CLEAR comes to MSP
 

Supposedly today is the day, but I'm not at the airport and I haven't yet seen any pictures with CLEAR that I recognize as MSP (as opposed to TV coverage that's seems to have been filmed at other airports).

There's a StarTribune article which seems to have been written by someone who has never used CLEAR. There's mention of the CLEAR machines printing a slip of paper (self service) that you give either to a CLEAR employee or the TSA document checker. [This isn't the procedure I've experienced in any airport.] They say that DL elites get discounted prices and give numbers but don't state that it's free for DMs.

It will be in Terminal 1 at both the south (near the DL elite check in area and the F/G SC) and north (other airlines, but closer to the C SC) TSA checkpoints, but not in Terminal 2 (Humphrey, mostly LCCs). Both checkpoints have supposedly already been reconfigured, but I haven't seen any information about the new setup.

This is very good news as the expectation seemed to be that CLEAR wasn't going to arrive here in time to alleviate the spring break mess that we experience every March.

I'm expecting our mods to move this into the DL CLEAR thread, but initially putting the information in a new thread will cause DL customers to notice it.

Just checked CLEAR's website, it's still not updated yet. I'll hold off for updating the wikis until they confirm this. KARE11 mentioned CLEAR today as well, however I don't know how/if its configured as they just ran old B-Roll. I'll be there hopefully next week to see the reconfig in person. Paging CarmenOM.. :D

Getting mixed vibes here.. Some sources say MN has kiosks, others say its open, and others say the lines will be reconfigured soon. Will update wiki accordingly as well as forecasts as I get more info.

I went thru there yesterday and its not setup yet. Perhaps overnight.

I will note that my CLEAR interactions have been fair to poor. Today, in Houston I tried to use it but was walked over to the other side (by CLEAR employees) of TermA only to get thru the line and find out they don't have Pre-Check AND the line was super long. I asked why I was taken over and they basically said they didnt want to process me on the DL side. I went back over to the other side and went thru regular pre-check with no line. I've had similar experiences in SEA, DEN, and MIA. I guess my question is what exactly is the benefit that CLEAR is supposedly providing me??

It's free for DMs, so it's a real benefit as soon as the total time saved exceeds the amount of time (several minutes) required for CLEAR enrollment, right? Isn't it nice that DL thinks our time is so valuable, $179 for whatever amount of time we save per year?

With the TSA ending free pre-check is it really that bad at MSP? I thought MCO was one of the worst for lines but I don't think it has ever taken me longer than two minutes to get through pre-check.

When I was there Monday, the Clear machines were at the Sky Priority Entrance (Door 5 I believe) to Terminal 1. They were no where near security.

Perhaps nothing with that layout and no Pre line to speak of, but I have used it to skip long Pre lines in SEA and LAS.

Last week the kiosks were in place at doors 2 and 5 (the scales have been moved closer to the door to accommodate the kiosks) and a crew of CLEAR staff in blue and white gingham shirts were training for the rollout today. There was not yet a change in the configuration of the lines. The staff member with whom I spoke was quite definite about today (Wed. 2/22) being the launch date.

I'll be at MSP from 4-8 today and will see what's happening then.

Might be nice but would have to go to MSP to sign up which is not convenient, being based out of RST.

I was at MSP last Thursday and noticed the CLEAR terminals by the doors. They weren't near security then at all. I'm flying again next Thursday so I'm looking forward to using it then.

I used CLEAR to transfer in DTW after clearing customs and I've never made it through security so fast. Quite honestly, the wait wouldn't have been all that long. But since it's a free benefit, I'll take it.

It has literally NEVER saved me time at DTW. In fact, every time I have traveled with someone that didn't have CLEAR, but had pre-check, they always beat me through (sample size 8 security clearances).

YMMV. At IAD and DCA it always saves me time for either late afternoon flights or early AM flights. The line a pre-check is often 50 long.

Yes. TSA security at MSP has often been a mess, including at unpredictable times, since the security lines were eliminated and the dedicated line for those with both SkyPriority and PreCheck was eliminated.

Several times it's taken me close to an hour or longer to get through south PreCheck. Once I tried going to north PreCheck when south was jammed up but it's a much longer walk to the F and low G gates, so for many DL flights the amount of time you can save this way is limited.

Since CLEAR+Pre lets you go to the front of the Pre line, it seems like this should only be the case if there is little or no line for Pre, where the process of going to the CLEAR kiosk etc. takes longer than just showing your ID to the TSA checker.

When returned to the US via DTW in January there were two separate CLEAR lines on opposite sides of the general line, CLEAR w/o Pre on the left and CLEAR+Pre on the right -- I assume that wasn't the issue either?

CLEAR doesn't usually make a difference for me at SFO but sometimes I go through it anyway just so I don't have to dig my ID out (it's in a windowed panel with a tight fit so mildly annoying :o :) ) and also to help keep their usage numbers up :D

http://i.imgur.com/CX0dQYT.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/AR7E8ac.jpg

Yep, it's official. Paul Blume from FOX9 tweeted some pics of the setup. Will update the wiki


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