Over the years there have been several innovations that have made the travel experience easier for road warriors. These range from government programs like TSA PreCheck and Global Entry, to private programs like CLEAR+.
In this post I wanted to take a closer look at CLEAR. First we’ll take a look at the basics of the program, then we’ll take a look at how to get the best deal on a membership, and then we’ll talk about whether it’s worth it (and my answer there might surprise some).
The basics of CLEAR airport security program
Let’s start with the very basics of CLEAR. CLEAR is essentially a technology company that stores biometric data to expedite clearing security at airports, and at select stadiums and other venues. Interestingly both Delta Air Lines and United Airlines own a stake in the company.
The way CLEAR makes your life easier is by allowing you to bypass the ID check at airports. While you still have to go through security, you simply go up to a CLEAR checkpoint at an airport, then your fingerprints or eyes are scanned, and then you bypass the ID check (though in some cases you may still be asked at random to show your ID).
It doesn’t matter whether you have TSA PreCheck or just “regular” security, as the CLEAR associate will direct you past the ID checker and into the appropriate line.
At what airports is CLEAR available?
CLEAR is currently available at 50+ airports, as well as at some stadiums and other venues. The list of eligible CLEAR locations is always changing, so you can check this link to see the up-to-date locations.
Note that not all terminals at eligible airports have CLEAR, and in some cases CLEAR is only open for select hours. So you’ll want to check that before heading to the airport.
How do you sign up for CLEAR?
The process of signing up for CLEAR is super easy. You can initially register online, which should take just a couple of minutes. Your payment will already be processed when you register.
Then the next time you’re at an airport with CLEAR you can simply see a company representative, and they’ll walk you through the registration process, which consists of them taking your biometric data. Unlike with Global Entry, there’s no interview required here. CLEAR is essentially just verifying your biometric data, so the company isn’t assessing how “risky” of a passenger you are.
How does CLEAR compare to TSA PreCheck?
CLEAR, TSA PreCheck, and Global Entry, are complements and not substitutes:
- CLEAR gets you expedited ID checking at eligible airports
- TSA PreCheck gets you expedited security screening at eligible airports, as you don’t have to take off your shoes, or take liquids or laptops out of your bags
- Global Entry gets you expedited immigration when entering the United States, allowing you to go straight to a kiosk and skip the main lines
When it comes to memberships:
- A Global Entry membership gets you Global Entry and TSA PreCheck, but not CLEAR
- A TSA PreCheck membership just gets you TSA PreCheck
- A CLEAR membership just gets you CLEAR
The ideal situation is to have a Global Entry membership and a CLEAR membership, as you’re then covered for all three programs.
How much does a CLEAR membership cost?
A CLEAR membership ordinarily costs $219 per person annually. However, nobody should be paying that much, as there are ways to at least score a small discount, or possibly even get it for free.
Why you should pay no more than $209 for CLEAR
Delta SkyMiles, United MileagePlus, and Alaska Mileage Plan, all have partnerships with CLEAR. With this, loyalty program members can receive discounts on a membership (this even includes discount for base members, and these programs are free to join).
With the Delta SkyMiles & CLEAR partnership:
- Delta SkyMiles 360 and Diamond Medallion members receive it on a complimentary basis, whereas other Medallion members ,plus co-branded credit card holders pay $179 per year, representing $40 savings
- All other Delta SkyMiles members pay just $209 per year, representing $10 savings
With the United MileagePlus & CLEAR partnership:
- United MileagePlus Global Services members receive it on a complimentary basis, 1K Premier members receive a discounted price of $129, and other Premier members, plus co-branded credit card holders pay $179 per year, representing $40 savings
- All other United MileagePlus members pay just $209 per year, representing $10 savings
With the Alaska Atmos Rewards & CLEAR partnership:
- Alaska Atmos Rewards elite members pay just $199 per year, plus earn 1,500 bonus miles for enrolling for the first time, or 1,250 bonus miles for renewing or reinstating their account at the $199 rate
- All other Alaska Mileage Plan members pay just $199 per year, representing $10 savings
Get CLEAR for free with Amex card credits
American Express and CLEAR have a partnership, offering up to a $219 annual CLEAR+ credit as a perk for select cardmembers of the following cards (Enrollment required).
- American Express Platinum Card® (review)
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (review)
- The American Express® Green Card (review)
- The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (review)
What are the restrictions associated with these CLEAR credits?
- The credits are per calendar year (based on when the transaction appears on your card)
- The credits can be used across multiple transactions, if you’re in a situation where you’re being charged the maximum credit amount by CLEAR
- The credits apply to purchases directly with CLEAR
- Purchases by the primary cardmember and additional cardmembers are eligible, though additional cardmembers don’t get additional credits
- You can buy a CLEAR membership for anyone (including friends and family), as long as you pay with your card
- The statement credits will post within two to four weeks of an eligible purchase
As mentioned above, you can use these credits however you’d like toward a CLEAR membership. If you and your spouse each have an Amex card with a credit, for example, you could use one credit for the initial membership fee, and then the other credit to add more than one person to a family plan.
The information and associated card details on this page for the American Express Green Card have been collected independently by OMAAT and have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Is a CLEAR membership worth it?
I won’t bury the lede. I get CLEAR for free thanks to the Amex cards that I have, so it’s costing me nothing out of pocket. If I didn’t get it for free, I wouldn’t pay $129-199 for this, at least based on my current travel experiences.
When I first signed up for CLEAR over five years ago, it was kind of awesome. Not many people had it. There was almost a cool factor to having it, as you felt like you were being escorted to the front of the line.
However, much like metal credit cards and Priority Pass™ memberships, the situation has kind of changed — when everyone has CLEAR, no one has CLEAR. 😉
As a general rule of thumb, you can expect a huge number of passengers at Delta and United hubs to have CLEAR, given that both airlines have a close partnership with CLEAR, and encourage their frequent flyers to sign-up. The great benefit of CLEAR used to be that you were more or less assured that you’d never have to wait in line at security, but that’s no longer the case.
Now you have to wait in line to use CLEAR, in order not to have to wait in line to go through security. 😉
Maybe I’m just really lucky, but the other thing is that I often find that there’s almost no wait at TSA PreCheck. So there aren’t actually any time savings if you wouldn’t otherwise have to wait. For example, the last two times I used CLEAR, it took longer than it would have taken to just go in the PreCheck lane.
The last issue is that I am primarily an American flyer, and American isn’t a fan of CLEAR, and tries to block the company from expanding at some of its airports. For example, as a Miami-based American flyer, there’s no CLEAR checkpoint at the D Concourse.
I wish I could report back about some amazing time savings, but unfortunately, that just doesn’t reflect my typical experience. Either I find there’s a long line to use CLEAR, and it’s not actually much faster than TSA PreCheck, or I find that there’s no line at TSA PreCheck, in which case there are no time savings.
Based on my own situation, I’d say it’s only maybe 10% of the time where CLEAR saves me more than a few minutes compared to the standard TSA PreCheck lane. And ultimately, that’s something that I’ll take for free, but isn’t something I’d otherwise probably pay for.
Bottom line
CLEAR is a private company that lets you expedite clearing security at select airports using your biometric data. While this can cost up to $219 per year, everyone should be getting it for less thanks to the Delta and United partnerships, and you can even get it at no cost thanks to Amex cards offering CLEAR credits.
While I’m a CLEAR member, I can’t say that it actually saves me all that much time. Either I find the TSA PreCheck line is short to begin with (in which case there are no time savings), or I find that CLEAR is extremely popular at some airports (in which case there are no time savings).
Even as a CLEAR member, I skip using CLEAR most of the time. It’s still useful to have for those rare situations where there’s a long TSA PreCheck line but not a long CLEAR line, especially since I’m not paying anything out of pocket.
If you’re a CLEAR member, what has your experience been? What do you make of the value proposition?
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