CLEAR is an identification program that creates a verified digital ID for it's members and can be used for snagging reservations, digital health passes and vaccine verifications, and entering sporting events or concerts. The program CLEAR Plus is an additional fee for their TSA PreCheck service and the only part of the membership that I utilized when I had a subscription.

The process for signing up for CLEAR is relatively simple. At the airport I walked up to one of their kiosks, spoke to an agent and began the process of taking my photos and adding my information to my account. You can also sign up online to start and then finish the enrollment process at the airport. In all I believe it took me less than 15 minute from enrollment to activation in total.

In comparison to the weeks it might take to be processed through TSA Pre-check, this felt like a breeze.

This is the part of the program that gave me more pause. At the time, I paid nearly $200 for a year for CLEAR Plus. They do have partnerships with some credit card companies, so you may be able to earn statement credits by purchasing the membership with that particular card for some or the entire cost of the service.

A nice bonus to this program is that you can add family members to your account to keep all of your information together. For adult members of your household there is a fee, but anyone under the age of 18 can travel with you for free. I used this when traveling with my child and once they were able to verify her identity (ask her who I was, etc...) then we were both escorted through to security.

As mentioned earlier, CLEAR has the bonus of not only being an identification system that is available in many major airports throughout the US, but also in stadiums and arenas. This would allow you to this service to see games, a concert or arrive to your gate at the airport sooner with the same account. The downside is that if you are only using this service to skip the TSA line, then you are not going to have as many airports to choose from compared to TSA Precheck.

In my own experience, there wasn't an airport that I flew into from Detroit Metro that didn't have CLEAR for my return flight. Most times there wasn't much of a line to contend with, but you will find this service in pretty much every major airport in the US.

This is the real question. Due to the pandemic and some of my own personal constraints, I wasn't able to use CLEAR as much as I had intended when I first joined in 2019. When I restarted my subscription in 2022 for a few Orlando trips I noticed that I didn't get through the line any faster than Tiffany or other people on the trip.

It was nice to be able to use this service with my child for free, but I have yet to be in a situation where having the service felt like it was completely worth it. Some folks have recommended having both CLEAR and TSA PreCheck, but with the way my bank account is set up that just seems redundant but if you like it I love it.

For me personally, I don't think I will renew CLEAR and am heavily leaning towards TSA PreCheck as my only identification verification.