CLEAR announces new airport fast lanes at DCA and IAD (Image: CLEAR)
Today I received my annual renewal notice from CLEAR, and once again the decision wheel began to roll in my head. Should I? Or shouldn’t I? $179 is a lot, but think about the few times when CLEAR has come to the rescue when an unexpected line popped up at airport security. I’ve had good success with PreCheck this year, so is it worth it?
When I wrote about this in 2014, asking readers if I should renew, the answer in blog comments was a pretty emphatic YES. At the time, CLEAR seemed seems stagnant, and not in a lot of airports.
But now CLEAR is now in 12 airports, and just today, it announced that it will soon be in both Washington, DC airports, National and Dulles. Plus last week it said it was moving into Seattle-Tacoma. (We’re still waiting to hear how Delta will deploy CLEAR at its hubs)
Renewal email from CLEAR- but wait, do I really have to pay $179?
And then I remembered that Delta now offers membership discounts to its SkyMiles members: Delta Diamond Medallion members get complimentary CLEAR enrollment, while Platinum, Gold and Silver Medallion members it for just $79. Even general members get a nice discount: annual membership for just $99.
So I replied to CLEAR with this query: Hello: Now that Delta is offering discounts for SkyMiles members, I’d like to continue my CLEAR subscription with them at the lower annual price. How do I go about doing that?
Promptly, CLEAR member services replied with a YES! Dear Christopher, Thank you for contacting CLEAR. To add your Delta Skymiles to your CLEAR account, you will need to send us your Skymiles number. We will check the rate, then add that to your account.
Sweet! With a $100 discount, ($79/year vs $179) the decision is made and I’ll renew my CLEAR membership for another year. What about you?
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