anc-ord772

cjermain

IAH is my home airport. I would sign up for Clear in a second if it were available in Terminal C. I most often fly evenings out of IAH, mostly out of Terminal C, after PreCheck has closed (theoretically at 7, but it always seems it's a few minutes before that). I have bad experiences with Terminal C security at that time often enough (one line open, long waits) that I've started using Terminal E, even if it means a 15+ minute walk. Would love to have Clear as an alternative. But no Clear in Terminal C makes it kind of worthless, when Terminal E always seems to be a breeze at the times I travel.

Kacee

You only fly one-way? I fly OAK-LAX on DL pretty frequently. They don't have Clear at OAK, but they have it LAX. I find 50% Clear extremely valuable.

There are certain airports where Clear is especially valuable. These would include LAX, JFK, and MSP. I'm sure there are others . . . I don't do a ton of domestic flying.

It's also really valuable if you fly a foreign carrier that doesn't participate in Pre.

mrswirl

I've had CLEAR for several years now and more than once it has made the difference between making a flight and missing it. Well worth the money.

Only thing I don't like is recently at DEN they have been dumping the CLEAR lane into the general TSA scanner lane after ID check rather than the PreCheck scanners - which means laptops out and shoes off which is just a silly inconvenience and rather annoying.

COSPILOT

Maybe that was a one off situation? I use CLEAR at DEN about 3 times/month and haven't had this experience, in fact CLEAR has saved me from missing a flight more than once, typically when the PreCheck line is long.

Haven't tried it at IAH, but I use it often DEN, LAS, MCO, and excited to see it added to PHX, but not yet the UA Terminal. I'm also embarrassed to say that I've been paying full price, didn't realize MY DL membership gives me a discount.

lsu2012

IAH is my home airport and I usually check in at Terminal E no matter what. I find the precheck line is always much shorter and better managed than Terminal C.

mrswirl

At first I thought it was a one-off too but it's happened on multiple occasions over the past 6 months specifically at the South security checkpoint. The PreCheck lane is on the outside as usual with CLEAR next to it on the inside, but post-ID check the PreCheck X-ray lanes are cordoned off and the CLEAR lane put me into the general security scrum in the center.

It was still orders of magnitude faster than standing in the PreCheck line but I didn't get the benefit of CLEAR+PreCheck together.

Kacee

The problem I've had at DEN is the Clear staff just drops you at the TSA bp check-point. At other airports, they will walk you past the bp check all the way to the conveyor for Pre pax. I've complained to Clear about this.

wjbesh

I resisted for a while but got clear after a few truly absurd PreCheck lines in DEN. Most of the time flying out of various EWR/JFK/LGA terminals Clear isn't available, so I knew I was buying it for only a minority of my travel up front, but I feel like it's been well worth the cost on the occasions I've been able to use it. Depends how much buffer time you like to give yourself showing up to the airport for domestic travel (I try to clear security ~5 minutes before boarding so a long security line can be annoying) and how much you're bothered by standing in a slowly moving PreCheck line (not the worst thing ever, but I'd like to avoid it if possible). I expect they'll continue to roll out new locations, which is just gravy at this point since I'm already happy with my purchase.

COSPILOT

Guess I've been lucky, as I've always ended up at the PreCheck area using CLEAR, also using the South Checkpoint.

Will be using it again this coming Monday for a DEN-LAS flight, will report back.

pseudoswede

In 2016 and 2017, having CLEAR at DEN allowed me to go from curb to train in about 4 minutes (plus or minus 90 seconds depending on the lines at the Pre-Check x-rays). To me, since the Pre-Check lines at DEN are ridiculously long, that made my membership worth it; regardless if the destination airport had CLEAR, which in my case never happened.

Edited to add:

There is a very long thread about CLEAR in the Trusted Traveler forum.

The Consolidated CLEAR Information Thread (Locations, Promotions, Value)

I would be aware of some of the annoyances that some members have been experiencing lately which may give you pause, if it continues, whether to renew your membership.

BeanTownBoy

@Kacee: Nice tip!

Agree--Infrequently as I travel through DEN (several times a year), avoiding those lines alone makes CLEAR worth it

FlyerTalker70

This is very much a case of YMMV. If you fly through a terminal at an airport that has Clear, the security lines in those areas are horrendous and there is no competition at the airport for faster options, either by clearing security at another terminal then walking back to your intended terminal or *A GoldTrack, TSA Pre.

A great example of this is EWR with its TSA-Pre, concourses that are separated out airside (requiring you to constantly re-clear security) and the consequent staffing issues of having TSA spread out instead of centralized in one area. OTOH consider an airport like LAX where its terminals are all connected to each other airside. Is TBIT security going too slow for you? No problem, head to T6 and T7 security and clear it there! I'm unsure about IAH as I've never had to clear security there (so far just EWR, ORD and SFO hubs since I'm typically transiting from YYZ)

How would I know beforehand how bad security is at my airport? Well, the TSA has a website (and mobile app) where you can check realtime wait times!

Hope that provides some insight.

Safe Travels,

James

mike2003242

IAH is my home airport and there would be zero reason to have it for IAH. As others have said depending on travel patterns would determine how useful it is.

Renard