I have never, ever been stopped due to what I consider reasonable amounts of liquid/gel/aerosol beyond the 100ml limit. Typical culprits: deodorant, shaving cream and sunscreen. I do my best to fit everything in a 1qt baggie, but typically the shaving cream and sunscreen are just jammed into a running shoe or put in a separate pocket in my carry-on. Never, ever been stopped. Also, never been confiscated by the TSA random checked bag checks in the couple of cases I've had to gate check a carry-on.
For anyone who doesn't already know or wouldn't be willing to spend the $100 for Global Entry + PreCheck, the AMEX Platinum card covers the cost for both (along with free access to most AIrline lounges, and a free membership to Priority Club, which gives you access to even more lounges). Totally worth the annual fee for frequent travelers, especially ones who find themselves on random airlines connecting random airports.
For anyone who doesn't already know or wouldn't be willing to spend the $100 for Global Entry + PreCheck
These programs are the ultimate sign of just how pointless airport security is. There is simply no way that $100 is even remotely enough money to cover an investigation of any effectiveness whatsoever. It's probably just enough to cover the cost of checking the same lists the TSA already checks on every ticket booked and then adding you to the list of people who get to skip security most of the time.
Those programs are just a way for the TSA to co-opt the ire of the kind of rich and powerful people who might have the political influence to reform the agency. 10 to 1 every member of congress has signed up for Pre-Check. If you believe that the TSA is defending against a real threat, these programs, by their very existence, create a giant gaping hole in the TSA's security. The only reason it hasn't been used to perpetrate an attack is because there is effectively no risk in the first place.
You're totally right, of course. My in-person security interview was a joke. The officer didn't even try to ask any questions. He validated my contact information and we shot the shit while their computer system logged his approval of my application. Took maybe 15 minutes of waiting my turn with a half dozen other poor saps who had also scheduled the interview 2-3 months in advance, and then 5 minutes for the actual processing.
Interestingly, my airport now has a third(!) category of security line, for airline elevated status holders. They skip the long line for the normal screenings, but then go through the normal "remove shoes, belts, jackets and laptops" part, so it's like getting half a reprieve. I'm convinced that by this time next year there will be have so much dilution of the process that everyone will be treated identically again and it'll probably be based on the Pre-Check standards: x-ray machine, no significant liquids, no removal of shoes/belt/jacket.
That right there is a beautiful example of idiocy regarding TSA policies. Remember that that wasn't even a result of 9/11, it was after police foiled a plot to blow up planes using liquids in the UK in 2006 before the terrorists even had a concrete plan. It's always after something happens that TSA reacts, making me believe even more strongly that what passengers get to personally deal with is mostly just security theater rather than anything actually useful.
Bonus points: there was never a limit on the medication you can bring with you (albeit haphazardly enforced with absurd requirements sometimes) even when all liquids were banned, and there has always been a gigantic backlash every time there was a news story about medically necessary liquids being tested or confiscated in unreasonable ways so TSA has never really dared to ban them in the first place. The best thing now is that they don't even bother to check that what you're carrying on is okay most of the time in my experience, nor have they ever cared that I didn't bother to bag things like inhalers separately and declare them to anyone. But they have thrown out a nearly empty toothpaste container for being an ounce too large - that I had gotten past security with a week before - just because.
I'm looking forward to traveling as a "trusted traveler" (aka pay them money!) tomorrow where TSA will even explicitly tell me to leave my baggies of liquids in my bag. :)
