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Delta Sky CLub Arrival Access Eff: 6/1/22

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Answers (6)

Have you used Clear yet?

Have you used Clear yet?

  1. Drukyulgoods New Member

    Hi there,
    Just wondering is you’ve had an opportunity to use Clear yet? One of my cards (cant remember which one at the moment) provided a deal for Clear so I signed up. The signup process at the airport took a bit of time as they gather iris and full fingerprint scans along with scanning your ID.

    I’ve had the opportunity to use it in MSP & ATL over the past week or so and I’m impressed. In ATL today I was whisked in front of over 100 folks in the Pre line during the Friday afternoon rush. I’m sure that over time it might not be this fast but nonetheless it was well worth it today.

  2. David W Community Ambassador

    The issue with CLEAR is that it’s only a at a handful of airports. And even at the airports they’re in, it’s not at all terminals. For example, at JFK, they’re only in terminal 2 which only serves a handful of domestic Delta flights.

    It’s also much more expensive, at $179 a year and no credit card covers the fee. It’s competition is much, much better. TSA PreCheck is $85 for 5 years while Global Entry (which includes TSA PreCheck) is $100 for the 5 years. Both those can be reimbursed by select premium credit cards. Even better, NEXUS is $50 for 5 years and includes both TSA PreCheck, Global Entry and expedited entry into Canada.

  3. Gaurav Community Ambassador

    Rene over at Rene’s points raves about it but it still seems to be too limited unless you fly a lot from a market that already has it.

  4. Drukyulgoods New Member

    [QUOTE=”David W, post: 27914, member: 29″]The issue with CLEAR is that it’s only a at a handful of airports. And even at the airports they’re in, it’s not at all terminals. For example, at JFK, they’re only in terminal 2 which only serves a handful of domestic Delta flights.

    It’s also much more expensive, at $179 a year and no credit card covers the fee. It’s competition is much, much better. TSA PreCheck is $85 for 5 years while Global Entry (which includes TSA PreCheck) is $100 for the 5 years. Both those can be reimbursed by select premium credit cards. Even better, NEXUS is $50 for 5 years and includes both TSA PreCheck, Global Entry and expedited entry into Canada.[/QUOTE]

    David,
    Thank you for your sage reply. I got a deal for $69 for the first year so I took it. Yes, it is a new program and I certainly will re-evaluate its usefulness next year. One is currently Global Entry which extends to both Nexus & TSA Pre.

    That stated, these Clear folks have been diligently deploying at all of the major US International hubs. I’m an IT guy that travels quite a bit and my home base is TPA which isn’t scheduled for Clear until later in this year. TSA Pre at major hubs like ATL or JFK nowadays is just as congested as normal TSA was years back.

    As an example, I was in STL having to deadhead home during the Thanksgiving rush. A young couple with quintuplets were rightfully in the TSA Pre line that was held up for 25 minutes. It was their first time and god bless them for their daily struggles. The end result was that the TSA rules were followed and the TSA Pre line was held up for 25 minutes while everything from birth certificates to breast milk scanning rules were enforced. One doesn’t blame the parents.

    I merely cite this as an example of how expedited services can decade and seek knowledge from the learned folks that read Ben’s missives daily.

    Thanks,
    Drukyulgoods

  5. rickyw Community Ambassador

    [USER=2913]@Drukyulgoods[/USER] I see Clear used a lot here in DC (home for me). Basically it is a way cut the line? It looks to me like you still undergo the same security screening, and Clear just helps with the ID check? So, theoretically you could still get stuck in security behind inexperienced travelers like the family you mentioned? And, the best combo would probably by TSA Pre AND Clear, right? Someone with Clear could skip the ID check line, but without TSA Pre, they’d still have to take shoes off, liquids out, etc…

    Thanks for any info. Sounds like not many people use it (us in this forum included), so curious your experience.

  6. Drukyulgoods New Member

    [USER=1436]@rickyw[/USER] Yes you are correct. You skip the ID check and still need to go through the scanners per normal. Clear without Pre would not be prudent for anyone imho. With respect to the family one cited, the bulk of the hold up was the required production of the birth certs along with the verification. I felt really bad for them and there were folks getting ticked off behind me in the line and were complaining. The TSA folks should have taken them aside but alas.

    I brought it up here as Ben and team travels far more often than I and thought it would be interesting to hear experiences / opinions.

    Regardless, 4pm on a Friday or 6am on a Monday at any major hub = TSA congestion and at least this week, I got through in 5 minutes versus the normal 20+ mins.

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