4 ms·

The value add of Clear over precheck seems really small to me. I've never been in a precheck line for longer than 10 minutes flying out of reasonably busy airpo

by easton 3y ago

The value add of Clear over precheck seems really small to me. I've never been in a precheck line for longer than 10 minutes flying out of reasonably busy airports (DCA is my home airport, but DFW, ATL, etc are also never that slow unless something is really goofed). And if you get Clear you still have to get precheck to not have to take your belt off / laptop out.

tomrod 3y ago
Some airports (ATL) have let their precheck stack up so Clear is preferred. Anecdotal only. I fly fairly regularly.
solardev 3y ago
In some places (Seattle, Denver, a few others I've been to) the Clear line can be significantly shorter than the pre-check line, especially close to the holidays. To be clear (no pun intended), Clear lets you jump to the start of the PreCheck line too (they "stack"). This summer in Denver, for example, the pre-check line took about 30-45 minutes, wrapping around several parts of the airport. The Clear line (which I didn't have access to) jumped to the end of head of that queue, cutting off like 20-30 min. Many travel credit cards will pay for PreCheck anyway, but only a few will pay for Clear. But having both will be the fastest. Often it won't matter, but when it does, it's nice.
- shermantanktop 3y ago
  In Seattle on a busy morning, the PreCheck line snakes around, folding on itself many times, with a worker holding an “end of line” sign that could be hundreds of feet away from the security area. Clear is totally worth it. As a consequence, many people have signed up so…now Clear sometimes has a big line.
- goalonetwo 3y ago
  Every single time I flew from Denver, the Clear line was SLOWER than the pre-check. (Everytime I take the person at the end of the clear line as reference and check where he is when I'm about to get through). The TSA-pre line wraps around but goes super fast, almost walking pace. The clear line barely moves. Clear has become a gimmick that makes you believe you are going through faster because the line is shorter.
  - solardev 3y ago
    Were you looking at the Clear line for non-Precheck people, perhaps? (I can't remember if Denver had a separate line for that, but many airports do). I was in the Precheck line without Clear, and the Precheck + Clear people moved way faster to the head of the line I was in. (To be clear, there are two separate Clear lines in many airports, one for people with Precheck and one for people without it. So four lines total, normal/precheck/normal+clear/precheck+clear). ----- But regardless, sometimes one of the lines will be shorter than others. Sometimes regular is faster than Precheck too (but you'll have to take off shoes and take laptops out, etc.). Some entrances will also have shorter lines than others. But having both PreCheck + Clear means you can choose from any line you want. If the PreCheck line without Clear is faster, well then, just go in that and skip Clear this time.
    - goalonetwo 3y ago
      No, I'm specifically talking about the tsa-pre line without clear vs the tsa-pre line with clear. I know it is counter-intuitive because the clear line is so much smaller, but every single time it barely moves. Check yourself next time.
      - solardev 3y ago
        I'll pay extra attention next time!
- bombcar 3y ago
  Sounds like it's time to implement Crystal Clear™ which lets you cut to the front of the Clear line.
  - solardev 3y ago
    But not your carry-on. That has to go through the slower line unless you also pay for the Crystal Clear Plus upgrade. It comes with a 20% discount on the $8 baggage carts though, so it's a great deal!
badwolf 3y ago
My most recent travel to and from Austin, the Clear line was massively longer than just walking up to the precheck line. Flying out of Austin the Clear line was piling up through the ticket counter area. I could count the people in the Precheck line on one hand.
- solardev 3y ago
  Were you looking at the regular Clear line (for non-Precheck people), or the Clear line for PreCheck? i.e. Clear lets you jump straight to the security part. Many airports will have a dedicated Precheck+Clear lane, which would typically be faster than either Precheck or Clear on their own.
- bradknowles 3y ago
  It depends on which Clear line you go through. The Eastern side (towards gate 1) is frequently very long, for all the lines. In all the times I've been there, I've never seen it less than very busy. The middle security checkpoint (near gate 12) also has a Clear entrance, and that has always been empty every time I've been there. The Precheck line might be empty, or it might be longer than the regular line -- I've seen both types of situations, on multiple occasions. The West checkpoint (near gate 27 and above) is one I'm not as familiar with. I don't know if they have a Clear line or a Precheck line. We almost never go through there.
  - bradknowles 3y ago
    Oh, and the East checkpoint might have separate Clear-only, Precheck-only, Clear+Precheck, and regular. I'm not sure. We don't go down there much. The middle checkpoint has Clear, Precheck, and regular. There's no fourth line -- if you're in the Clear line, they just take you to the head of whichever other line you're going through.
bradknowles 3y ago
In the Austin airport, I've seen the pre-check line be longer than the regular line. Everybody is doing pre-check now. Clear lets you bypass the pre-check line and go straight to the head of the line. People will pay extra for that. And they'll gladly give up their fingerprints and retina prints. My wife certainly did, and she's a lawyer.

by easton 3y ago

tomrod 3y ago

Some airports (ATL) have let their precheck stack up so Clear is preferred. Anecdotal only. I fly fairly regularly.

solardev 3y ago

In some places (Seattle, Denver, a few others I've been to) the Clear line can be significantly shorter than the pre-check line, especially close to the holidays. To be clear (no pun intended), Clear lets you jump to the start of the PreCheck line too (they "stack"). This summer in Denver, for example, the pre-check line took about 30-45 minutes, wrapping around several parts of the airport. The Clear line (which I didn't have access to) jumped to the end of head of that queue, cutting off like 20-30 min. Many travel credit cards will pay for PreCheck anyway, but only a few will pay for Clear. But having both will be the fastest. Often it won't matter, but when it does, it's nice.

shermantanktop 3y ago
In Seattle on a busy morning, the PreCheck line snakes around, folding on itself many times, with a worker holding an “end of line” sign that could be hundreds of feet away from the security area. Clear is totally worth it. As a consequence, many people have signed up so…now Clear sometimes has a big line.
goalonetwo 3y ago
Every single time I flew from Denver, the Clear line was SLOWER than the pre-check. (Everytime I take the person at the end of the clear line as reference and check where he is when I'm about to get through). The TSA-pre line wraps around but goes super fast, almost walking pace. The clear line barely moves. Clear has become a gimmick that makes you believe you are going through faster because the line is shorter.
- solardev 3y ago
  Were you looking at the Clear line for non-Precheck people, perhaps? (I can't remember if Denver had a separate line for that, but many airports do). I was in the Precheck line without Clear, and the Precheck + Clear people moved way faster to the head of the line I was in. (To be clear, there are two separate Clear lines in many airports, one for people with Precheck and one for people without it. So four lines total, normal/precheck/normal+clear/precheck+clear). ----- But regardless, sometimes one of the lines will be shorter than others. Sometimes regular is faster than Precheck too (but you'll have to take off shoes and take laptops out, etc.). Some entrances will also have shorter lines than others. But having both PreCheck + Clear means you can choose from any line you want. If the PreCheck line without Clear is faster, well then, just go in that and skip Clear this time.
  - goalonetwo 3y ago
    No, I'm specifically talking about the tsa-pre line without clear vs the tsa-pre line with clear. I know it is counter-intuitive because the clear line is so much smaller, but every single time it barely moves. Check yourself next time.
    - solardev 3y ago
      I'll pay extra attention next time!
bombcar 3y ago
Sounds like it's time to implement Crystal Clear™ which lets you cut to the front of the Clear line.
- solardev 3y ago
  But not your carry-on. That has to go through the slower line unless you also pay for the Crystal Clear Plus upgrade. It comes with a 20% discount on the $8 baggage carts though, so it's a great deal!

badwolf 3y ago

My most recent travel to and from Austin, the Clear line was massively longer than just walking up to the precheck line. Flying out of Austin the Clear line was piling up through the ticket counter area. I could count the people in the Precheck line on one hand.

solardev 3y ago
Were you looking at the regular Clear line (for non-Precheck people), or the Clear line for PreCheck? i.e. Clear lets you jump straight to the security part. Many airports will have a dedicated Precheck+Clear lane, which would typically be faster than either Precheck or Clear on their own.
bradknowles 3y ago
It depends on which Clear line you go through. The Eastern side (towards gate 1) is frequently very long, for all the lines. In all the times I've been there, I've never seen it less than very busy. The middle security checkpoint (near gate 12) also has a Clear entrance, and that has always been empty every time I've been there. The Precheck line might be empty, or it might be longer than the regular line -- I've seen both types of situations, on multiple occasions. The West checkpoint (near gate 27 and above) is one I'm not as familiar with. I don't know if they have a Clear line or a Precheck line. We almost never go through there.
- bradknowles 3y ago
  Oh, and the East checkpoint might have separate Clear-only, Precheck-only, Clear+Precheck, and regular. I'm not sure. We don't go down there much. The middle checkpoint has Clear, Precheck, and regular. There's no fourth line -- if you're in the Clear line, they just take you to the head of whichever other line you're going through.

bradknowles 3y ago

In the Austin airport, I've seen the pre-check line be longer than the regular line. Everybody is doing pre-check now. Clear lets you bypass the pre-check line and go straight to the head of the line. People will pay extra for that. And they'll gladly give up their fingerprints and retina prints. My wife certainly did, and she's a lawyer.