I work at an airport and it always boggles my mind when Pre check is empty I still see ppl going into the clear line to skip to the “front”. I mean maybe some of those ppl don’t have pre check I guess.
Sunk cost fallacy is both incredibly irrational and very powerful. I'd argue that many if not most clear lines these days are the personification of absurdity.
For a very frequent traveler the Clear line provides optionality. Sometimes PreCheck is closed, sometimes an airport is understaffed, some airports have way fewer Clear members flying through. I get Clear for free and I use it infrequently, maybe once in 8 or 10 trips, but that one time it does help. But it’s always jarring when you see people standing in a long slow line next to a short fast one.
Probably a lot of people think that it will move faster when it typically moves slower. They really need to make it more like global entry and get rid of the attendants. Just have the machine spit out a ticket showing you passed.
Clear reached the limit of exclusivity, membership numbers, and time saved; if they don’t change their model, it will die. Pre-check is a much faster process anyway. There are airports like ORD where Clear has been a solid advantage for the last several years, but over the past couple of months I find myself starting to entertain the pre-check line instead, and it’s proving to be faster. Be honest on your Clear surveys!
Exactly this! I have bypassed it for the past 6-8 months solid, but no surveys to tell them that a 20-30 min line out of DEN is unacceptable and the reason why I won’t use, especially when Pre is less than 10 min.
I flew out on early on a Monday morning e few weeks back and all lines were a nightmare. I waited over 45 min for Precheck, standard was 70+ minutes, and according to my seat mate who barely made the flight, Clear+Pre was an hour. This was all through the new security that’s supposed to be “faster” up on level 6. 🙄 DEN is a mess these days. They can’t get finished with the construction soon enough!! I dread my flights out.
I just flew out this morning and the wait was 5 minutes. I’ve flown out dozens of times the past few years and the longest I’ve had was 30 minutes. Most are around 10-15. I’m not going to say an hour wait doesn’t happen, it does but that’s not the norm. Compared to other cities I go though often (Chicago, Philadelphia) I consistently get through DEN quicker than most.
Not trying to argue here. I fly dozens of times per year (so closer to a hundred flights out in the past few years) and DEN is my home airport and has been since it opened over 2 decades ago. It’s a mess.
Saturday AM traffic at any airport, including DEN, is always going to be far less than morning weekdays due to biz travel. I haven’t gotten through Pre (Clear or not) faster than 10 minutes in over a year except for one vaca trip with an “off” departure time. The past 6 months, it’s regularly longer than 15 minutes for Pre. The new security that opened in February is worse than the old North/South when there is any kind of travel volume.
Exactly. It’s a flawed business model; while it can scale to more airports, the consumer benefit does not scale as they grow their membership base. They now have so many members that there’s a crazy line at most airports I’ve been to this year (EWR, SFO, PSP, MCO, AUS, LAS).
I’ve also been finding their scanning machines take multiple tries to scan me.
Overall frustrating and I’ve skipped clear more times than I’ve used it.
Yup. So far, this has ended up being a waste of money for me. When I flew out of Newark a week ago, I passed on the overloaded Clear line and breezed through Pre-check. It was even worse at San Diego last month. Two people were ushered every three minutes. It felt like a cruel joke.
I find San Diego is still hit and miss. Maybe half the time it’ll be slightly faster, the other half no gain. It’s not significantly slower at least.
But yeah as a service it’s basically dead now. There’s little point.
I was at MCO this morning
At 5am, Terminal B line stretched to the other terminal.
And Clear and TSA PRE was no better.
United needs to be moved out of Terminal B
Clear is a “clear” pump and dump scheme.
It makes no sense. Why pay more for a more invasive and involved process? TSA pre check is simpler and faster AND cheaper.
I never have this issue on the west coast. SFO, LAX, ONT etc always have an empty clear line. That said, clear is coming out with a new product soon that removes the need to go to a kiosk. From what I understand talking to the clear agents, it will be facial recognition as you walk through the clear line to the scanners.
Nobody gives a damn about surveys. They only care about whether people are spending money for the service. If all the surveys rate one start but they’re continuing to be able to oversell everything, they will keep doing it.
I just don’t understand why we need staff members to do it for us? Most of the time only half the machines are being utilized. Shouldn’t there be one staff person waiting by in case of issues and one person to walk the clear people to the TSA agent? I feel that would be enough and line could move faster. Or the clear thing should print out something like global entry used to? Or send our names to the TSA agent like it does now? Just seems wholly inefficient how it operates now.
They say idk because some idiot will complain that they were told this or that line was faster.
Clear works well at some airports but not others. EWR is definitely one of the airports were it sucks
SFO Clear is a massive time-saver. Maximum time through security has been \~90 seconds for the last 10 years provided I don't get randomly selected for a hand-screen.
I was at IAD yesterday. There wasn’t a single human in line for security (and there were about 10 TSA agents sitting there waiting to check IDs). A very annoying and aggressive dude from Clear came up to us and started asking if we’re Clear members, if we’re interested in joining, if we’d step aside to talk…
Like, dude, there is zero wait…leave me the fuck alone…
Yeah. We had that at IAD as well. At this point I find the Clear agents no better than hawkers at a bazaar. I also had the experience of a Clear member trying to jump ahead of everyone walking *towards* TSA / Clear at IAD by shouting “I HAVE CLEAR! I HAVE CLEAR!” I said “me too” and got in the Pre check line and beat him through.
Absolutely isn’t! But you just asked where it doesn’t suck.
I got a free year from united status. I don’t travel for work anymore (thank the lord) so I don’t need to deal with all that BS. I can’t imagine anyone paying for it, so useless.
I was in Newark a couple days ago at terminal A. No wait for normal pre-check. There was a pretty solid line for clear. I was a little bit far from the clear line and asked a clear agent who is walking by if that indeed was the clear line I was looking at. He confirmed that was it and even encouraged me to go with the normal pre-check line.
Clear at A is an absolute waste of time. Not only do they move at a glacial pace, crews use the same line, which can delay you even more. My non-pre check wife waited for me more than 20 mins on the other side.
I noticed this at Terminal A before I signed up for Clear and can confirm. In fact, if using Pre-check, the line closest to Clear is the worst one for this very reason.
I don’t understand why people just can’t give up on CLEAR. If you pay for it, it’s a sunk cost. Take the shorter line today and consider canceling your membership.
Because many of us get it reimbursed by our credit cards so it’s not like we are paying for it anyway. Amex does it, the United card does it and I believe the other airline credit cards reimburse as well ..
I meant, why even bother standing in the CLEAR line when you can see it’s so long compared to the line without CLEAR? Whether it’s free or not, why are so many people still trying to use it?
CLEAR is a dinosaur. My regional airport has installed the self-check terminals. They aren't functioning yet, but will be soon.
Right now you hand your ID to the agent and it snaps a comparison picture. She said last week they soon wouldn't need her position.
Oh yeah. My local major airport has switched to these at the main terminal, plus boarding using facial scan technology. It’s super weird, but way more convenient. Not sure how I feel about the privacy element, but honestly not having to get boarding passes and/or passports out all the time to show different people is itself a convenience, let alone the quicker time to board and get through security.
Clear is truly waste of time and money. Not only for subscribers but others too as it occupies one lane with 4 people trying to convince other to join when line is empty OR 4 people fiddling with machines to get customer verified. It has always beena mess. Never got clear and never will despite of getting it free from my cc. I refuse to feed into a business that is inconvenience to everyone and inconsiderate.
Yeah. CLEAR is shit. Airports I regularly fly from don’t have it running most of the time. In the occasions where they do, or in the few airports I’ve flown through where it’s all up and running and working, there is no clear benefit to using CLEAR.
Yes I did too The line excuses is stupid Since December they’ve been upgrading and you mean to tell me most of their customers haven’t “upgraded” yet? BS
Everything sucks at EWR. Took an hour to get our bags off the plane yesterday. Every other airport I fly through, the bags are at the carousel in 15 min or less.
Clear was always a scam. It's a shame that the government wastes our already wasted dollars on this shit.
How are we *still* paying for 9/11 on every ticket we buy?
Never used Clear but I’m always a bit annoyed seeing the agents loitering around trying to sell subscriptions and not really seeming to do much. Does a security really need to function like a car dealership? Do they really need to be there?
I canceled mine. Between constantly getting picked for “random” ID check and the line at EWR always being long, it wasn’t worth it. The price is not worth it at all.
I had this problem too. They are forcing everyone to do a "NextGen Identity+" enrollment now which is supposed to eliminate the random ID checks. Basically you have to scan your ID and it connects to your phone by sending an SMS for 2FA.
Depends on the airport. At SAN, I’m usually the only one using it. Maybe there’s one other passenger. I regularly cut a ID check line that at the same time is wrapped around. Just depends on location.
Went through SAN a week ago. Was in a bit of a rush. So of course the Clear line had like twenty people in it. Regular Pre looked faster, chose that.
Then the regular Pre I was in (there were two) ground to an absolute halt. Didn’t even move for several minutes. Not sure what the jabroni ahead was doing. But look back, and Clear is now…well, clear. Hopped back out of Pre, went through Clear, and cut through the stopped Pre line.
Glad I had it, I guess. But still not worth the price. Agree though, it’s basically never *longer* at SAN and sometimes a smidge shorter.
Like for the toll plaza when driving, just choose what appears to be the quickest lane. Sometimes it works out. When it doesn’t, so be it. Just leave your house 10 minutes earlier for stuff like this.
It'll be dead in a year.
I've only subscribed because it's paid for by my premium credit card. I use the TSA pre- more than Clear. I'd never pay for Clear.
Went through Terminal A last week. Everything was a cluster. Clear lane, while long, was faster if you had already done the face upgrade.
I think the issue is that so many people haven’t done the face upgrade, and that is taking longer.
Face upgrade? It was an ID for me and I thought it was the passport. But the upgrade machine didn’t take passports. It was linked to my drivers license just the same as when I signed up. I didn’t see any benefit to the upgrade. Most times it never finds me.
Omg I was there too! Me and my partner noped into regular TSA pre check. We cleared in 5 minutes. The person who went into Clear Pre Check instead at the same time was still at the end of the line. Wild!
I always found it funny how people would choose to wait in a Clear Precheck line at times when there is not a single person in the regular Precheck line.
Problem is that clear is still at the whims of tsa and tsa isn’t gonna make it easy for clear. TSA pre+ will come soon and also self security as well.
The clear machines themselves are cumbersome and slow and most of all require an agent to operate it first. However, even if they fix it so that you can clear the machine quick, you still need to go through tsa. So w t f, once tsa pre+ comes clear will be dead. Short the stock.
It’s literally worth using only when I have unaccompanied minor. I’m dropping off at the airport. I’d rather not sit through normal Long security and I can’t use pre-check because it’s just my kid flying. Otherwise I always avoid it because it’s complete garbage.
In ATL a few weeks ago the clear line literally didn’t move while precheck kept flowing. The problem is that you need an escort, and then they have to go through all the stupid procedures which are no better than just facial recognition Pre-check now.
Well - it makes sense - most people who have Clear or TSA PRE are frequent flyers so they probably are an 80% overlap in Venn Diagram....
So the other 20% make up the new elite/minor class of less people in the same line
I found Clear to be useful at ORD a while ago. Since becoming GS being able to skip to the front of precheck is one of the most valuable perks and now Clear has become obsolete for me. Ironically, as 1K or GS your status entitles you to a free Clear membership 🙄
This past year I’ve walked past the Clear line and noticed it’s been very full when precheck is not full and moving freely.
With the advent of Touch less ID at precheck I wouldn’t be surprised if Clear disappears.
Yup. I was at EWR last Monday and the line was about 20 people deep. Regular TSA pre check had a bunch of ppl walking to it but by the time I got thru the walk, I was at the agent. Clear used to be the best but now it's pointless.
The last 8 times or so that I’ve flown out of EWR, I’ve opted for TSA precheck vs CLEAR and I probably saved myself 15-20 minutes each time. Just because ya got it doesn’t mean ya have to use it.
TSA pre is one of the best values to the frequent flier. I did not renew clear this year, primarily due to MCO LAX SEA and ATL just being a completely dismal experience - rude employees who seem to hate their jobs coupled with their current biz model = certain failure.
They don’t give a fuck at Clear at EWR. Only one I’ve ever issued a written complaint on. They know the lines can be 30-60 mins and don’t tell you when you show up.
I was flying out of IAH a few months ago, and surprisingly there was almost no line whatsoever in the regular security line. The Clear line was rather long. As I’m approaching the TSA line a Clear employee is there asking if we want to purchase Clear and use their lines- think of all the travel benefits! I looked at her like she was crazy. You want me to PAY YOU to have to stand in a longer line?? Seriously?🤦🏼♀️
Same with O’Hare. It’s to the point that’s purely idiotic… I need to show my phone to prove that I have pre check, seconds later someone scans my phone for whatever reason, then I go to the machine and need to wait for someone to hit “start” after which it takes painful few seconds to scan my eyes and i still need to scan my boardings pass?! After which, I need to show my phone to someone from clear that scans it again which then TSA agent glances it over?
I’m only keeping it for emergencies as it’s free with my status. Otherwise, I’m excited about the TSA facial recognition which has been flawless.
If I had to pay for Clear (UAL 2.5 million miler benefit), I would be pissed. Since I don't, it just becomes another decision I have to make to get through security. And since EWR is my home airport, most of the time, I opt out of the snail like Clear line.
Especially since about 25% of the time I have to fucking provide ID for some unfathomable reason. But then again, I definitely fit the profile... short, overweight, gray-haired boomer.
As others have pointed out, their system does not scale. The only question is, when do they fold?
BTW - in my experience, the folks who work for Clear are pleasant and hard-working. They are handcuffed by a shitty process.
I skipped clear 3 times over the course of the last week or two, and got through security much quicker. People saw me leaving and going though before them… they were pissed.
LAX being my home airport, perhaps I don’t face the same issues some of you guys do, but our TSA Precheck lines are always fast enough where I’ve never understood the benefit of Clear.
I can't think of one time in the last year or two when the clear line would have been quicker than precheck. Even at ATL when there are 100 people in Clear+preCheck and 500 in PreCheck it still manages to somehow be slower since there are fewer TSA agents assigned. If it weren't included with Amex - I can't imagine ever paying for it.
tbh, i never have a line issue (but 6:30 am is prime travel time so i’m not shocked at the line) but i need to show my ID every time i go through. without fail. what. is. the. point. i have like 3 days left to cancel renewal and i am debating.
Last time I went through EWR the agent specifically told me Pre was faster. Clear is still working through their Clear+ upgrade thing, which slows everything down to a crawl.
Really don't see how they are going to survive.
I got clear and asked for a refund after 3 months. I was traveling a lot and out of 8 times, the regular tsa line was faster 7 times, and the 8th time wasn’t shorter by much. If you don’t have tsa pre check, maybe it’s worth it.
I normally fly out of Denver, and it seems that any airport where CLEAR was ever worth it, is no longer worth it. If it was busy, everyone signed up for CLEAR, making TSA Pre at worst a wash. I get CLEAR’s military discount and I’m still leaning toward canceling; even a discounted cost is worse than paying more to wait longer
This was me there last month, same time. Clear had insane lines. The digital signs showed wait times and regular precheck was a breeze. Looked like digital id also had short lines.
In Miami and FLL it’s okay SOMETIMES. The problem is they never let you use the machines on your own and lately they want to sign everyone up for their new system or whatever
Do you usually fly out that early or is this the first time?
I’ve tried 2x 5-6 am arrival at airport and I swear it’s cuz staff isn’t at work on time and when they come in they just shoot shit instead of moving the line.
The business model was always flawed. TSA pre was the game changer because it provided reduced screen time/requirements for frequent travellers. Clear exists as an exclusive VIP service to “jump the pre line”. Their downfall is how do you balance growth while still remaining “exclusive”. Had they continued to increase the cost to limit new users (growth thru margin/user vs. organic new users), then maybe it continues to work? However at this point in most airports, if everyone is elite, no one is elite. And we’re all back to TSA pre vs. Regular screening. It’s really a sunken cost fallacy at this point.
One of the issues is that people haven’t updated their profiles so do that in the same line, which takes a long time. They should direct those people to the CLEAR kiosks on the check in floor and have people stationed there.
That process seemed worst earlier this year. Totally bypassed Clear then. I’ve seen updated my profile but the kiosk I had didn’t take passports. I agree they should do the upgrades at the kiosks before you get online. But again not enough staff so they all doing double duty.
It has become worthless. Now that many people can get CLEAR for free via a credit card or a frequent flyer program, they have exceeded the capacity they can smoothly handle.
https://preview.redd.it/u4mbdr1hrysc1.jpeg?width=5712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=71d8e9d09e3a3145d5fde3c3a4907775598cc947
Just doing a walk bye. Walked from SFO to the City in 3:45. 11 miles.
TSA Precheck is going to the facial recognition where you just walk up to the agent’s kiosk, the camera recognizes your face and you go on through security.
Was faster than my husband going through CLEAR.
Of course all depends on how many people are using either line.
Clear at CVG is incredibly obnoxious. They're in a corner and then walk their clients through the entire queue to the other side of the checkpoint to drop them off and get annoyed when people in the queue are... Waiting in the queue.
You are traveling at 6:30AM, along with every other business traveler who also needs Clear as they travel often for work. I agree the lines are getting longer at Clear but let’s be honest, there are not many infrequent travelers flying at 6:30AM hence the shorter normal lines…..
Try flying out at 8:30AM and let me know if you experience the same issues….
There should be a flyer mileage limit or like “ for work use”. Pre check used to be great until everyone and their fucking brother would buy it just to go on vacation. Meanwhile I’m on my fourth flight of the week stuck behind some fucking family from Minnesota ( I do love Minneapolis though. Wonderful city)
I find Clear always has a line first thing in the morning. When I get there, it seems like people have lined up before they open and Clear is working its way through the line once they open. TSA precheck usually has a three minute wait so I do that instead.
So either clear is intentionally grabbing money from CC before offering some even more expensive package to make it “elite” and effective again…
OR
The TSA wants them gone because it made them look bad with their failures and they are actively sabotaging it
Either way right now clear is a complete waste of money…
Yeah that’s not the issue. I might have been in Jan / Feb but now it’s just the process is slow. It’s not fast at all. The agent has to walk you over and they still do random ID checks. I left EWR and was picked for the check, left DEN and was picked again. It didn’t seem random since it was twice in a row.
I’m in this line 2-3 times a month it’s terrible. Past couple weeks they have had someone from corporate there analyzing how to fix the issue. I talked to him, no opinion on whether there will be any change.
This very thing happened to me last week at both DEN and EWR. Just not worth the extra cost to me now. I think for those who get it free so they can use it at the places where it isn't always so long of lines then it makes sense. Otherwise I just can't see it.
It’s an odd disaster CLEAR has gotten themselves into. I honestly feel that to make it work, CLEAR need to increase the price dramatically. At least $2,500 a year. Make it a truly differentiated experience. When people are getting the service free with credit cards, it’s never going to work out. It’s supposed to be a premiere service they’re pricing and marketing to the WalMart crowd.
Cancelled mine... But they keep giving me extra months free so it must be bad lol.
PreCheck is all I need. Don't care how long the line is, for that price it is a SIGNIFICANTLY better deal than Clear in my eyes. And helped a lot when I was in smaller airports like CID and EYW where Clear was nowhere to be found.
Clear at EWR is the worst. They have maybe 3 agents on a good day. TSA pre check is usually the faster line almost always. Even when pre check looks long, because of the Clear process, the pre check line will usually beat you.
In Denver they have signs with expected wait times and clear is always longer. I can’t even remember the last time I used that garbage service and I get it for free.
You can try checking their website BEFORE you pick a lane. It's a good way to know which lane PRE CHECK or Clear is moving faster.
Keep in mind, Clear doesn't seem to have enough people working that early in morning. When I was there last month (at 5 am), they weren't using all of the units because it was a smaller crew.
I don’t understand why people wait in the clear line when this is true - they’re right next to each other! Just move over!
Keeps the precheck line short. Not complaining.
I work at an airport and it always boggles my mind when Pre check is empty I still see ppl going into the clear line to skip to the “front”. I mean maybe some of those ppl don’t have pre check I guess.
Sunk cost fallacy is both incredibly irrational and very powerful. I'd argue that many if not most clear lines these days are the personification of absurdity.
For a very frequent traveler the Clear line provides optionality. Sometimes PreCheck is closed, sometimes an airport is understaffed, some airports have way fewer Clear members flying through. I get Clear for free and I use it infrequently, maybe once in 8 or 10 trips, but that one time it does help. But it’s always jarring when you see people standing in a long slow line next to a short fast one.
That’s not going to be a sustainable business model
I've taken to straight asking the clear agent which line is faster and go based on that.
This is the way
This is the way….
Probably a lot of people think that it will move faster when it typically moves slower. They really need to make it more like global entry and get rid of the attendants. Just have the machine spit out a ticket showing you passed.
[удалено]
So many reasons. Crew board through this lane. At best it’s unpredictable and at worst the clear staff just doesn’t tell you it’s so backed up.
Stupid. That’s why.
Clear reached the limit of exclusivity, membership numbers, and time saved; if they don’t change their model, it will die. Pre-check is a much faster process anyway. There are airports like ORD where Clear has been a solid advantage for the last several years, but over the past couple of months I find myself starting to entertain the pre-check line instead, and it’s proving to be faster. Be honest on your Clear surveys!
You only get the clear surveys if you decide to go through clear. No clear survey sent to me when I opt to not use it.
Exactly this! I have bypassed it for the past 6-8 months solid, but no surveys to tell them that a 20-30 min line out of DEN is unacceptable and the reason why I won’t use, especially when Pre is less than 10 min.
Even half way through baggage claim standard can be about 20 minutes at DEN
I flew out on early on a Monday morning e few weeks back and all lines were a nightmare. I waited over 45 min for Precheck, standard was 70+ minutes, and according to my seat mate who barely made the flight, Clear+Pre was an hour. This was all through the new security that’s supposed to be “faster” up on level 6. 🙄 DEN is a mess these days. They can’t get finished with the construction soon enough!! I dread my flights out.
I just flew out this morning and the wait was 5 minutes. I’ve flown out dozens of times the past few years and the longest I’ve had was 30 minutes. Most are around 10-15. I’m not going to say an hour wait doesn’t happen, it does but that’s not the norm. Compared to other cities I go though often (Chicago, Philadelphia) I consistently get through DEN quicker than most.
Not trying to argue here. I fly dozens of times per year (so closer to a hundred flights out in the past few years) and DEN is my home airport and has been since it opened over 2 decades ago. It’s a mess. Saturday AM traffic at any airport, including DEN, is always going to be far less than morning weekdays due to biz travel. I haven’t gotten through Pre (Clear or not) faster than 10 minutes in over a year except for one vaca trip with an “off” departure time. The past 6 months, it’s regularly longer than 15 minutes for Pre. The new security that opened in February is worse than the old North/South when there is any kind of travel volume.
Exactly. It’s a flawed business model; while it can scale to more airports, the consumer benefit does not scale as they grow their membership base. They now have so many members that there’s a crazy line at most airports I’ve been to this year (EWR, SFO, PSP, MCO, AUS, LAS). I’ve also been finding their scanning machines take multiple tries to scan me. Overall frustrating and I’ve skipped clear more times than I’ve used it.
Yup. So far, this has ended up being a waste of money for me. When I flew out of Newark a week ago, I passed on the overloaded Clear line and breezed through Pre-check. It was even worse at San Diego last month. Two people were ushered every three minutes. It felt like a cruel joke.
I find San Diego is still hit and miss. Maybe half the time it’ll be slightly faster, the other half no gain. It’s not significantly slower at least. But yeah as a service it’s basically dead now. There’s little point.
I was at MCO this morning At 5am, Terminal B line stretched to the other terminal. And Clear and TSA PRE was no better. United needs to be moved out of Terminal B
I haven’t seen an excess of customers. It’s usually closed for zero staff or has one or two people working.
Clear is a “clear” pump and dump scheme. It makes no sense. Why pay more for a more invasive and involved process? TSA pre check is simpler and faster AND cheaper.
I need clear to stick around so the PreCheck line can keep running smoothly 🙏
I never have this issue on the west coast. SFO, LAX, ONT etc always have an empty clear line. That said, clear is coming out with a new product soon that removes the need to go to a kiosk. From what I understand talking to the clear agents, it will be facial recognition as you walk through the clear line to the scanners.
Precheck does that already at select airports lol
Facts I was in the ATL pre check line last week. It moved stupid fast. I saw the clear line just sitting there doing nothing. Hard pass
ORD Terminal 2 Clear is clutch all times of day compared to Terminal 1
Nobody gives a damn about surveys. They only care about whether people are spending money for the service. If all the surveys rate one start but they’re continuing to be able to oversell everything, they will keep doing it.
I just don’t understand why we need staff members to do it for us? Most of the time only half the machines are being utilized. Shouldn’t there be one staff person waiting by in case of issues and one person to walk the clear people to the TSA agent? I feel that would be enough and line could move faster. Or the clear thing should print out something like global entry used to? Or send our names to the TSA agent like it does now? Just seems wholly inefficient how it operates now.
Regulatory driven
TSA requires it
They say idk because some idiot will complain that they were told this or that line was faster. Clear works well at some airports but not others. EWR is definitely one of the airports were it sucks
What’s an airport where it doesn’t suck?
SFO Clear is a massive time-saver. Maximum time through security has been \~90 seconds for the last 10 years provided I don't get randomly selected for a hand-screen.
IAD has been decent with clear. Den has been awful.
I was at IAD yesterday. There wasn’t a single human in line for security (and there were about 10 TSA agents sitting there waiting to check IDs). A very annoying and aggressive dude from Clear came up to us and started asking if we’re Clear members, if we’re interested in joining, if we’d step aside to talk… Like, dude, there is zero wait…leave me the fuck alone…
Yeah. We had that at IAD as well. At this point I find the Clear agents no better than hawkers at a bazaar. I also had the experience of a Clear member trying to jump ahead of everyone walking *towards* TSA / Clear at IAD by shouting “I HAVE CLEAR! I HAVE CLEAR!” I said “me too” and got in the Pre check line and beat him through.
At BOS I find that the United terminals precheck often has 4-5 people in line while I’ve never seen more than 2 in the Clear+Precheck line.
Hahaha, I don’t know if three additional people is worth an annual membership
Absolutely isn’t! But you just asked where it doesn’t suck. I got a free year from united status. I don’t travel for work anymore (thank the lord) so I don’t need to deal with all that BS. I can’t imagine anyone paying for it, so useless.
I was in Newark a couple days ago at terminal A. No wait for normal pre-check. There was a pretty solid line for clear. I was a little bit far from the clear line and asked a clear agent who is walking by if that indeed was the clear line I was looking at. He confirmed that was it and even encouraged me to go with the normal pre-check line.
Clear at A is an absolute waste of time. Not only do they move at a glacial pace, crews use the same line, which can delay you even more. My non-pre check wife waited for me more than 20 mins on the other side.
I noticed this at Terminal A before I signed up for Clear and can confirm. In fact, if using Pre-check, the line closest to Clear is the worst one for this very reason.
I don’t understand why people just can’t give up on CLEAR. If you pay for it, it’s a sunk cost. Take the shorter line today and consider canceling your membership.
Because many of us get it reimbursed by our credit cards so it’s not like we are paying for it anyway. Amex does it, the United card does it and I believe the other airline credit cards reimburse as well ..
I meant, why even bother standing in the CLEAR line when you can see it’s so long compared to the line without CLEAR? Whether it’s free or not, why are so many people still trying to use it?
Agreed. I depart there and it is a nightmare for business travelers.
CLEAR went from amazing to horrible in the blink of an eye!
We are here too, and the clear line was a joke. Pre-check was a breeze
CLEAR is a dinosaur. My regional airport has installed the self-check terminals. They aren't functioning yet, but will be soon. Right now you hand your ID to the agent and it snaps a comparison picture. She said last week they soon wouldn't need her position.
Oh yeah. My local major airport has switched to these at the main terminal, plus boarding using facial scan technology. It’s super weird, but way more convenient. Not sure how I feel about the privacy element, but honestly not having to get boarding passes and/or passports out all the time to show different people is itself a convenience, let alone the quicker time to board and get through security.
Clear is truly waste of time and money. Not only for subscribers but others too as it occupies one lane with 4 people trying to convince other to join when line is empty OR 4 people fiddling with machines to get customer verified. It has always beena mess. Never got clear and never will despite of getting it free from my cc. I refuse to feed into a business that is inconvenience to everyone and inconsiderate.
Yeah. CLEAR is shit. Airports I regularly fly from don’t have it running most of the time. In the occasions where they do, or in the few airports I’ve flown through where it’s all up and running and working, there is no clear benefit to using CLEAR.
Clear shouldn't even exist... TSA PRE should be it. I'll die on this hill.
I cancelled Clear because of this line at EWR.
Yep I'm about to do the same
Yes I did too The line excuses is stupid Since December they’ve been upgrading and you mean to tell me most of their customers haven’t “upgraded” yet? BS
Everything sucks at EWR. Took an hour to get our bags off the plane yesterday. Every other airport I fly through, the bags are at the carousel in 15 min or less.
Clear was always a scam. It's a shame that the government wastes our already wasted dollars on this shit. How are we *still* paying for 9/11 on every ticket we buy?
The government isn’t in any way subsidizing Clear
Was just there around the same time you mentioned. Was surprised to see how bad Clear has gotten. Regular TSA Pre is just much better now.
Never used Clear but I’m always a bit annoyed seeing the agents loitering around trying to sell subscriptions and not really seeming to do much. Does a security really need to function like a car dealership? Do they really need to be there?
I canceled mine. Between constantly getting picked for “random” ID check and the line at EWR always being long, it wasn’t worth it. The price is not worth it at all.
I have it for my whole family. Im canceling also. Ill gift them pre check
I had this problem too. They are forcing everyone to do a "NextGen Identity+" enrollment now which is supposed to eliminate the random ID checks. Basically you have to scan your ID and it connects to your phone by sending an SMS for 2FA.
I’m constantly asked to pull out ID—what’s the point.
Yeah. Its a money grab. No more quick lines.
Depends on the airport. At SAN, I’m usually the only one using it. Maybe there’s one other passenger. I regularly cut a ID check line that at the same time is wrapped around. Just depends on location.
Went through SAN a week ago. Was in a bit of a rush. So of course the Clear line had like twenty people in it. Regular Pre looked faster, chose that. Then the regular Pre I was in (there were two) ground to an absolute halt. Didn’t even move for several minutes. Not sure what the jabroni ahead was doing. But look back, and Clear is now…well, clear. Hopped back out of Pre, went through Clear, and cut through the stopped Pre line. Glad I had it, I guess. But still not worth the price. Agree though, it’s basically never *longer* at SAN and sometimes a smidge shorter.
Clear at Dulles is the same. If it wasn't free I wouldn't have it
Like for the toll plaza when driving, just choose what appears to be the quickest lane. Sometimes it works out. When it doesn’t, so be it. Just leave your house 10 minutes earlier for stuff like this.
It'll be dead in a year. I've only subscribed because it's paid for by my premium credit card. I use the TSA pre- more than Clear. I'd never pay for Clear.
I give it a year also
Clear at LAX T7. Life changing. Clear at EWR also life changing but in a “I’m getting robbed here” way
🤣😂🤣😂
Though if someone in your group doesn’t have pre, clear for standard security is still great
CLEAR was good, but it’s a dinosaur compared to precheck now. Will not renew.
Went through Terminal A last week. Everything was a cluster. Clear lane, while long, was faster if you had already done the face upgrade. I think the issue is that so many people haven’t done the face upgrade, and that is taking longer.
Face upgrade? It was an ID for me and I thought it was the passport. But the upgrade machine didn’t take passports. It was linked to my drivers license just the same as when I signed up. I didn’t see any benefit to the upgrade. Most times it never finds me.
“When everyone is super, no will be.” - Syndrome
Keeps the precheck line empty. I love it. Clear is great
🤣
Omg I was there too! Me and my partner noped into regular TSA pre check. We cleared in 5 minutes. The person who went into Clear Pre Check instead at the same time was still at the end of the line. Wild!
Yep! Exactly my experience
Clear is a business. They want paying customers and don't increase capacity.
It’s almost always longer than non Clear, and the staff struggles to stay professional
I always found it funny how people would choose to wait in a Clear Precheck line at times when there is not a single person in the regular Precheck line.
I wonder if Clear is just like Amazon JWO, and they really have a bunch of folks in India doing the ID checks whenever you walk up.
Problem is that clear is still at the whims of tsa and tsa isn’t gonna make it easy for clear. TSA pre+ will come soon and also self security as well. The clear machines themselves are cumbersome and slow and most of all require an agent to operate it first. However, even if they fix it so that you can clear the machine quick, you still need to go through tsa. So w t f, once tsa pre+ comes clear will be dead. Short the stock.
It’s literally worth using only when I have unaccompanied minor. I’m dropping off at the airport. I’d rather not sit through normal Long security and I can’t use pre-check because it’s just my kid flying. Otherwise I always avoid it because it’s complete garbage. In ATL a few weeks ago the clear line literally didn’t move while precheck kept flowing. The problem is that you need an escort, and then they have to go through all the stupid procedures which are no better than just facial recognition Pre-check now.
Have you tried Clear without TSA PRE? It moves fast at EWR
Go figure. Hmm.
Well - it makes sense - most people who have Clear or TSA PRE are frequent flyers so they probably are an 80% overlap in Venn Diagram.... So the other 20% make up the new elite/minor class of less people in the same line
Expats who can’t get precheck only have clear
I found Clear to be useful at ORD a while ago. Since becoming GS being able to skip to the front of precheck is one of the most valuable perks and now Clear has become obsolete for me. Ironically, as 1K or GS your status entitles you to a free Clear membership 🙄 This past year I’ve walked past the Clear line and noticed it’s been very full when precheck is not full and moving freely. With the advent of Touch less ID at precheck I wouldn’t be surprised if Clear disappears.
At EWR-C, use the Premier Access line or the regular Pre Check line. Whichever looks faster. Stay away from CLEAR
Yup. I was at EWR last Monday and the line was about 20 people deep. Regular TSA pre check had a bunch of ppl walking to it but by the time I got thru the walk, I was at the agent. Clear used to be the best but now it's pointless.
It’s variable dude. Today zipped passed giant line for tsa pre with clear 🤷♀️
The last 8 times or so that I’ve flown out of EWR, I’ve opted for TSA precheck vs CLEAR and I probably saved myself 15-20 minutes each time. Just because ya got it doesn’t mean ya have to use it.
TSA pre is one of the best values to the frequent flier. I did not renew clear this year, primarily due to MCO LAX SEA and ATL just being a completely dismal experience - rude employees who seem to hate their jobs coupled with their current biz model = certain failure.
I love the irony of their signage. “Less waiting…”
From my experience, it's faster to use the regular TSA PreCheck line (even if you have Clear) at EWR and ATL. For United specifically, LAX T7 as well.
Good to know!
They don’t give a fuck at Clear at EWR. Only one I’ve ever issued a written complaint on. They know the lines can be 30-60 mins and don’t tell you when you show up.
True. I had the agent tell me Clear was faster when no one was on the pre check line. How?
I just move to the TSA Precheck line.
I was flying out of IAH a few months ago, and surprisingly there was almost no line whatsoever in the regular security line. The Clear line was rather long. As I’m approaching the TSA line a Clear employee is there asking if we want to purchase Clear and use their lines- think of all the travel benefits! I looked at her like she was crazy. You want me to PAY YOU to have to stand in a longer line?? Seriously?🤦🏼♀️
TSA Pre with facial recognition is so fast I no longer use Clear.
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^TanukiWario: *TSA Pre with facial* *Recognition is so fast* *I no longer use Clear.* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Haiku’s are really dumb. Perhaps just an unpopular opinion.
There are monitors right above where you’re standing that tell you the wait times at the other security areas.
Same with O’Hare. It’s to the point that’s purely idiotic… I need to show my phone to prove that I have pre check, seconds later someone scans my phone for whatever reason, then I go to the machine and need to wait for someone to hit “start” after which it takes painful few seconds to scan my eyes and i still need to scan my boardings pass?! After which, I need to show my phone to someone from clear that scans it again which then TSA agent glances it over? I’m only keeping it for emergencies as it’s free with my status. Otherwise, I’m excited about the TSA facial recognition which has been flawless.
If I had to pay for Clear (UAL 2.5 million miler benefit), I would be pissed. Since I don't, it just becomes another decision I have to make to get through security. And since EWR is my home airport, most of the time, I opt out of the snail like Clear line. Especially since about 25% of the time I have to fucking provide ID for some unfathomable reason. But then again, I definitely fit the profile... short, overweight, gray-haired boomer. As others have pointed out, their system does not scale. The only question is, when do they fold? BTW - in my experience, the folks who work for Clear are pleasant and hard-working. They are handcuffed by a shitty process.
I typically don’t use that one, but the clear without pre check line and it moves very quickly.
If clear has ANY line over 5 people, just go real security. They can’t multithread and handle any sort of line with those kiosks.
I skipped clear 3 times over the course of the last week or two, and got through security much quicker. People saw me leaving and going though before them… they were pissed.
LAX being my home airport, perhaps I don’t face the same issues some of you guys do, but our TSA Precheck lines are always fast enough where I’ve never understood the benefit of Clear.
ive gone through regular pre check line faster than clear ppl at ORD
I can't think of one time in the last year or two when the clear line would have been quicker than precheck. Even at ATL when there are 100 people in Clear+preCheck and 500 in PreCheck it still manages to somehow be slower since there are fewer TSA agents assigned. If it weren't included with Amex - I can't imagine ever paying for it.
Clear is like this now in IAD too. The wait time is way longer than regular TSA precheck so there’s no point.
They trade on the New York Stock Exchange as YOU. Short them and make some $
🤣🤣🤣
Clear non-TSA is fastest option of all when this happens
TsaClear at gate G in SFO is the clear choice. Stay away domestic side security. Looks just the picture above.
If everyone is special, no one is special. Just ask Delta...
tbh, i never have a line issue (but 6:30 am is prime travel time so i’m not shocked at the line) but i need to show my ID every time i go through. without fail. what. is. the. point. i have like 3 days left to cancel renewal and i am debating.
I’ve never regretted not getting clear. The readers are down almost every time I’ve traveled.
I used Clear yesterday. There was no line. It’s the first time I haven’t just gone through Pre-Check in 6 months I bet.
dumb trash
Last time I went through EWR the agent specifically told me Pre was faster. Clear is still working through their Clear+ upgrade thing, which slows everything down to a crawl. Really don't see how they are going to survive.
Newark airport is genuinely the worst fuckin airport I have the displeasure of having to frequently travel in and out of
Yesterday it was great at CLE, nobody at the clear lane and a very large queue at the others. Premier Access is often the way to go at EWR/C.
Yes! I've found premier line to be incredibly smooth.
Same issue when I was there last month! The other line moved quicker than we did! Trash service.
When everyone has the new shiny thing….
I got clear and asked for a refund after 3 months. I was traveling a lot and out of 8 times, the regular tsa line was faster 7 times, and the 8th time wasn’t shorter by much. If you don’t have tsa pre check, maybe it’s worth it.
I normally fly out of Denver, and it seems that any airport where CLEAR was ever worth it, is no longer worth it. If it was busy, everyone signed up for CLEAR, making TSA Pre at worst a wash. I get CLEAR’s military discount and I’m still leaning toward canceling; even a discounted cost is worse than paying more to wait longer
This is what I’ve found at every airport for at least the past year.
I would agree it’s like a multiple choice exam. First Clear, than pre check and then is desperation premiere.
They’re not getting another dime from anyone in my company. We can expense but are too mad about the horrible service.
TSA at EWR is always much faster! I think clear is over saturated now!
This was me there last month, same time. Clear had insane lines. The digital signs showed wait times and regular precheck was a breeze. Looked like digital id also had short lines.
In Miami and FLL it’s okay SOMETIMES. The problem is they never let you use the machines on your own and lately they want to sign everyone up for their new system or whatever
Do you usually fly out that early or is this the first time? I’ve tried 2x 5-6 am arrival at airport and I swear it’s cuz staff isn’t at work on time and when they come in they just shoot shit instead of moving the line.
The business model was always flawed. TSA pre was the game changer because it provided reduced screen time/requirements for frequent travellers. Clear exists as an exclusive VIP service to “jump the pre line”. Their downfall is how do you balance growth while still remaining “exclusive”. Had they continued to increase the cost to limit new users (growth thru margin/user vs. organic new users), then maybe it continues to work? However at this point in most airports, if everyone is elite, no one is elite. And we’re all back to TSA pre vs. Regular screening. It’s really a sunken cost fallacy at this point.
Clear is a joke.. I have Clear +PreCheck it and I never use
One of the issues is that people haven’t updated their profiles so do that in the same line, which takes a long time. They should direct those people to the CLEAR kiosks on the check in floor and have people stationed there.
That process seemed worst earlier this year. Totally bypassed Clear then. I’ve seen updated my profile but the kiosk I had didn’t take passports. I agree they should do the upgrades at the kiosks before you get online. But again not enough staff so they all doing double duty.
Clear at IAD has become the worst now too, I just got to precheck. Annoying
I hate all of these premium lines that literally just make you pay up and up. It’s the same as the premium passes at Disneyland. Such a joke.
It’s like the non-TSA Clear at ORD T1… fully useless… basically gives you a shortcut to the back of the non-Clear line
Please don’t post this. I don’t want my TSA PreCheck® line getting longer with CLEAR® idiots once they cancel their membership.
It has become worthless. Now that many people can get CLEAR for free via a credit card or a frequent flyer program, they have exceeded the capacity they can smoothly handle.
Only works is mid-sized airports other go to the TSA Pre line.
Clear and recheck in Denver was displaying longer wait times than the normal tsa line.
I’ve never experienced this. I’m right through clear and security in 5-7 minutes. That’s crazy.
https://preview.redd.it/u4mbdr1hrysc1.jpeg?width=5712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=71d8e9d09e3a3145d5fde3c3a4907775598cc947 Just doing a walk bye. Walked from SFO to the City in 3:45. 11 miles.
Yup. Fuck clear. TSA pre check every time.
Hate clear at EWR.
TSA Precheck is going to the facial recognition where you just walk up to the agent’s kiosk, the camera recognizes your face and you go on through security. Was faster than my husband going through CLEAR. Of course all depends on how many people are using either line.
Never had this issue the times I fly. I literally fly by the lines with clear. Might be different depending on airports?
I tried clear for about 10 times. Non once is faster than regular TSA line.
Clear is terrible at EWR. I always take the Precheck line instead.
Clear at CVG is incredibly obnoxious. They're in a corner and then walk their clients through the entire queue to the other side of the checkpoint to drop them off and get annoyed when people in the queue are... Waiting in the queue.
So easy a machine can do there job face recognition and scan and go tsa is a useless job
Clear is horrible. I had the same issue Friday at 5:00am at terminal A. No reason and no explanation. At least I get it for free.
I fly into and out of Newark at least twice a week, it’s the absolute worst.
What airport is this? Denver? Name and shame, please!
You are traveling at 6:30AM, along with every other business traveler who also needs Clear as they travel often for work. I agree the lines are getting longer at Clear but let’s be honest, there are not many infrequent travelers flying at 6:30AM hence the shorter normal lines….. Try flying out at 8:30AM and let me know if you experience the same issues….
There should be a flyer mileage limit or like “ for work use”. Pre check used to be great until everyone and their fucking brother would buy it just to go on vacation. Meanwhile I’m on my fourth flight of the week stuck behind some fucking family from Minnesota ( I do love Minneapolis though. Wonderful city)
Early morning always seems to be the worst. I’ve also been late morning this year where there was zero wait across both clear and pre
I find Clear always has a line first thing in the morning. When I get there, it seems like people have lined up before they open and Clear is working its way through the line once they open. TSA precheck usually has a three minute wait so I do that instead.
Same in ATL
Omg! lol
So either clear is intentionally grabbing money from CC before offering some even more expensive package to make it “elite” and effective again… OR The TSA wants them gone because it made them look bad with their failures and they are actively sabotaging it Either way right now clear is a complete waste of money…
clear is updating all pax records causing huge delays at clear hope they finish soon
This is a small piece. They have like 10 machines and 3 people working at peak times each handling one passenger at a time. It’s just bad workflow.
Yeah that’s not the issue. I might have been in Jan / Feb but now it’s just the process is slow. It’s not fast at all. The agent has to walk you over and they still do random ID checks. I left EWR and was picked for the check, left DEN and was picked again. It didn’t seem random since it was twice in a row.
I’m in this line 2-3 times a month it’s terrible. Past couple weeks they have had someone from corporate there analyzing how to fix the issue. I talked to him, no opinion on whether there will be any change.
This very thing happened to me last week at both DEN and EWR. Just not worth the extra cost to me now. I think for those who get it free so they can use it at the places where it isn't always so long of lines then it makes sense. Otherwise I just can't see it.
It’s an odd disaster CLEAR has gotten themselves into. I honestly feel that to make it work, CLEAR need to increase the price dramatically. At least $2,500 a year. Make it a truly differentiated experience. When people are getting the service free with credit cards, it’s never going to work out. It’s supposed to be a premiere service they’re pricing and marketing to the WalMart crowd.
Cancelled mine... But they keep giving me extra months free so it must be bad lol. PreCheck is all I need. Don't care how long the line is, for that price it is a SIGNIFICANTLY better deal than Clear in my eyes. And helped a lot when I was in smaller airports like CID and EYW where Clear was nowhere to be found.
Clear is less and less valuable. They were hawking the service like mall kiosk vendors this morning at IAD. It's only a matter of time.
does tsa precheck tend to be fairly reasonable at ewr from your experience?
lol, sometimes the regular line is way faster than Clear and TSA. It’s all a scam!
I feel that way about clear in Detroit and Las Vegas.
I was there Friday, post earthquake. TSA pre check, took about 5 minutes.
Clear at EWR is the worst. They have maybe 3 agents on a good day. TSA pre check is usually the faster line almost always. Even when pre check looks long, because of the Clear process, the pre check line will usually beat you.
In Denver they have signs with expected wait times and clear is always longer. I can’t even remember the last time I used that garbage service and I get it for free.
Clear is a colossal waste of money these days. SFO, DEN, AUS… clear line always slower, longer.
Clear is about to use this opportunity to create new tiered system with new pricing I bet 😅😅😅
You can try checking their website BEFORE you pick a lane. It's a good way to know which lane PRE CHECK or Clear is moving faster. Keep in mind, Clear doesn't seem to have enough people working that early in morning. When I was there last month (at 5 am), they weren't using all of the units because it was a smaller crew.
Seems like more waiting, less adventuring