TSA: Costco cards do not count as REAL ID
The Transportation Security Administration issued a reminder to travelers on social media that Costco membership cards do not count as REAL ID. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
June 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. Transportation Security Administration is warning travelers of an important piece of airport protocol: Costco membership cards do not count as REAL ID.
The TSA, which began enforcing the requirement for REAL ID while traveling last month, said on social media that acceptable substitutes for the state-issued identification cards do not include wholesale warehouse memberships.
"We love hot dogs & rotisserie chickens as much as the next person but please stop telling people their Costco card counts as a REAL ID because it absolutely does not," the TSA said on X.
The post did not specify what people or entities were spreading the misinformation.
Accepted substitutes for REAL ID at U.S. airports include passports, border crossing and permanent resident cards.
The REAL ID act was passed in 2005, but implementation was delayed multiple times, most recently in 2022 due to backlogs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Summer travel predicted to break records for the Fourth of July
AAA projects a record 72 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more during the nine-day Independence Day holiday period — from June 28 to July 6 — with new highs expected for both drivers and air travelers as summer travel reaches peak season. The auto club forecasts nearly 62 million people will drive over the Fourth of July weekend, representing an increase of 1.3 million from last year. Air travel is expected to rise more than 1% over last year's record numbers. "The top 10 heaviest travel days in TSA history have all happened within the past year, and we expect to see more heavy volumes this summer," said Kristie Jordan Smith, a Transportation Security Administration official at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. How technology at airports is reducing wait times The Independence Day travel period is expected to be the summer's busiest travel stretch. Airport officials are implementing new technology to reduce wait times. At DFW, customs officials report wait times are down 25% thanks to enhanced passenger processing technology that uses facial recognition, now operational at nine airports nationwide. CBP will soon test a program allowing customs to review X-ray images of checked bags from London flights, eliminating the need for connecting passengers to clear security twice in Dallas. "This program streamlines and improves the travel experience for our customers, saving them time and reducing the complexity of clearing security while continuing to maintain the highest security standards," said Jim Moses, Senior Vice President DFW Hub Operations at American Airlines. DFW is the airline's largest hub. AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said travel demand reflects both practical and emotional factors. "We're seeing travel in record numbers because travel isn't just an economic and practical decision, it's also an emotional decision," Diaz said. "People don't have to spend a lot of money when they go on these trips, but people want to get away and not be home." According to Priceline, top summer destinations include Las Vegas, Orlando, Tokyo and London. SpaceX Starship upper stage blows up Hurricane Erick approaches Mexico with destructive winds, major storm surge AI's extreme human imitation makes it act deceptively, cheat and lie, "Godfather of AI" says
UPI
7 hours ago
- UPI
Damaging, disruptive storms to target NYC, Philly and DC
Storm clouds move in behind One World Trade Center and the Manhattan skyline in New York City on Thursday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo The same setup that brought close to 300 wind damage incidents and a dozen reports of tornadoes in the Midwest on Wednesday will focus on the Atlantic Seaboard from Quebec to the Carolinas into Thursday night, AccuWeather meteorologists warn. High humidity levels combined with a ripple in the jet stream will unleash one or more lines of thunderstorms that will progress from the Appalachians and Piedmont areas toward the Atlantic coast from Thursday afternoon to Thursday night. "As the storms approach the airports at the major metro areas from New York City to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., airline delays and ground stops will increase dramatically. Some flights may even be cancelled," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter stated. "Such delays and cancellations at these major airports have a tendency to spread quickly elsewhere in the United States air system because planes and crews are not where they need to be based on the existing schedule, resulting in cascading delays and cancellations." Motorists should be prepared for high water and sudden poor visibility as the storms approach. Roads that tend to flood during downpours should be avoided. Powerful wind gusts in many of the storms will average 60-70 mph. Due to the saturated ground in some areas, strong wind gusts during storms can easily push over trees or break off rotting limbs, leading to power outages. There will be an elevated risk of tornadoes in an area from upstate New York and northwestern New England to parts of central and eastern Quebec. This includes the major Canadian metro areas of Quebec City and Montreal, as well as Burlington, Vermont Albany, New York Pittsfield, Massachusetts and Lebanon, New Hampshire in the northeastern United States. A small number of the storms can also bring pea- to marble-sized hail, which, when combined with strong winds and torrential downpours, can damage crops in fields, plants in backyard gardens and other vegetation. As the storms creep along, flash flooding along small streams and urban areas can occur. Two or three storms may blast some locations into Thursday evening. Storms in the metro areas of Richmond and Norfolk, Virginia, as well as Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, may be somewhat more widely separated but can still be severe in some neighborhoods and lead to damage and travel disruptions into Thursday evening. Some thunderstorms and severe weather are also anticipated from South Carolina to Georgia, Florida and Alabama. However, a few storms in these areas can still pack a punch at the local level with brief wind gusts, torrential rain and a sudden cluster of lightning strikes. As a massive dome of heat builds from this weekend to next week, rounds of severe thunderstorms will erupt on the northern edge from the Midwest to parts of the Northeast.
USA Today
7 hours ago
- USA Today
Teen goes viral after bringing 200 tortillas on Texas flight
When H-E-B heard about the teen's TikTok, the company chimed in: 'Gotta keep those in the carry on. Don't want to chance them getting misplaced." A TikTok user has gone viral and sent thousands of people into laughter after sharing a video of herself bringing 200 tortillas onto a plane in Texas. TikToker Anna Jones recorded the video in the early morning hours of June 14. As she stood in line at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, she captured footage of her fellow unsuspecting travelers. "All these people and no one knows I have 200 HEB tortillas in my backpack," Jones wrote, referring to the grocery supermarket chain H-E-B. Once she made it onto the plane, the bag of tortillas was quite the heavy lift. 'I struggled to get that in the overhead carrier, but it went OK,' she said. USA TODAY contacted H-E-B and the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport about tortillagate. Here is the story on tortillagate and the laughter that ensued once social media users got wind of it. What's with all the tortillas? Jones is 17 and lives in Nashville, Tennessee, she told USA TODAY on June 20. She had previously flown to Texas to visit her father and the University of Texas at Austin campus, she said. Because there is no H-E-B near her in Tennessee, Jones makes sure she stocks up when she visits Texas, she said, adding that she and her father have done this at least three times. Jones is part of a family of six, and they go through tortillas quickly, she said. Last time, her dad got her about 200 to 300 tortillas, and they lasted a few months, she added. 'We bring them home, and we can freeze them, and we just use them until they run out,' Jones said. 'They normally last about two months.' Jones said she usually always gets flagged by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for carrying tubes of toothpaste that are too big, but she wasn't stopped for her tortillas. 'I just went on through,' she said. 'Nothing happened. It was pretty obvious that it was tortillas. This is kind of normal for them, I guess.' Southwest Airlines, which Jones flew with, states that TSA has a list of approved items travelers can put in checked or carry-on bags. Bread and other solid food items are permitted, per the database. 'TSA officers may instruct travelers to separate items from carry-on bags such as foods, powders, and any materials that can clutter bags and obstruct clear images on the X-ray machine,' TSA said on its website. 'Travelers are encouraged to organize their carry-on bags and keep them uncluttered to ease the screening process and keep the lines moving.' H-E-B: 'Gotta keep those in the carry on' Jones said once she makes it home to Tennessee with her H-E-B tortillas, she likes to make them with pork, lime crema, and also quesadillas with beans, cheese and chicken. When H-E-B heard about the post, the company chimed in: 'Gotta keep those in the carry on. Don't want to chance them getting misplaced.' Jones replied and let the company know she could always use more tortillas. As of June 20, she hasn't heard back. The social media response her post garnered has been fun to be part of, Jones said. 'I immediately texted my dad because he grew up in Austin, so he loves H-E-B,' she said. 'He texted all of his friends from high school. I thought that was pretty funny.' She also said it has been funny seeing folks debate about the quality of tortillas and what makes them tasty. Some TikTokers shared their own stories about traveling with food. 'I had 75 pounds of food in a suitcase to NYC,' wrote one user. 'I need yall to restock the cold/hot bags please. Going on a run again this month.' Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@
