CLEAR® Plus bills itself as the ultimate travel time-saver … but with long lines to get through security at many busy airports across the country, CLEAR may not be worth the cost for every traveler. And now that cost is growing again – at least for those paying out of pocket.
The price for CLEAR Plus is set to increase from $199 to $209 a year effective July 1. It's the second price increase in less than a year – and the third in under three years. The Points Guy was first to report this latest price hike.
It gets even worse for traveling families. CLEAR offers a little-known Family Plan, allowing you to add adult friends and family members to your membership at a discounted rate. But after that cost jumped to $119 less than a year ago, a CLEAR spokesperson confirmed it's going up again to $125 per adult. Children under 18 can still join members in the CLEAR® Plus lane for free.
Fortunately, there are still plenty of ways for flyers with Alaska Airlines, Delta, Hawaiian, and United to save. Unfortunately, those savings also won't go quite as far as they used to:
- Anyone with a (free) frequent flyer account or co-branded credit card with all four airlines can sign up for CLEAR® Plus for $199 a year – up from the current $189 rate
- Travelers with status from Delta, Hawaiian, or United can knock that down to $169 a year – currently, it cost them $149 annually
- Flyers with top-tier Delta Diamond and Hawaiian Pualani Platinum (plus have flown 75,000) status can still get CLEAR® Plus for free. So can invite-only Delta 360° and United Global Services members.
| United | Delta | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| United Global Services | Diamond Medallion & Delta 360°™ | Complimentary (no change) |
| Premier 1k | n/a | $129 (no change) |
| Premier Silver/Platinum/Gold or United U.S. Credit Cardmember | Platinum, Gold, Silver Medallion Members & eligible Delta SkyMiles American Express Card Members | $169 |
| MileagePlus | SkyMiles | $199 |
If there's one saving grace for the countless American Express members getting complimentary CLEAR® Plus with cards like *amex platinum*, you're still covered. American Express will up the annual credits on its flagship cards as well as the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card to cover the higher, $209 amount.
But for the rest of you, paying $200-plus a year for an inconsistent experience at airports could be a tough sell … especially compared to the $78 price tag to get TSA PreCheck … oh, and that lasts for five full years.
Once a darling of the travel world that promised to cut you to the front of the line and get you through airport security in minutes, CLEAR's track record is shaky at best as it's expanded rapidly to more airports and increased in price, too. Whether you get through CLEAR lanes in moments or get stuck in a long line as passengers with PreCheck alone pass you by has started to feel like a coin flip.
CLEAR's new face-scanning pods have no doubt sped up the process, but it's still an extra step and not always a shorter line.
It can be particularly bad in airports like Atlanta (ATL) and Denver (DEN), where bloated rolls of flyers with Delta or United status get discounts on CLEAR Plus or have top-dollar Amex travel cards in their wallet that cover the cost of enrollment altogether. Worse yet, CLEAR members have been increasingly subjected to random ID checks over the last year or so.
With Real ID now in effect (sort of), those random ID checks could lead to even bigger delays for travelers that aren't carrying a compliant ID.
Read more: What Went Wrong with CLEAR (& When Will It Get Better)?
Bottom Line
CLEAR® Plus can be worth the money for some and practically worthless for others. Either way, you'll pay more for it starting July 1.
For the third time in three years, prices for an annual CLEAR® Plus membership are increasing to $209 a year while increasing the cost of adding friends and family to your plan for the second time in less than a year. Even loyal Delta and United flyers' discounts won't go as far.
If there's one silver lining, travelers getting CLEAR® Plus for free with cards like *amex platinum* can continue to do so, as the annual credits on those cards have increased to cover the higher cost.
