How much money would an airline need to pay you to give up your seat? What’s TSA PreCheck anyway, and is it actually worth it? If you’re the unlucky traveler staring at a closed gate (that will not reopen no matter how much you beg and plead), what should you have done differently to get yourself to the door five minutes earlier?

These are just some of the many airport dilemmas that travelers face every summer. At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which saw 52.6 million passengers last year, it can be hard to navigate to your destination. The less-crowded Seattle Paine Field International Airport might be an option, if the airlines there fly to your destination.

Regardless of where you’re flying out of, we asked travel experts to share tips and tricks to save yourself the stress from the moment you leave your home to when you arrive at your destination. As it turns out, there’s a whole laundry list of things to know.

Getting to and from Sea-Tac Airport

A successful travel day can begin before you even arrive at Sea-Tac Airport. Consider public transportation: The Link light rail has a convenient stop at the airport. Once you arrive, follow a walkway that takes you through the parking garage, then take Skybridge 6 to get to the main terminal.

If you’re having someone drop you off, airport spokesperson Perry Cooper recommends thinking opposite — drop people off at the lower arrivals terminal and pick people up at departures during peak morning hours when more flights depart, and vice versa during the evening.

Also: Most people drop off departing passengers on the north end of the terminal, where Alaska Airlines ticketing services are located. But there are ways to avoid a jam, thanks to Checkpoint 1, a new baggage claim-level security checkpoint that opened in June at the airport terminal’s south end.

Advertising

“If you can drive to the south end of the terminal, you get past all of the congestion that’s on the north end,” Cooper said.

Skip the stress at security lines

You might have seen recent social media posts about “airport theory” — a viral trend in which people arrive at the airport often just 10-15 minutes before their gate closes, to see just how quickly they can get through their airport’s security screening. If that sounds like a nightmare scenario to you — and it’s definitely not what most experts recommend, which is arriving at the airport at least three hours before an international flight and one to two hours before a domestic flight — here are some tips to help you get through security without the stress.

Several screening upgrades are available at Sea-Tac, including TSA PreCheck, CLEAR+, SEA Spot Saver and ADA-friendly screening.

CLEAR+: An annual CLEAR+ membership is $209 per person (additional family members are $125 each). You can skip the pre-security line (where an airport agent checks your ID) and instead be escorted to a faster line where your fingerprints or irises will be scanned.

TSA PreCheck: An initial application will cost $77.95 and lasts five years, after which you can renew for $68.95. You’ll be able to keep your shoes, belt and light outerwear on, as well as leave laptops and 3-1-1 compliant liquids in carry-on bags as you go through security. You can also bundle TSA PreCheck with a CLEAR+ membership for $209 for both — though the $131.05 for CLEAR+ only applies to the first year.

SEA Spot Saver: Skip longer lines from 4 a.m.-10 p.m. with SEA Spot Saver, which is free. You can reserve an online reservation to go through security up to five days before your flight or when you arrive at the terminal.

“Even with TSA PreCheck, I’ve used Spot Saver when the TSA line is too long,” said Harriet Baskas, a Seattle-based travel writer for USA Today.

Travelers who need accessibility assistance should contact their airline before their day of travel for assistance, such as receiving a wheelchair escort to your gate. Passengers with nonvisible disabilities such as autism, PTSD or hearing loss can wear a sunflower lanyard (available to pick up at the Port of Seattle customer service desk in Sea-Tac’s central terminal) to signify they may need additional assistance.

Advertising

The fine print of travel costs

Nowadays, you might find yourself paying extra for assigned seats or baggage fees. At the end of the day, you are guaranteed a seat if you have a ticket. Which seat it is might just depend on your comfort level.

“Keep in mind how much you’re willing to pay for that comfort,” Baskas said. “Or, would you rather spend that money at the other end (on your vacation)? I always advocate for that.”

Baskas also recommends gathering up your resources — credit card reward programs, loyalty programs, etc. — before booking a flight to get the best bang for your buck. For example, if you’re flying on Alaska Airlines and have its Visa Signature credit card, you’re entitled to a free checked bag for you and up to six passengers.

If you’re in need of a rental car at your destination, keep in mind any trade-offs between different companies. For example, renting through Turo, a peer-to-peer car-sharing service, might be cheaper than renting through companies like Hertz or Enterprise, but you may have to travel to your car pickup spot. Being flexible with your selections also helps, said Baskas, who uses Hotwire to look for rentals. Hotwire books through the major rental companies but doesn’t disclose which ones appear in your search, and focuses instead on competitive pricing, she added.

Another rental car tip from Baskas: If your party can fit in a smaller car, book it. One possible side benefit: “Many (companies) don’t have small cars … they’ll upgrade you automatically to a larger car,” she said.

Lastly, there’s the question of travel insurance. Is it worth spending more money on a safety net? The answer is yes and no, according to travel consumer advocate Christopher Elliott, who writes the Travel Troubleshooter column in The Seattle Times. He recommends only getting insurance for nonrefundable parts of your trip, like hotel reservations or prepaid car rentals.

Advertising

“If there’s an illness or death, medical (travel insurance) is a really big deal, especially for traveling abroad because Medicare, Medicaid and your own health insurance usually will not cover you if you’re overseas,” Elliott said. Insurance can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars if you find yourself injured on a ski slope and have to be evacuated, he added.

Flight overbooked or canceled?

It’s not an ideal situation: You’ve arrived at your gate, coffee and book in hand, when you receive the bad news: Your flight is overbooked and the airline makes you move, otherwise known as “involuntary denied boarding” or “bumping.”

While airline bumping is legal, you may be entitled to denied boarding compensation under U.S. Department of Transportation law. If eligible, travelers usually receive DBC within 24 hours of being bumped. The amount of compensation you receive depends on the price of your ticket and whether you’re on a domestic flight or international flight departing from the United States, according to the USDOT website. For example, if you are bumped off a domestic flight and delayed by more than two hours, you could receive $2,150 in compensation.

Airlines may also ask for volunteers to give up their seats, with no limit to the amount or type of compensation they offer. Make sure to talk with your travel party before you head to the airport and determine at what point you would be willing to give up your seat. When Baskas and her husband were flying back from Nashville, Tenn., last summer, their airline offered $600 per person to be in the airport for an extra six hours. Baskas and her husband pocketed $1,200 for the trip and enjoyed exploring the airport during their wait.

And don’t be afraid to “nudge” the airline for more benefits, Baskas continued. If an airline offers you $500 for a later flight, can they also put you in their lounge? Or, can they offer you more than $12 for a meal voucher, which nowadays won’t get you more than a cup of coffee? “It’s a negotiation,” Baskas said.

It’s also important to make sure you keep records of negotiations with an airline, by emailing its customer service line and receiving a claim number. “Most people think that calling the airline is the best way,” Elliott said. But, if you’re calling from Washington state and want to record the phone conversation, you must comply with the state’s all-party consent law. “It’s better to actually create a paper trail between you and the airline,” he said.

If your flight is significantly delayed or canceled, here’s a silver lining: A 2024 Department of Transportation rule requires U.S.-based airlines to give passengers automatic cash refunds, even if the customer doesn’t ask for one. These apply to domestic flights delayed by more than three hours and international flights delayed by more than six hours. You should automatically get refunded within seven days if you paid by credit card, or 20 days if you paid by another method.