Last year, my husband and I splurged on round-trip first-class tickets on Japan Airlines from San Francisco to Tokyo for $13,474 each. We reserved them in February for an October flight through American Express Travel. On the same day, I also bought business class tickets for a couple who was traveling with us at $8,429 apiece. In September, Amex notified me that we had been downgraded to business class for the return flight. JAL’s conditions state that we would receive “the difference between the normal fare amount of original class of service and for the normal fare of lower class of service.” To me that means that since the difference between our first class seats and our friends’ business seats was $5,045 each, we should be refunded about half of that — around $2,522 per person — for the second leg. But we got only $941 each. I contested this with Amex Travel, but they rejected our claim. Can you help?
I tried the TSA PreCheck Touchless ID program at O'Hare — and it's a game changer
15.03.2024 - 13:41 / thepointsguy.com / Tsa Precheck / Airlines
If you've flown United Airlines out of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) since Feb. 7 and are a TSA PreCheck member, you may have opted to participate in an expedited check-in process.
With the addition of the TSA PreCheck Touchless ID program, eligible United flyers can use their face to both pass through security and check their bag(s) without having to show their boarding pass or a driver's license.
I recently checked out the carrier's Touchless ID bag drop and security screening process at O'Hare. Here's what it was like.
United first launched its Touchless ID bag drop shortcut at select airports in 2022 after testing one at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in August 2021; however, this was my first time seeing it in the flesh as someone who does not regularly fly United. If that's also the case for you, you might have missed the memo.
But fear not. This feature is now available at all domestic United hubs: ORD, EWR, Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Denver International Airport (DEN), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
As mentioned above, this shortcut allows you to biometrically check your bags via a facial scan before an agent prints your bag tags. In total, the process takes the average user 20 seconds, per a United spokesperson, but this can vary.
Based on my observation in real-time, it took users between 18 and 47 seconds from when they walked up to the kiosk to when their baggage tags were printed.
Contrasting this experience to the traditional two-step check-in process, Touchless ID bag drop users should save at least five to seven minutes overall. This is based on it taking the average non-Touchless ID customer eight to 10 minutes to check in for their flight upon arrival at the airport, according to the airline.
Customers must consent to use Touchless ID on the United app when checking in for their flight. Then, they should receive a boarding pass with the green TSA PreCheck Touchless ID badge and a green border.
At this point, users' boarding passes will already be associated with the number of bags they're checking. They can then head directly to the Touchless ID bag drop shortcut area upon arriving at O'Hare (and eligible airports), bypassing the regular check-in line.
At O'Hare, the area in Concourse B of Terminal 1 is clearly marked with signs and color-coded with the same green color as what you'll find on your boarding pass; this indicates your participation in the program. You'll also have the option to use the Touchless ID bag drop at the curbside check-in area on Level 2, near door 1E, before security and departures.
As of March, there are two Touchless ID bag drop shortcut kiosk areas
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