Hanna and I have long advocated for CLEAR, a way of bypassing the longer security lines in many airports. TSA PreCheck used to accomplish this same goal, but as more and more travelers participate in that option, it’s often no longer a time-saver – in fact, we’ve seen several situations where the “regular” line seemed to be shorter than PreCheck (although PreCheck still had the advantage of not needing to take off your shoes).

Rarely is there any line at CLEAR, and we’ve never had more than a handful of people in front of us. The greatest limitation on this service is its lack of widespread availability. Simply put, if you regularly fly out of a regional or non-hub airport, it likely won’t be of much use to you. Even some airports that have it only have a CLEAR lane at one terminal. Slowly, however, the options are increasing. Our own experience proves that.

Chicago Bonus

We frequently fly in and out of Chicago O’Hare to visit Hanna’s friends and relatives. To put it mildly, it’s not one of my favorite airports for a variety of reasons, including weather-based delays/cancellations, crowding and security. Despite being a major hub for the Midwest, until recently it had no CLEAR.

Heading home from Thanksgiving, there was an accident leading to a terrible traffic jam on the access route to O’Hare. We were stressed that the combination of a late (for us) arrival and long security lines might make us miss our flight. Upon entering the terminal we were surprised and thrilled to see a CLEAR sign. It required that we walk an additional 50 yards past the first security line we saw, but after that we breezed right through the biometric checkpoint and were led to the front of the line. Even with a long walk to our gate we were there 30 minutes before boarding.

Stadium Access

Last weekend the entire family took my basketball-mad father to the Wizards-Lakers game as an early celebration for his upcoming 80th birthday. Hanna and I miraculously found a parking spot on the street, walked over to the Capital One Arena, and once again found a CLEAR line that allowed us to bypass the much longer “regular” line. Most importantly, it got us inside on a cold winter night.

Indeed, CLEAR has expanded to many sports and concert venues. From their website, it appears that as of this month they are at 16 arenas. Not surprisingly, most or all of them are in cities where they also have an airport presence. While it may not matter much for a random Tuesday night game, it’s a convenience nonetheless, and might make a huge difference if you’re headed to a major grudge match or championship.

CLEAR biometric security system at airports and stadiums

Notes about CLEAR at Games and Concerts

As with the airport, make sure you use the right entrance if you want to take advantage of this service. It appears that no sports venue has more than two CLEAR gates.
Unlike the airport, where they merely scan your eyes or fingerprints as the security measure, at the Capital One Arena you had to use the CLEAR app to get it. Both Hanna and I had it on our phones, but only she was registered. Luckily, that was enough to get both of us in that line. I will update my login info on my phone.
More importantly, if you only want to use it for sporting events, the CLEAR app is FREE. Go and download it now just in case.
If you need the full version for airports (and don’t have a credit — see below), there are discounted memberships for students, active military and government employees.

More Airport Time Savings Possible Soon!

If your airport has CLEAR or is likely to get it — and you sometimes or always check a bag when you travel — you may soon be able to save additional time during the check-in process. The company has launched a pilot program at the Denver airport that allows members to “precheck” a bag. In other words, you’ll take care of check-in online as you likely already do now, but your boarding pass and bag tags will be ready for you at designated CLEAR stations upon airport arrival and you will then be able to bypass the regular bag check lane. Note: This only applies to domestic flights on domestic carriers, and you’ll still have to pay any applicable bag charges, but the additional service will be free. Let’s hope this spreads!

AmEx Platinum Pays for It

The true beauty of all of this is that our American Express Platinum Card provides us with a $189 per year CLEAR credit as part of our member benefits. That pays for both of us. As I consider time to be my most treasured commodity, I’m effectively getting hours of time savings and aggravation reduction for FREE. If you have a card with similar credits, it’s a no-brainer to sign up even if you’ll only use it a few times a year.