Clear

Rich M

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 18, 2016
Has anyone paid for Clear? What is your experience with the free trial?
 

It is a service at the airport that lets you go through a separate line through security. It advertises that you can be through security in 5 minutes. The cost is $179 a year but they are offering 2 months free so wondering if it is worth it for a December trip.
 
It is a service at the airport that lets you go through a separate line through security. It advertises that you can be through security in 5 minutes. The cost is $179 a year but they are offering 2 months free so wondering if it is worth it for a December trip.

Honestly with that price I would get the TSA precheck. It's 85 bucks for 5 years and it's available at pretty much any airport vs the smaller number Clear is at. Might not always get you through in 5 minutes (it depends on the line) but it does seem like the better option.
 


Honestly with that price I would get the TSA precheck. It's 85 bucks for 5 years and it's available at pretty much any airport vs the smaller number Clear is at. Might not always get you through in 5 minutes (it depends on the line) but it does seem like the better option.

I thought TSA precheck was just random? you can sign up for something
 
I thought TSA precheck was just random? you can sign up for something
Yes, you can register and pay for precheck ($85), or you can pay for Global Entry ($100). Both require an interview, background check, and fingerprints and are valid for five years. Some credit cards will rebate the fee.

I think you get the precheck benefit with Nexus as well. I’m not sure if the cost or process.

I believe Clear requires some sort of eye scan; iris or retina. I’m not sure why it’s so much more expensive, and it doesn’t seem to be as widely available as the other options.
 
I thought TSA precheck was just random? you can sign up for something

Yes you can sign up for it! I am part of Global Entry (basically TSA pre for international, makes coming home easier). Airports have an office you can sign up at. You go to the airport fill out some forms, take a picture, and you get a card (that you really don't need outside of to put the number in for booking tickets) in the mail a few weeks later. I can't recall the last time I wasn't TSA pre domestic since we signed up a couple of years ago.
 


I have Clear and love it. The Atlanta TSA pre-check line can be long at times. With Clear, I cut straight to the front!

Use it at MCO every time too, but the pre-check line is never all that long there in my travels, so not that much of a time saver.

I travel extensively for work so Clear makes sense for me, especially since it’s at my home airport.
 
I have Clear and love it. The Atlanta TSA pre-check line can be long at times. With Clear, I cut straight to the front!

Use it at MCO every time too, but the pre-check line is never all that long there in my travels, so not that much of a time saver.

I travel extensively for work so Clear makes sense for me, especially since it’s at my home airport.

Thank you. I am really debating on it because they have a clear entry at AT&T park also for Giants games. I am thinking of doing the free 2 months but wondering how easy it is to cancel if I don't like it.
 
I think you get the precheck benefit with Nexus as well. I’m not sure if the cost or process.

Yes it does. It also includes Global Entry and is only something like $50. But the catch is you have to be near Canada as I believe all the interview locations are located in CDN or near the CDN boarder. I think Seattle has one but that might the the furthest one located from CDN.
 
Honestly with that price I would get the TSA precheck. It's 85 bucks for 5 years and it's available at pretty much any airport vs the smaller number Clear is at. Might not always get you through in 5 minutes (it depends on the line) but it does seem like the better option.

Think of Pre Check like a Fast Pass and Clear as front of the line access
 
We did the Clear 2 month free trial. Got it as part of a Universal package last November. We did it only to help at MCO for our trip home. It was awesome. Had a special line that took us right to the front of security. We decided not to re-new after the free trial for 2 reasons. 1) home airport doesn't have Clear. 2) fly only couple times a year. It was easy to cancel but our concern was how much personal info they have. Never confirmed if they deleted out data.
 
It is a service at the airport that lets you go through a separate line through security. It advertises that you can be through security in 5 minutes. The cost is $179 a year but they are offering 2 months free so wondering if it is worth it for a December trip.
I would not pay $179 a year for it.
 
Yes it does. It also includes Global Entry and is only something like $50. But the catch is you have to be near Canada as I believe all the interview locations are located in CDN or near the CDN boarder. I think Seattle has one but that might the the furthest one located from CDN.

Yep $50. For adults. My son was free.

The do have a place at King County Airport (at Boeing field). We chose to drive up to Blaine WA for our interviews.
 
I have Clear and love it. The Atlanta TSA pre-check line can be long at times. With Clear, I cut straight to the front!

Use it at MCO every time too, but the pre-check line is never all that long there in my travels, so not that much of a time saver.

I travel extensively for work so Clear makes sense for me, especially since it’s at my home airport.

Yup - I have Nexus (so, pre-check access) and Clear and love the combination. My home airport is DCA, and the pre-check lines there can be very long, so it's nice to have a reliable way to skip those lines. (Note that if you have Clear and NOT pre-check, you skip the line, but still have to go through the full non-precheck screening.) Delta has an ownership stake in Clear, so you can get pretty hefty discounts by just being a member of Delta Skymiles (even without status) and bigger discounts if you have elite status on Delta or have a Delta American Express card.
 
We have Clear and Global Entry and weren't really seeing the benefit since the pre-check lines we have used in the last two months weren't really more than 5-10 people at the most. This past Sunday, we used the clear line at LAX for the Southwest terminal and it was great - took us right to the front of the pre-check line which had at least 50-60 people in it. My DH had been saying that he didn't think we should keep Clear but after Sunday's experience, he's decided that it might just be worth it especially since I got it at a reduced rate and his membership is free with mine. I say try it for the free trial period and see what you think
 
Dealnews reports that a 3-month free trial of Clear is now being offered via coupon code "SHARETHELOVE." I gather there is someplace to type that in at sign-up. The offer states that in-person verification at a Clear location is required before actually using the service. Also, the $179 annual fee will be applied when the free trial ends, unless you cancel.
 
We did the Clear 2 month free trial. Got it as part of a Universal package last November. We did it only to help at MCO for our trip home. It was awesome. Had a special line that took us right to the front of security. We decided not to re-new after the free trial for 2 reasons. 1) home airport doesn't have Clear. 2) fly only couple times a year. It was easy to cancel but our concern was how much personal info they have. Never confirmed if they deleted out data.
All of these services (TSA-Pre, Global Entry, Nexus, Clear) require ALL of your personal info, a full background check (criminal record, abuse registry etc.) fingerprints/iris scan etc. The info is checked and registered with government and law enforcement agencies so I would imagine that it's going to stay attached to your file for life since all these background checks have been performed against your identity and tied together with the bio-metric (fingerprints and/or iris scans).

The main idea of all these programs is that you are being pre-screened by the program and certified as "no/low risk" to the travelling public and aviation and therefore qualify for a more streamlined screening process at the TSA checkpoints.

***Probably wouldn't be a good idea to apply if you are living a life of crime or plan to any time in the future ;) ;) ;)
 
Last edited:
A lil TSA-PRE update

I was over at my county tax office the other day and noticed they had a station for TSA-PRE sign-ups. This was new! They said back in October the PRE program greatly expanded where the interviews could be done so you typically did not need to go to an airport. They did say MAKE AN APPOINTMENT tho as the wait for a walk in could be LONG. You can check for enrollment locations by zipcode at: https://universalenroll.dhs.gov/locator?serviceCode=11115V

GLOBAL ENTRY sign up still requires a trip to an airport in most cases
 
I have it , and got it primarily to deal with MCO. (I fly RDU to MCO a lot)

You "authenticate" who you are with the clear people, really never any line there. You use biometrics (fingerprints) for ID. So you pass that part of the line.

You USED to the get escorted to the front of the line directly to the x-ray machines. For a wile I had issues with TSA precheck (names in airline refused to sync for some reason), so this was a GREAT time saver.

However the last 2 times I flew out of MCO (january/early feb), they said you no longer get front of the line access. This may change back in the future, but beware for now.

If it doesn't change I won't renew, as we don't fly other airports often enough for it to be work it. We do have Global entry/TSA precheck, so don't really need the extra benefit of CLEAR.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!






Top