For frequent travelers, the expedited screening service Clear already presents the attractive proposition of speeding up the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security line process with its dedicated member lanes. Now, the secure identity company is adding another option for members that could further reduce the TSA stress: a reservation service.
The new “Reservation Lane powered by Clear” was unveiled at Orlando International Airport this month. It allows travelers to reserve a dedicated time slot for their party to pass through security. Once they’ve reserved a slot, they will receive a QR code via email, which they will scan upon arrival at the Clear security area. There are a limited number of slots per day.
You can make the Clear reservation online or through the app, and then use the QR code upon arrival at the airport.
Courtesy of Clear
The new feature comes as travelers are returning to the skies en masse following a year when many stayed home. Since June, the number of passengers traveling through the country’s airports has been topping 2 million per day again for the first time since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
A Clear spokesperson told AFAR that following the launch of the new service in Orlando, the company “plans to bring this new travel experience to other airports in the future.”
Clear is available at 38 U.S. airports. Travelers can register for the service online or at an enrollment center. It costs $179 per year (but AFAR readers can get it for $149 per year with the promo code “AFF149”). You can also sign up for a two-month free trial with the code “2FREE”.
Once registered, members use biometrics—facial recognition and fingerprint scans—to enter security at the dedicated Clear kiosks in participating airports.
For Clear members who also have TSA PreCheck, shoes and belts can stay on and personal electronic devices can remain in their bags, but Clear members without TSA PreCheck go through the regular security protocol after bypassing the line.
Conveniently, the cost of renewing enrollment in the TSA PreCheck program recently dropped—as of October 1, the cost to renew TSA PreCheck membership online is $70, down from $85. The lower price only applies to online renewals; for those renewing in person or signing up for the expedited security screening program for the first time, PreCheck still costs $85. (The agency has reported that most people renew online anyway.)
In addition to offering security expediting services, Clear recently introduced a Health Pass feature (available for free through the Clear mobile app) with a digital vaccine card option, which makes storing and providing vaccination information much easier for travelers.
Users upload their vaccine certification information alongside a profile photo for additional verification. Travelers can do it with an existing QR code such as those given to residents of states that provide them (including New York, California, and Hawai‘i), but Clear is also synced up with numerous pharmacies and medical institutions that store patients’ COVID vaccine data electronically.
Users can also upload a scan of their paper vaccine certificate. The resulting digital vaccine card includes both a QR code as well as the vaccination details—which shots were administered and when.
>> Next: TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, and Clear: What’s the Difference?
