Originally Posted by
Doppy
IAD in particular seems to be one where the non-Clear lane is often preferable
For me, it's usually been the opposite experience at IAD. Even at peak times, Clear at the TSA Pre checkpoint has maybe 5-10 people waiting, and once you get to the kiosk, you get escorted to the front of the remaining TSA line. Pre, meanwhile, has hundreds of people in their lines feeding the same checkpoints. YMMV, of course, and it's always best to assess each line as you approach the checkpoint.
Yesterday, the Clear queue wrapped around behind the checkpoint--first time I've seen that!--which maybe had something to do with the NextGen upgrades?
Originally Posted by
phltraveler
I posted my experience updating to CLEAR NextGen here in the main consolidated CLEAR thread. However since fellow UA Elites were debating the usefulness of CLEAR even getting it free as 1K/GS, the quick bits I learned:
- The promise of NextGen enrollment includes that there will be fewer ID checks.
- CLEAR NextGen update includes taking an updated photo for facial recognition, and said image is compared against whatever ID (passport, state ID) you enrolled in CLEAR with. Gives CLEAR the ability to say the person present was compared to a file photo, which was compared to a photo accepted as ID by either a US state or a federal government (goes in line with #1 on convincing feds to do less random ID checks).
- CLEAR NextGen updated kiosks can support reading the biometric chip from the passport to get a direct copy of that photo, rather than just scanning the bio page and using the physical scan of that photo. However, some kiosks have the update to take the next gen photo of you at the kiosk, but not read the biometric passport chip (in which case they won't be able to use the passport at all for nextgen document update).
- With some qualifying weasel words and a scant lack of detail, I was told that the NextGen CLEAR experience "should start rolling out in February 2024". What exactly that would entail remains unclear, but given that I cleared Port Canaveral in about a second without presenting my passport solely using my face without glasses at an IDEMIA reader, I imagine the new CLEAR promise is probably similar - either barely stop for just a couple seconds or keep walking for instant ID check.
I went through the NextGen upgrade process on 12/3, at the enrollment kiosks at IAD. It took a solid 5-7 minutes, as the Clear "ambassador" was having issues getting it to scan my passport correctly (she said you can only use a REAL ID-compliant DL or a passport; none of my other REAL ID-compliant IDs were accepted).
It seemed like this week, they were using the general Clear kiosks at IAD for the upgrades, too? Which led to a line of about 25-30 people queued up. It didn't help that they didn't have someone at the tail of the line making sure pax had TSA Pre; I saw a few people wait in line only to be rejected, with one lady trying to argue she was going to miss her flight.