I too agree that this was an idea with good intentions, one which I subscribed to, but now I'm concerned about all the data that will be obtained by rogue organizations.
Programs: AA Platinum, United Premier Exec, SPG Platinum, Marriott Gold, Hyatt Gold
Posts: 21
I used it several times in SFO, and while I don't think I ever caught a flight i would have missed due to it, several times it saved me 15-20min of waiting in a mind-numbing line and just being frustrated at all the idiots in TSA and clueless pax in front of me. And it definitely allowed me enough time to grab an airport dinner on thursday night instead of buying a crappy sandwich on the plane.
That said, I got my membership for free with SPG platinum, and never planned on paying for renewal. I still had "random" bag screens on me when using it, and several times the regular line was so short I just went there instead of being the jerk who skips in front of 3 people in line (often the Clear people would just throw my stuff in front of people who already had their bins full on the table...a little awkward).
If they would have had it in Chicago, definitely would have paid for it...i think that was their biggest problem, couldn't get into an airport like Chicago, where they probably would have had thousands of customers.
Programs: AA EXP/2MM, QF WP, DL PM, US Conscientious Objector, TED Boycotter, SPG PLT, TSA Disparager Diamond
Posts: 37,451
Clear was a horrible idea.
It promised an expedited screening experience in exchange for personal data.
Not only did it fail to deliver, but trading money + personal information in exchange for what should have been a normal screening experience (no Shoe Carnival, no Liquids Idiocy) is insane.
Clear should have at a minimum given those who provided this information the ability to bypass screening completely, as if they were a law enforcement officer or a TSA Workfare employee.
Epic FAIL.
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You cannot uphold American ideology with un-American actions. It's time for change.
It promised an expedited screening experience in exchange for personal data.
Not only did it fail to deliver, but trading money + personal information in exchange for what should have been a normal screening experience (no Shoe Carnival, no Liquids Idiocy) is insane.
Clear should have at a minimum given those who provided this information the ability to bypass screening completely, as if they were a law enforcement officer or a TSA Workfare employee.
Epic FAIL.
I was still satisfied even if I had to go through the normal security theater. I fly out of SJC mostly, where there is no elite line in Terminal C, and if you're trying to get through the line at the same time as an F9, B6, or AS flight with a bunch of people who never fly... it gets quite backed up. Being able to skip the line and show up just in time was well worth the $100 I paid. Yes, it would be nice had the "trusted traveler" thing worked out, but for me it was worth it and I'm sad to see it go.
First, I have merged the two threads in the Delta forum regarding the current and sudden status of CLEAR.
Second, although there is already a thread in the Newsstand forum, the new home of this thread is now the Travel Safety/Security forum, as this topic really has little or nothing to do with Delta Air Lines.
The moderators of the Travel Safety/Security forum can then merge this thread with the existing one in that forum if they decide to do so.
Location: formerly Gold now NW Plat, formerly New Orleans, now Los Angeles, sadly soon to be formerly NW
Programs: Hilton Gold, Marriott Silver, Priority Club Gold, SPG Gold
Posts: 3,222
I had a free annual membership due to my Plat Hyatt membership. Over that year, despite traveling 80k, only got to use it twice, once at SFO and DCA. Saved me a whole minute or so maybe.....just getting walked in front of a few people. Granted my main airports never had a CLEAR lane (LAX, MSP, MDW, MSY) but totally never saw much value for me....
I thought the same thing with the new cleared traveler with US Customs on re-entry, though that is more likely to be helpful. I usually only wait a few minutes on re-entry anyways, regardless of which airport, LAX, PDX, MSP, MEM, DTW. So wouldn't shell out that $$ either....
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Neither Gold nor in NOLA anymore....soon not to be NW either, a COMPLETE identity crisis!!
Sunday night, I was supposed to fly JFK-TLV on Delta. The check in and TSA lines in Terminal 3 were extremely long. As far as I could see, there was no Clear or FC/Medallion lines.
I took a voluntary bump, was given an upgrade to Biz Elite for the following evening, and showed up at JFK at the exact same time. This time, I used Terminal 2, which is reserved for FC/Medallions.
There was a Clear line there, but nobody was using it. The usual TSA lines (which in Terminal 2 get only FC/Medallions) had only a few passengers. In fact, I was able to walk right to the front.
This made me think that Clear was bound to fail (at least at JFK). Anyone who uses it often enough to make it worthwhile paying for is going to have Medallion status -- and would not have to wait very long even without it.
Of course, even if enough people did sign up to make Clear profitable, it would soon mean that the Clear lines would be very long -- and that would negate any reason to continue paying for it.
received my "we discontinued service an hour ago" email a few hours ago... this is an OUTRAGE!!
I seriously want to know who can be part of an organization that defers this sort of announcement to - literally - the 11th hour... I mean honestly, you know you're out of money - you know you'll cease operations, why incovience your (ex)client base??
If I told my clients at noon tomorrow that I wouldn't be working with them this morning, or over anytime during the next 12 months, I'd think they'd have fair reason to litigate...
Currently my travel pattern is primarily Canada<->US - so I barely use CLEAR, but if my Nexus pass was revoked in the middle of the night on a Thursday without any notification to me before I went to sleep - and I missed my flight Friday AM because I showed up at the airport expecting a 10 minute clearance, I would be pissed.... Seriously pissed... This is an outrage.
If you miss a flight because of this CLEAR BS, please do your best to maximize your rebooking fees and then blame everything on your airline - especially if they comp'd your CLEAR membership at some point...
Programs: AS MVP Gold, UA 1K, Kimpton Inner Circle
Posts: 1,195
Quote:
Originally Posted by td_in_training
received my "we discontinued service an hour ago" email a few hours ago... this is an OUTRAGE!!
<<snip>>
If you miss a flight because of this CLEAR BS, please do your best to maximize your rebooking fees and then blame everything on your airline - especially if they comp'd your CLEAR membership at some point...
OUTRAGE
Don't blame the airline, blame yourself for drinking Steve Brill's Kool-Aid and giving your privacy pearls to swine.
Sunday night, I was supposed to fly JFK-TLV on Delta. The check in and TSA lines in Terminal 3 were extremely long. As far as I could see, there was no Clear or FC/Medallion lines.
I took a voluntary bump, was given an upgrade to Biz Elite for the following evening, and showed up at JFK at the exact same time. This time, I used Terminal 2, which is reserved for FC/Medallions.
There was a Clear line there, but nobody was using it. The usual TSA lines (which in Terminal 2 get only FC/Medallions) had only a few passengers. In fact, I was able to walk right to the front.
This made me think that Clear was bound to fail (at least at JFK). Anyone who uses it often enough to make it worthwhile paying for is going to have Medallion status -- and would not have to wait very long even without it.
Of course, even if enough people did sign up to make Clear profitable, it would soon mean that the Clear lines would be very long -- and that would negate any reason to continue paying for it.
Clear was well used in ATL on Monday mornings - which are the worst time in the ATL airport. It's a sad loss for the otherwise poorly run ATL airport.
At 11:00 p.m. PST today, Clear will cease operations. Clear's parent company, Verified Identity Pass, Inc. has been unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations.
After today, Clear lanes will be unavailable.
I hope people are going to get their money back.
Customers won't be getting all of their customer data back even if they manage to get some or all of their money back.
To whom will customer data be sold?
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This game is not as much fun as it used to be: 2008/2009 Frequent Flyer Program Fleecing Award goes to Delta Airlines
![Clear ceases operations [merged threads]](/forum/iconimages/travel-safety-security/clear-ceases-operations-merged-threads_ltr.gif)
