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- CLEAR Plus currently costs:
- $199/year for general members.
- $189/year for United and Delta non-elite members.
- $159/year for United and Delta cardholders and Silver/Gold/Platinum elite members.
- $119/year for federal, state, and local government employees, as well as active duty military and veterans.
- $119/year for family members booked through a CLEAR member’s account.
- $0 for United 1K/Global Services elites and Delta Diamond/360 elites.
Sadly, free CLEAR Plus for United 1K members will soon be coming to end. For renewals as of 5/1, the rate for 1K members will be $129/year.
United Global Services members, who typically spend at least $50K/year on United flights, have 4 million lifetime flying miles, or are the companion of a million miler with Global Services, will continue to get free CLEAR Plus.
For now, Delta Diamond and 360 elites will continue to receive free CLEAR Plus.
A CLEAR spokesperson tells DansDeals that, “CLEAR continues to deliver exceptional value to its Members, including the launch of EnVe pods, our face-first technology that gets you moving 5x faster; CLEAR Perks, including CLEAR Scout, which allows one of our Ambassadors to retrieve a lost item for you at the airport; and CLEAR Concierge, our curb-to-gate service that ensures a seamless journey every step of the way.”
Additional information on CLEAR Perks, including CLEAR Concierge, is available here.
The AMEX Business Platinum Card, The Platinum Card® from American Express, AMEX Green Card, and Hilton Aspire Card also have a $199 annual credit for CLEAR.
A CLEAR Plus member can add up to 3 adults for $119 each, which can also be covered by those cards. Kids under 18 can go with their parents for free without a membership or biometrics required.
CLEAR Plus allows you to skip to the front of the line. If you have PreCheck you can skip to the front of the PreCheck line and if you don’t have PreCheck you can skip to the front of the regular line.
You don’t need to take out your ID either, your fingerprint or eye act as your ID.
The dependability that skipping the line gives you is simply amazing. It means I can leave my house 55 minutes before a flight and know that I won’t miss my flight out of CLE. When I’m with my family I’ll leave plenty of time and enjoy the airport lounge, but if I’m solo, the less wasted time in the airport is always a win.
Sadly, lines have grown in some airports though. In some airports, the CLEAR line can sometimes stretch longer than the non-CLEAR line, so you do have to peek and see which looks better. But at least for me in Cleveland, I have found it to be a big time saver by reducing the variance between how long the line can get, but it certainly varies by the airport.
Do you enjoy using CLEAR? How have the lines been in your home airport? Will you renew CLEAR?
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8 Comments On "United Kills Off Free CLEAR Plus For 1K Elites"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
Cleveland happens to be one of the only airports that I frequent where Clear saves time. Newark 99% of the time PreCheck is faster then Clear.
I have the same experience as a 1K
I have yet to see a clear line that was faster than the regular precheck line
Too many technical steps and scans as opposed to the regular precheck process.
I just stopped using it and it’s not a perk that I’m upset is being limited. I just want something else put in that place.
What’s the best way to become a 1K member without flying that much?
Clear will be cleared out as digital ID which is free becomes more standard.
The one positive for Clear, when it works it really works. That said the other 85% of the time Clear is longer than the Precheck line and I get a good laugh at the lovers who feel the need to use it just because they have it.
I also never miss a chance to tell the sucker that I also have Clear, came after them and I am in front of them now!
Who cares. If you are flying that much and its that important to you, 129 isnt that big a deal anyway. Besides for the fact that clear is way overrated imo
Useless LAX, DEN, SFO (Delta and AA)
It blows my mind that this company exists. I have flown in and out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale every week (to SFO) for the past 10 weeks with Pre-Check and not once would Clear have saved me more than 60 seconds or so… and most of the time, it’d have been slower. How does this company exist? Why do people pay for this?
Will clear still allow me to fly without showing ID once real ID is required?