Orange County Commuter

If you fly out of ATL you can stand in LONGER lines with Clear. (AKA as absolutely no benefit!)

PapaJack

I got a nice benefit to CLEAR last week. I was traveling with my son (road trip w/ a 10 year old) and we went to see the Cleveland Indians play a home game. There's a CLEAR line at the stadium to get it. Fantastic...https://www.clearme.com/where-we-are/progressive-field
I am enrolled because of my Delta status and none other reason, but for the ballpark I was allowed to bring my son in with me...a win win again. "Kids under 18 can go through the CLEAR Lane for free when accompanied by a CLEAR member."

flyerCO

CLEAR has zero to do with getting Precheck or not. There's no link between Clear and TSA systems.

jeet

At SEA, if you have Clear + PreCheck and flying on Delta, there is no need to show your BP to the TSA guy (Id Checker). your Clear 'escort' just yells "verified!" and you proceed to the x-ray belt.
If flying on any other airline, they ask you to show the BP to Id checker

I don't know if this is the process at other Delta hubs as well...

rucksack

N of 1 but I happened to overhear someone in the airport today saying he has CLEAR but not PreCheck.

Most of the time CLEAR only saves me a few minutes. But I've had times where it's saved at least 15 and I've never waited more than 5 minutes. That predictability could be well worth it for someone who likes to cut things close at the airport.

Other reasons you might want CLEAR in addition to (or instead of) PreCheck:
- Priority entrances at some stadiums
- You can still fly if you forget your ID/wallet (yes, I know TSA can manually verify your identity, but that can take a long time and cause you to miss your flight)
- Not having to fumble around for your ID
- A bougie sense of superiority?

ethernal

I have neither CLEAR nor pre-check, but keep in mind that pre-check is an Orwellian white list program. Not everyone is accepted to it and you may be rejected for any arbitrary reason (or no reason at all).

CLEAR on the other hand is just an Orwellian identify management program designed to normalize the idea of using biometrics necessarily for routine, normal things for the masses and so does not have arbitrary acceptance criteria.

So, while I have no idea of the proportion, a large number of people in the non-precheck CLEAR line may not be able to get pre-check.

Alternatively, people got suckered into signing up for CLEAR once since they hawk the service at many airports. Pre-check enrollment has a few additional steps.

WillBarrett_68

I don't think that's the design goal, that's just a side effect. The design goal is to make money by letting people skip lines. The biometrics is just some lipstick they put on it to make it seem more sophisticated.

Often1

The theoretical value of CLEAR over Pre-Check is that the CLEAR line is shorter than the Pre-Check line. The theoretical value of Pre-Check is that the screening takes less time and involves less work, e.g. shoes, laptops, 3-1-1, and screening device. The theoretical value of having both is that one has a shortened wait to get to the checkpoint podium and then a shortened or less hassled processing through the checkpoint itself.

On any given day, anything may or may not work. But, the happy medium seems to be that the Pre-Check lines move at 6-7x the speed of the standard lines. Thus, even if the Pre-Check line is longer than the standard line, it is generally faster. While people freak out about the physical size of the line, that is irrelevant.

SDQBound

Clear is open to anyone legally residing in the US with a valid ID (which includes students, work visa, Diplomats, etc) while TSA-PRE is only available for US Citizens and Legal Permanent Residents. Many people will qualify for Clear but not for TSA-PRE.

ethernal

This is patently false. CLEAR as currently designed uses a specific clause in the TSA authorization bill related to registered traveler programs. The entire point of the registered travel program was to experiment, build capabilities around, and normalize new forms of enhanced identify verification. That is a fact.

There is no reason for CLEAR's line-skip function to require biometrics or even any identify verification whatsoever. The TSA does not control the lines, the airport does. You could have a similar program where you just pay to be dropped to the front of the ID checker. That would be an excellent program (maybe pay on a per-use basis, perhaps on a demand basis - similar to congestion-controlled toll lanes).

So, on that basis, it is clear that CLEAR's primary function is of biometrics collection and normalization and not line skipping.

SamOF

Especially at airports with lots of international carriers, you can have pre-check in general but not for a specific flight if your airline doesn't participate. The CLEAR non precheck line at IAD, for example, is decently well-used.

RooseveltL

IMO, TSA Pre-Check numbers have been inflated by airlines comp access vs. only paid participants. CLEAR is a program I have no clue how it will remains upright as the staff at airports far exceeds the number of guest using the program (how many of those guest are comp via Delta vs. would pay for it). It is important for business travelers on Monday or Thursday peaks but remainder of the time I am doubtful the 50% of travelers which voyage 1-2x per year would ever see the benefit or accept the cost.
I've traveled with a friend with CLEAR and depending on airport basically friend has been given a 3 minute head-start through the security line but at larger airports I've cleared security 2x prior to friend as I had a quicker path to ID checkpoint vs. the CLEAR machines located further away.

WillSkiGT

That's not my experience at all.

Main or South security lines will be 30+ minutes during busy travel periods, and the CLEAR with Pre-Check line at Main security is literally 30 seconds or less every time. It's a massive benefit if you fly more than once a year. Can take you from being so late that you'll just make it to the gate in time to having enough time to spare that you can grab food or pop in to a SkyClub for a drink.

WillBarrett_68

That's the point of the registered travel program, not CLEAR specifically.

Exactly! The biometrics is a sideshow. They mostly do it so it looks fancy and futuristic and that the rubes don't figure out that it's just a paid line jump and complain about it being undemocratic or whatever. It's PR.

Clear, as a company, doesn't care about normalizing that in and of itself (such normalization might help their sales, maybe). You're conflating the goal of some shadowy unnamed group with Clear's aims to ... make money.

ethernal

You're right, CLEAR as a company is interested in making money. Being in bed with the DHS is part of that strategy to make money.