In a world of long airport security lines, you may be wondering if CLEAR is worth the money. After testing it out over the summer with a free 3-month CLEAR Plus guest pass from my brother, Mr. Well-Travelled, I decided to share my thoughts. Hopefully this post about my experience with CLEAR helps you figure out if CLEAR is worth it or not.
What is CLEAR?
The best way I can describe CLEAR is as an identity verification program that helps you bypass long lines. CLEAR can be located in many airports and entertainment venues across the United States. You can use CLEAR to skip to the front of the identity verification lines of TSA checkpoints or to show a vaccination card if going to a venue that requires such proof. When not using a free guest pass, a subscription for CLEAR Plus will cost about $189 for one person.
How does CLEAR work?
When setting up CLEAR, you first enter standard information regarding your identity. This includes your legal name, address, email, phone number, and birthdate. You can complete this step online. Once you get to a CLEAR location (such as an airport), you can finish your enrollment with the help of a CLEAR ambassador. You'll scan two fingerprints at once on your hand and also have your eyes scanned. That's right, CLEAR Plus uses biometric scans of your fingerprints and eyes to verify that you are who you are. Additionally, a picture capturing just your face is necessary to finish enrollment and that's done with the same camera that will scan your eyes. If you can get comfortable with using biometrics to verify your identity, then you can continue to move forward with the idea of potentially using CLEAR.
Once you pass through CLEAR Plus at an airport, the ambassador brings you to the front of the TSA identity verification line so you can simply show you have a boarding pass as you walk through and immediately go through the process of having your bags and body scanned for anything that's not allowed. Though I haven't used CLEAR at an entertainment venue before, I do know that it would greatly reduce the time you're standing in line to enter the building. This is from pure observation which I will explain as you continue reading.
Kimi's CLEAR Plus Guest Pass Experience
Getting everything set up online for the first part of my CLEAR Plus enrollment was super easy and only took about 5 minutes. I also downloaded the app to my phone to upload my driver's license and passport. At the moment, vaccination cards don't appear to be a necessity for anywhere I'm going, but I will likely upload those items if needed in the future.
Setting up the biometric features at the airport was very easy with the help of the CLEAR ambassador. She even asked me if I wanted to retake my first picture and I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to retake my picture so the one that CLEAR Plus uses is one I would be happy with. There was some slight confusion with the TSA lines at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport because they were finishing up using a K-9 to check bags, so I ended up basically doing the identity verification as usual with the TSA agent.
At the airport in Baltimore, I had the standard CLEAR Plus experience. I showed the CLEAR ambassador my boarding pass and she took me to the scanner. She asked if I wanted to use my fingerprints or eyes. My eyes were scanned and in just a couple of seconds my picture and name appeared on the screen which verified my identity. The ambassador brought me to the front of the line where I simply showed the TSA agent my boarding pass as I walked through to do the bags and body scanning process. Super fast and easy to enroll and use!
Is CLEAR worth the money?
If you really don't like to wait in line for long at airports or arenas, CLEAR Plus may be a good option for you. Do you travel frequently and just want to get through lines faster so it doesn't feel like half your time is spent waiting in security lines? CLEAR Plus might be worth the money. If you have a tendency to arrive at the airport with only minutes to spare before boarding begins for your flight, you might think about getting CLEAR Plus. If you have a lot of patience and manage your time well or you just don't go to airports or arenas very often, then you may not even attempt to give CLEAR a second thought. The truth is there isn't a true yes or no answer to the question of whether CLEAR is worth the money or not. However, those are the types of things you should be thinking about when deciding if enrolling in CLEAR is a good option for yourself or your family.
Pro Tip: My brother is Mr. Well-Travelled for a reason. He recommends getting both CLEAR Plus and TSA Pre-Check to cut down even more on your time in security lines. CLEAR gets you through the identity verification line quickly, but TSA PreCheck gets your through the bag and body scanning lines almost just as fast. With TSA PreCheck, you don't have to take off your shoes or outerwear. This will run you about $78 to have membership for five years and the enrollment process is much more complicated, but very complimentary to CLEAR Plus for avid domestic travelers within the United States.
Personally, I fall into the category of having a lot of patience in airport or entertainment venue lines and I manage my time well enough to anticipate longer lines. I have to admit that the VIP feeling of skipping to the front of the line was extremely nice! The value of CLEAR Plus was made very obvious to me when I got to the airport at the end of my Denver day trip a few weeks ago and didn't have to wait in line for 30-40 minutes like everyone else did in the TSA lines. For $189 a year and the frequency of which I travel or attend events at entertainment venues, I can easily see how it would be my money's worth to remain enrolled in CLEAR Plus. I didn't have CLEAR when I went to the Las Vegas Raiders game last year, so I had to walk to a tent on the other side of the parking lot to show someone my vaccination card before walking back across the parking lot to the bag check and ticket scanning before entering Allegiant Stadium. At that point, the cost of CLEAR Plus would've been worth it if I had it at that time. The people with CLEAR didn't have to make a long trek to get their vaccination status wristband and they didn't even have to wait in line to get into the stadium.
Kaseya Center also uses CLEAR, so that will come in handy when I try to go to a Miami Heat home game later this year -- click here to see what other trips I have planned for 2023. The football stadium at UT Austin, DKR Texas Memorial Stadium, uses CLEAR as well. I haven't been to a football game there since I was in undergrad, but having CLEAR would incentivize me to go to a game and really get my money's worth out of my membership.
The ultimate identity verification program is Global Entry. You can use this for international travel and that makes it a real timesaver given how long lines typically are for international flights and for crossing borders by car, train, boat, or other means. However, if primarily traveling very frequently across the U.S. and Canadian border, NEXUS is the better option for identity verification. These are also 5-year membership programs and both are much cheaper than CLEAR Plus, but enrollment is a more complicated process like TSA PreCheck.
I'm sure one day I'll be enrolled in nearly all of these identity verification programs. But for now, I'm going to stick with CLEAR as long as I have it for free and prepare to make the switch to a paying annually at the end of my guest pass.
Feel free to leave comments below, tweet (@KimiThoughts), or leave a post/message on Facebook (@KimisTravelThoughts) and share any tips you have using identity verification programs or your experience using any of them!