CLEAR – Worth It?
Updated: December 15, 2025
CLEAR costs $199 per year for a standard membership. However, there are many ways to reduce this cost. Delta Air Lines and United Airlines offer discounts for frequent flyers, and many premium credit cards (like Amex Platinum or United Club Infinite) cover the annual fee entirely. Some cards offer family member discounts as well.
TSA PreCheck expedites the security screening process (shoes stay on, laptops stay in bags), while CLEAR expedites the ID verification process before you get to security screening. CLEAR doesn’t include TSA PreCheck, so you’ll get the best experience by having both. CLEAR members without PreCheck still go through standard security screening but skip the ID check line.
No, CLEAR is currently available at over 50 U.S. airports, but not all. Major hubs like Denver (DEN), San Francisco (SFO), Boston (BOS), Minneapolis (MSP), and most large city airports have CLEAR. Check CLEAR’s website for the full list of participating airports before signing up if you have specific airports you travel through frequently.
It depends on the airport and time of day. At airports like Denver and San Francisco, CLEAR is consistently faster even when PreCheck lines are long. However, at busy airports like Boston during peak times, CLEAR users may still face delays due to TSA processing speeds or lack of dedicated TSA agents for CLEAR passengers. The experience varies significantly by location.
CLEAR only works at U.S. airports and doesn’t help with international customs or immigration. For international travel, you’ll want Global Entry (which includes TSA PreCheck) or NEXUS for Canadian border crossings. CLEAR is best for frequent domestic travelers or those who want the fastest possible experience at participating U.S. airports.
CLEAR can be used for identity verification at select sports stadiums (including Yankee Stadium and Oracle Park), entertainment venues, and online for various services that require ID verification. The biometric verification works through your smartphone for quick, secure identity confirmation without manually uploading documents.
When I started traveling more than once a year, TSA PreCheck seemed like the gold standard for getting through airport security faster. Then I discovered Global Entry, which includes PreCheck plus expedited customs clearance. After traveling regularly to Canada, I learned about NEXUS, which includes both programs at an even lower price (but that’s a story for another day).
All of that brings us to today’s topic: CLEAR.
What Actually Is CLEAR?
CLEAR is a private company partnering with TSA to let customers skip the main ID check lines. The idea? Use biometric verification to speed you through security, theoretically guaranteeing faster airport experiences. They’ve also expanded to sporting events and other venues for quick identity verification.
Sounds great, right?
Well… it’s complicated.
The Reality Check: When CLEAR Doesn’t Work
Airport experiences with CLEAR are wildly inconsistent, and I’ve identified several culprits: CLEAR’s rapid growth, airport logistics, and TSA coordination issues.
Here’s a real example that perfectly illustrates the problem:
Early one Monday morning at BOS (Boston), the standard TSA line had easily 200+ people — a 45-minute to 1-hour wait. TSA PreCheck was also packed with around 100 people.
Perfect time to use CLEAR, right?
Not quite.
The CLEAR line feeding into TSA PreCheck had about 75 people. While shorter than the other lines, here’s what happened: those 75 passengers were funneled to the end of the PreCheck queue, and TSA agents prioritized the regular PreCheck line over CLEAR users.
CLEAR agents hustled people through facial recognition as quickly as possible, but they faced obstacles outside their control.
The issues that morning:
- Slow facial recognition devices (CLEAR’s problem)
- Slow TSA processing (TSA’s problem)
- No dedicated TSA agent for CLEAR users (unclear whose fault)
This isn’t unique to Boston, either.
When CLEAR Actually Delivers
Here’s the good news: when it works, it really works.
At DEN (Denver), CLEAR rarely has long lines even when standard TSA and PreCheck queues stretch forever. SFO (San Francisco) is another success story.
My favorite example? My wife was celebrating my brother’s wedding in Sonoma and had to leave early. She underestimated Bay Area Sunday traffic and was convinced she’d miss her flight. A few hours later, I got this text:
“I made it — and ONLY because of CLEAR.”
I also had a great experience at MSP (Minneapolis), where CLEAR lines were long but agents prioritized passengers based on flight times. Common sense applied by actual humans? I’ll forgive a lot of operational hiccups for that.
Beyond the Airport: Other CLEAR Benefits
At the Ballpark
I love baseball (Here we go, Red Sox, here we go!) and visiting different MLB stadiums around the country. CLEAR has saved me significant time entering both Yankee Stadium and Oracle Park. Dedicated CLEAR lines made the process fast and honestly felt a little VIP.
Online Identity Verification
This is a nice time-saver, though probably not enough to justify membership on its own.
More websites now use CLEAR for quick identity verification. Recently, I needed to verify my identity to rent out my small trailer when I’m not using it. The fastest option? CLEAR. One click, my iPhone scanned my face, and within seconds — verified.
So… Is CLEAR Worth It?
It depends on your travel frequency and stress tolerance.
CLEAR’s annual fee is $209, but there are many ways to reduce that cost. Delta and United offer discounts for frequent flyers, and many premium credit cards cover it entirely.
Here’s my philosophy: travel isn’t fun when it’s inefficient.
Even if CLEAR saves you one missed flight or one stressful hour during a year of travel, it’s worth the investment.
Is it how I travel?
YES.
And given the increasing unpredictability of airport security lines, it’s likely to stay in my travel toolkit for the foreseeable future.
More Information: CLEAR’s Official Website
