I work as a volunteer at a Washington DC airport. Many people have been given the TSA Pre-Check validation in the last year without paying for a Trusted Traveler program. All of last year we were told that people were randomly selected to get it for free so that they could get used to it, see the value, and then join one of the Trusted Traveler programs once they cut back on giving it to people for free. This isn't a choice made by AA, but will become the norm for all airlines.