Is CLEAR any faster than Pre-Check at IAD/DCA?
Oct 13, 2016, 2:22 am
#1
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Is CLEAR any faster than Pre-Check at IAD/DCA?
I got the DL offer for CLEAR for $79 and I'm wondering if I should take it? Does it work for non-US airline flights from IAD? I saw a CLEAR line my last time at DCA and it only looked like it would save a few minutes compared to PreCheck.
Oct 14, 2016, 8:17 pm
#2
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I've used CLEAR once when traveling from LAS to JFK. Essentially, it will allow you to skip the line where a TSA agent would normally check your ID and boarding pass. You're then brought to the front of security (if you have TSA Pre-Check or Global Pre-Check then you'll be brought to the front of that line). CLEAR is strictly used for getting through the initial security check point. The airline you're flying out of should not matter in your scenario as CLEAR is all based on how security is managed at the airport (and whether or not they have CLEAR).
Oct 15, 2016, 3:38 pm
#3
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CLEAR doesn't overall save much time for those doing PRE. Every time I've seen it at SFO, the time saving of using their machine for id check doesn't amount to much. The savings comes from the CLEAR employee pushing to the front of the x-ray line with their client.
Even then in the PRE line it is at most two or three people that they push in front of. It might make a bigger difference at bad airports, but bad airports (like EWR) rarely have CLEAR.
No direct experience with Dulles, however, which I guess is the one you are referring to here mostly.
Even then in the PRE line it is at most two or three people that they push in front of. It might make a bigger difference at bad airports, but bad airports (like EWR) rarely have CLEAR.
No direct experience with Dulles, however, which I guess is the one you are referring to here mostly.
Oct 15, 2016, 3:49 pm
#4
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You're lucky. Ever since MSP reconfigured the security lines and eliminated the special line for those with both SkyPriority and PreCheck, we've had long lines, usually twenty or thirty people waiting for a single ID checker. I've waited about an hour twice for PreCheck. I can't wait until we get CLEAR.
Oct 16, 2016, 7:54 pm
#6
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My experience is exactly the opposite. The Pre-Check lines at DCA flow at a steady fast speed and there are two Pre-Check lines operating during busy periods, often with two ID checkers at the two larger concourses (B & C).
There might be a time advantage for CLEAR for a non-Pre person, but if you have GE/Pre, the time savings is at best minimal.
I can also assure you that nobody helps the CLEAR people push ahead and given the # of savvy DCA travelers who don't get pushed around just because someone has a uniform, it can easily take the CLEAR guy 3-4 people to insert his client.
There might be a time advantage for CLEAR for a non-Pre person, but if you have GE/Pre, the time savings is at best minimal.
I can also assure you that nobody helps the CLEAR people push ahead and given the # of savvy DCA travelers who don't get pushed around just because someone has a uniform, it can easily take the CLEAR guy 3-4 people to insert his client.