How to Add a Known Traveler Number to American Airlines

To add a Known Traveler Number to American Airlines, log in at aa.com, open your AAdvantage profile, choose "Information and password," enter the number under "Secure traveler," and save. Then add it to each trip you have already booked, because the profile entry does not update existing reservations. That covers how to add known traveler number to american airlines on the website and in the app.

The form takes about two minutes. Getting a number to put in it is the slow part. If you are waiting on Global Entry, NEXUS or SENTRI, you will not have a PASS ID until after your interview, and that wait is measured in weeks or months.

Which number do you enter?

American accepts two kinds of number in the same field.

American's agency guide lists the prefixes that CBP PASS IDs start with: 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 50, 70, 80, 95, 98 or 99. If your number does not fit either row, check it before you save.

You can find a PASS ID on the back of your Global Entry, NEXUS or SENTRI card, or near the top of your Trusted Traveler Programs account dashboard. The card arrives 2 to 4 weeks after approval, but you do not have to wait for it. The number is in your online account on the day you are approved.

How to add your Known Traveler Number to American, step by step

On aa.com

1. Log in to your AAdvantage account.
2. Open your profile and choose "Information and password."
3. Find the "Secure traveler" section.
4. Enter your KTN or PASS ID.
5. Save.

In the American app

1. Tap your name and miles at the top.
2. Drag the bottom panel up.
3. Choose "Information and password."
4. Enter the number under Secure Traveler and save.

Once saved, the number fills in on future bookings. If you are not an AAdvantage member, there is no profile to save it in, so you have to enter the number on each reservation when you book.

On trips you already booked

This is the step people miss. Saving the number to your profile does not change reservations that already exist.

1. Find the trip on aa.com or in the app.
2. Select "Edit" in the passenger information.
3. Choose "Security information."
4. Enter the KTN or PASS ID and save.

Some guides describe an older route through Manage Trip and "Add/Edit Passenger Information." Use whichever your screen shows.

If you already checked in, get a new boarding pass after adding the number. Look for the TSA PreCheck indicator on it before you go to security.

If you booked through a travel agency

American says what is in your aa.com profile does not override what the agency entered on the reservation. Ask the agent to add or correct the number.

Worked example: how to add known traveler number to american airlines from application to boarding pass

This is an illustration with a made-up wait, so swap in the real figures for your center.

The fee has been $120 since October 1, 2024, up from $100, and the membership lasts 5 years. SENTRI is also $120. Minors under 18 apply free when they apply with or after a parent or guardian in the same program.

The interview line is the one that varies. Check /global-entry-wait-times for the current wait at each center. For NEXUS and SENTRI, use /nexus-wait-times and /sentri-wait-times. To see the next bookable date at a center you could drive to, use /global-entry-appointment-availability. That page lists the next bookable date at each center.

If your trip is 8 weeks out and the interview wait is 10, the number will arrive after that trip. Plan on the regular security line for it, or look at a center with an earlier date.

You can offset the cost with a card. The Citi/AAdvantage Executive Mastercard gives a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee credit of up to $120 every 4 years if you charge the fee to the card.

Renewing: do it before the expiration date

You can renew 1 year before your membership expires. If you submit the renewal before expiration, you keep your benefits for up to 24 months after the expiration date while CBP processes it.

American's agency guidance says PreCheck may stop appearing once a KTN expires. Renew on time so the number stays valid on your reservations.

If TSA PreCheck does not show on your boarding pass

Check three things:

• The number is typed correctly.
• Your name matches your DHS/TSA record.
• Your date of birth is right.

When you correct these, the change is re-sent to DHS automatically, and you do not need to undo your check-in. If it keeps failing, TSA's contact center is 1-866-289-9673.

Getting the interview sooner

If the wait at your center is the problem, GlobalEntryTexts texts you when a Global Entry, NEXUS or SENTRI interview appointment opens at the enrollment centers you choose. It costs $25, paid once, for 30 days of monitoring, and you can watch up to 3 centers for that price. You book the appointment yourself on ttp.dhs.gov.