A Quick Tip To Speed Up Your Travel At Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)
I’ve called Washington Dulles Airport (IAD) my home base for roughly 15 years now. The last 5 years or so, that’s meant over 100,000 miles a year originating out of IAD. With that many miles, you tend to find every way possible to shave a few seconds off your travel time.
For the longest time, my best secret was the Dulles Diamond security lane. It was a security lane downstairs in baggage claim that most people never knew about. You could guarantee yourself a short walk through security pretty much every time.
Then came TSA Pre-Check, which is working out great for me.
Here’s another quick tip, valet parking is your friend even if you’re on a budget. Most people don’t read the sign closely. The daily garage costs $17 a day. Valet costs $30, but that’s only for the first day. After that, it drops to $19 a day. So, it’s virtually the same price after the first day.
And now, the valet folks have modernized. When I received my valet ticket last week there was a phone number on it for texting. When I landed, all I did was text the ticket number to them and my car was waiting right up front for me when I got out of the terminal.
Not a huge timesaver, but it definitely adds to the already good value of valet parking at Dulles.
Can anyone use the Diamond Lane? Near which airline carousel is it located?
Unfortunately, the Diamond Lane died a (somewhat timely) death when TSA Pre-Check arrived. It’s pretty easy to qualify for Pre-Check (read more about it here), so go ahead and sign up now to make your travel life easier.