Paying to reach the gate faster

WANT to get through airport security faster? That will cost you, under a program that claims to expedite your trip through checkpoints and that is going nationwide.

Registered Traveler permits fliers who hold a special ID card to skip certain security steps or get in faster lines at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints.

To qualify for the cards, fliers must file an application and agree to be fingerprinted and have their irises scanned (for biometric identification). They must also agree to background checks and to pay $99.95 per year.

More than 30,000 people participate at Orlando International Airport in Florida, where the program began in 2005.

Registered Traveler was to have expanded last week to Terminal 7 at New York’s JFK airport and to Indianapolis. This week, the service is to debut in San Jose and Cincinnati, said journalist and entrepreneur Steven Brill, chief executive of Verified Identity Pass Inc. in New York.

Brill’s company, one of several government-authorized vendors, is the only one that has implemented the program, which it calls Clear.

The program has drawn fire from privacy advocates and from the airline industry, which says it will divert TSA resources from other screening duties. The TSA has said it will not compromise airport security.

Brill said no date had been set for LAX to adopt the ID program. Info: www.flyclear.com.

-- Jane Engle

N.Y. lodging on shoestring

A mainstay of cheap sleeps in Manhattan is getting a hip makeover while remaining affordable.

The Pickwick Arms in Midtown East is now the Pod Hotel, with 347 guestrooms going for as little as $75 per night. That’s less than what the nearby Courtyard New York Manhattan/Midtown East ($259) and even the Vanderbilt YMCA ($83) wanted for a Jan. 29 stay. (These rates, checked online, may no longer be available.)

Amenities include free WiFi, iPod docking stations, LCD-screen TVs, a restaurant and, soon, a rooftop lounge and a garden.

The downside? Guestrooms, many with shared baths and bunk beds, are as tiny as 90 square feet. Rates are higher than at Hostelling International New York City, which was asking $25 per night for a dorm bed for Jan. 29. (You would also be dozens of blocks away, on West 103rd.)

The Pod, run by BD Hotels, which owns the Mercer, the Chambers and other New York hotels, is aimed at ages 20 to 35, its owners say. But anyone seeking style on a shoestring is welcome. (800) 742-5945, www.thepodhotel.com.

-- Jane Engle

Getting in on film festival

WITH Oscar nomination buzz as backdrop, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival kicks off 11 days of premieres, panels, parties and prizes starting Thursday.

The renovated Fours Seasons Biltmore ([888] 424-5866; www.fourseasons.com/santabarbara) in Montecito promises three nights of red-carpet-type treatment Thursday through Saturday for $18,635, starting with a helicopter ride from LAX to Santa Barbara.

The rest: meals; daily spa treatments for two; limousine rides to the film festival; hairstyling and more on awards day; an unlimited pass to the festival and related events; and more.

Nearby San Ysidro Ranch ([805] 565-1703; www.sanysidroranch.com) has less pricey treats starting at $4,999 for two, which includes three nights in a restored suite, tickets to opening night film and gala, six tickets to screenings and more. The offer is good Thursday through Saturday.

Specials at Hotel Santa Barbara ([800] 549-9869; www.hotelsantabarbara.com) begin at $285 for two, which includes a one-night stay, dinner and four film admission tickets. For more hotel-film packages and festival information, go to www.sbiff.org.

-- Benoit Lebourgeois