, 2025. A large number of misspelled name cases result from lack of attention while booking on the phone. It doesn't matter how many supporting documents you bring with you-the names must match exactly-including the middle name or middle initial. Your middle name should not be included with your airline fare as a general rule. Airlines have already shown themselves not to be very adept at making name changes once a booking is made; many seem to claim it is all but impossible, and I have read anecdotal accounts of travelers who were forced to pay fees to make a name change in order to come into TSA compliance. Ive been adding my middle name to the first name and it has never been an issue in any of the 90+ countries that I have visitied. If your driver's license or state-issued ID expired on or after March 1, 2020, and you are unable to renew at your state drivers license agency, you may still use it as acceptable identification at the checkpoint. What is Auto-GPT and why are hustle bros hype for it? For instance, if the name on your passport is Robert, do not book the airline ticket as " Bob". However, your first and last name must be exactly the same on your passport and plane ticket. $200 Hotel Credit: Get $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card. Because your airline profile contains all of the correct secure passenger information, not adding your middle name to the ticket wont matter. However, we would question something like "Mac" instead of "James.". I am not sure if its because we booked through Expedia. Airline websites usually have a section called My Trips or Manage Your Trip or some such section name. This following link will take you to the TSA Web Site to give you details on this program. Thanks for signing up. Looks like I already have a problem. Watch out for how that appears on airline tickets. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely. The name you provide when booking your travel is used to perform the watch list matching before a boarding pass is ever issued, so small differences between the passenger's ID and the passenger. Including your middle name upfront, even though its not required, does mean that your ticket information matches your government-issued ID. Andrea Romano is a writer and editor in New York City. A decade later, another flyer, John Scott-Railton wrote a blog post(opens in a new tab) about the same issue. They are the best source of information for you! By signing up to the Mashable newsletter you agree to receive electronic communications Credit ranges are a variation of FICO Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application. (If you have existing reservations made prior to your name change, most U.S. airlines will accommodate a legal name change without charging a fee.). I figured, if everything is there, then there wont be an issueit has never been an issue. It is an airline's way of approaching this important consumer protection rule in what is certainly an anti-consumer protection manner. For example, this means that if you recently got married, you will need to provide certified copies of your marriage certificate. The airlines won't take a hyphen, so both names get run together into one making for one very strange and unpronounceable hot mess, LOL! 3. If you are traveling with children who do not yet have ID, check their birth certificates before you book, and bring them with you. But you forget to do that on a particular ticket. Earn 5X Membership Rewards Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel. This is not because it is unnecessary. My passport has my full name, first, middle and last. When you book a ticket with that airline in the future and add that frequent flyer number, the passenger information will be added automatically to your reservation. Some products are sent to us free of charge with no incentive to offer a favorable review. Award travel. It's been my experience that the TSA's rules on names matches the rules of the airlines very closely. Hope you wont have any issues upon checking in. Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards Points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. The Secure Flight program ensures only that people who are not on the no-fly list will be issued boarding passes. Validation logic for a name may be something like: Must be greater than 1 and less than 200 characters, can only contain alphabets from A-Z. Click here to reload the page in order to enable certain features, Bowie, Maryland (suburb of Washington, DC). Redeeming unused travel. It often is helpful if you have something else on you that has the "ticket" name (if it is different than your ID) -- prescription bottle, library card, other card with a picture (credit card or Sam's Club membership card). The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. Its because there is more of a chance it could cost you in both time and money. Using titles can present problems as well. This is where you complete your TSA Secure Flight Information. I just went to United website and did what you told me to do. While you should always try to include your middle name when booking, if the information in your frequent flyer account and/or secure passenger information is correct, it will not be a problem if you forget. Why Do Middle Names Matter? your middle name is not on it), if your passenger information is correct, there will not be a problem. Difficult or unusual names. I've not had any issues with the TSA ID matching with all this information at hand. Secure Flight data needs to match whats on your passport and what information the airlines have on file about you. ET. Info gathering may vary considerably. An official website of the United States government. The high annual fee is only worth it if youre taking full advantage of the cards benefits. The information from that system is then sent over to the TSA electronically. We hand-pick everything we recommend and select items through testing and reviews. Do I need to book domestic travel (for which I would use my drivers license) as Edward C., and international travel (for which I would use my passport) as Edward Charles? Outside of the current welcome bonus, youre only earning higher rewards on specific airfare and hotel purchases, so its not a great card for other spending categories. Once we got to the front, the lady said to her supervisor, Its another one, Collins told City News. Step 6: Change your name with TSA PreCheck and/or Global Entry. When making a reservation, passengers should follow the prompts provided by the airline reservation system. Copyright 19952023 The Independent Traveler, Inc. Amazing, Funny & Totally Awesome Cruise Photos. Officially, the TSA says that "the name you provide when booking your travel is used to perform the watch list matching before a boarding pass is ever issued, so small differences between the. For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. Travel plans can quickly be derailed if the name on your card doesn't match your passport and official documentation. Hi I forgot to add my middle name on my airplane ticket but my passport has it my name middle name and last name. Much appreciated. If you dont want to mail in your ID and marriage certificate, youll need to find your local SSA office and file the form in person. Does your eticket begin with 016? If theres ever an issue, I know the call has been recorded and the agent was given the correct spelling. Or if you used a travel agent to book your reservation, they might be able to help. It will also have your SAS confirmation number. John, Hi Ecem, I cant answer that question for you. When I book award tickets for amazing destinations, I always leave that part to Juicy Miles! (Patrick McKenzie's well known blog post "Falsehoods programmers believe about names"(opens in a new tab) discusses many such assumptions that programmers, and by extension systems, make about names.). The one thing that was missing was her middle name. My husband and I will take our military ID and drivers licenses with us for additional ID but they also have our middle names. By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Never had a problem as a result, but have had a few TSA try to pronounce the name before giving up. Suffixes are not required on boarding passes. This causes inconsistencies in the passenger's name in billing or identification as compared to the name on the ticket. Expect to pay approximately $15 to $25 for the first copy; additional copies are usually around $5, though some locations charge the same price per copy. Thanks for sharing your experience using Capital One Travel, Liza. The name you give when you book must synch up with your full name as shown on the government-issued ID you use when checking in for your flight. When it comes to your identity, airports and airlines dont take chances. Travel + Leisure is published by Meredith Corporation under license from Travel + Leisure Co. It is to the passenger's advantage to provide the required data elements, as doing so may prevent delays or additional passenger security screening at the airport, particularly for those individuals who have similar names to those on the watch list. In this case, make sure you choose a title from the airlines drop-down menu. In exchange for the annual fee, you'll unlock access to the Amex Membership Rewards program that let you access airline and hotel transfer partners, along with new lifestyle and travel credits. If there is a match between your name and one on the no-fly list, the TSA will transmit this information back to the airline, which will then block the issuance of a boarding pass until further screening can be done at the airport. The Amex Platinum comes with access to a premium concierge service that can help you with everything from booking hard-to-get reservations to finding destination guides to help you plan out your next getaway. To update your passport, youll need to determine what form you must submit and if youre able to submit it via mail. If a reservation is made within 72 hours of flight departure, full Secure Flight Passenger Data must be provided when the reservation is ticketed. However, your first and last name must be exactly the same on both your passport and airplane ticket. Not all airlines require a middle name on boarding passes. The credit card offers that appear on the website are from credit card companies from which ThePointsGuy.com receives compensation. TSA The requirements for the full-name format began in November 2010, under the TSA Secure Flight initiative, a behind-the-scenes operation that compares names on airline passenger lists. Halloween 2010 is the TSAs current deadline for applying the system to all flights, domestic and international alike, so you will want to get your name straight fairly soon to avoid a horror show at the airport. Other info. Keith is right. from Mashable that may sometimes include advertisements or sponsored content. Be attentive when the details are repeated for your confirmation. As part of this ongoing effort, the TSA has implemented the Secure Flight Program, which requires airlines to ask Customers for their full name (as it appears on their government-issued ID), date of birth, and gender at the time of reservation. With my passport in one hand and my drivers license in the other, I realized, oops! Yes, I know. Be aware of what appears on your ID. You should be able to find your SAS leg on your UA itinerary. He is now a regular contributor to SmarterTravel. Fingers crossed no issues arise during your trip! TSA performs travel document checking to see that you, your identification and your boarding pass match and are valid. Looking at your other posts, I see you are flying to CPH. Double check carefully to see that youve added the correct secure passenger information to your reservation. This causes inconsistencies in the passenger's name in billing or . Our passport information is all correct at least, so perhaps my only problem (fingers crossed) may be TSA Precheck. As long as it has your first and last names you are fine. Our points-obsessed staff uses a plethora of credit cards on a daily basis. Thats it. We'll run a soft credit check to find special offers, but it wont affect your credit score. Announcing Our 2023 Cruisers' Choice Award Winners! I feel as long as we get through security and to our gate, why would we need to worry? The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requires you to provide your full name, date of birth and gender for the purpose of security screening, under the authority of 49 U.S.C. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) procedures require all airlines to correctly identify all Customers. 6. As international travel has made a comeback, there has been a surge in new applications and renewals, so now may be a good time to put your passport application into the queue especially if you dont intend to travel anytime soon. Adult passengers 18 and older must show valid identification at the airport checkpoint in order to travel. Sometimes, he says, issues occur because airlines aren't processing names the same way that institutions like banks or a department of motor vehicles might. Delta and United, similarly, will request a copy of your marriage certificate or another legal document. Attempt toput a smile on your face. Even if you forget to put your middle name in when booking your ticket, chances are there will be no issues when flying. I had this same freak out when I booked a trip to Europe. Anybody know about JR? If your identity is confirmed, you will be allowed to enter the screening checkpoint. Copyright 19952023 The Independent Traveler, Inc. Apostrophes, hyphens, and other special characters in names have been an issue for flyers for many years. If you purchased the old flight before Secure Flight procedures were in place, you will need to make an official change to your reservation to be in compliance with the new standards. I am not sure if its because we booked through Expedia. Name changes. According to the TSA Regulations, your boarding pass must match your passport exactly. TSA may send travelers back to airline counters.". And Expedia knows a lot of my friends for whom I have booked travel over the years Patty, Tom, Chris, Ben, Dan and a few others. Here's another point to remember. [] Middle names and initials are not the issue. Sorry, I was just making a joke . Fallsgardencafe. However, the TSAs Secure Flight Program involves tighter guidelines on names on documents in order to cut back on the number of passengers being misidentified. I work for TSA. Please view our advertising policy page for more information. Using a travel agent. Regardless of how old your passport is, youll probably need to include a certified copy of your marriage certificate. I think consistency is key so we always do the same thing with our middle names. Another popular option is to create a hyphenated last name, but doing so doesnt make the process of legally changing your name any less complicated. But even if you had it there from the get go the middle name has not shown on any of the passenger tickets that we have flown. Compare the cost in points or miles to cash, and see which option is best. Heres the easiest way to stay protected. For most travelers, everything involved with the Secure Flight program takes place long before they ever arrive at the airport. 14. The annual airline fee statement credit can be complicated to take advantage of compared to the broader travel credits offered by competing premium cards. Junior vs II, for instance and the booking sites that I reviewed for this article display varying ways of collecting this information. You and your spouse may also want to consider changing your points-earning strategy. 19952023, The Independent Traveler, Inc. Special Event: Q&A with Rudi Schreiner, President, Co-Founder & Co-Owner - AmaWaterways River Cruises. See what a point or mile is worth with our appraisals of a loyalty programs currency, based on redemption values. Airlines will add the JR to my last name and trying to find my reservation can be an issue sometimes plus the boarding pass (American) does not support it. Do you have a surname that is double-barrelled, with a hyphen? 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Wont affect your credit score request a copy of your marriage certificate credit cards on a daily basis of... Your spouse may also want to consider changing your points-earning strategy and to our gate why...!: D names and initials are not the issue this following will... Accurate names, helps avoid misidentification youre taking full advantage of the traveler booking a reservation to the Regulations. Awesome Cruise Photos like `` Mac '' instead of `` James. `` specific airline procedural and... Compared to the name listed first on his birth certif my Trips or Manage your Trip or some section... The same issue be exactly the same on both your passport, youll to... Tsa Regulations, your first 6 months of card Membership can quickly derailed. Uses a plethora of credit cards on a federal government site data needs to match whats on your,! Agent was given the correct spelling but have had a problem your ticket information your... Current welcome offer on this card is quite lucrative the same on your UA.! Because your airline profile contains all of the first things you do when you your! On all your hotel stays provide is encrypted and transmitted securely not on the no-fly.... For your confirmation you do when you change your name whatever the reason follow this guide to make sure ready. Information for you wrote a blog post ( opens in a new tab ) about same! They tsa rules on middle names and cant do the TSA ID matching with all this.. Require a middle name on the no-fly list Corporation under license from +. Feel as long as we get through Security and to our privacy Policy and Terms of Use from...