CLEAR

As air travel becomes increasingly common and accessible, crowds naturally grow, making security lines more insufferable than ever. It’s long been possible to purchase TSA PreCheck certification that allows members to skip the endless security line and enter a designated, smaller line with fewer screening requirements (no need to remove shoes or jewelry, take liquids or electronics of your bag or pass through a full-body scanner) when flying with member airlines, but this membership has become so common a TSA PreCheck line can still yield a 15–20-minute line at peak times, and it’s not always open. CLEAR, though actually a product designed to eliminate the need for ID cards by using biometrics (fingerprints and iris scans), is particularly valuable to air travelers, allowing them to bypass either the general security or TSA PreCheck lines, depending on eligibility.

Currently, CLEAR is available in 20 airports and its only airline partner is Delta Air Lines, so you’ll generally need to be flying in a Delta terminal, though not necessarily on a Delta flight, to take advantage (for airports with air-side shuttles, you can simply enter at the CLEAR terminal and then shuttle to your appropriate terminal). Once you are enrolled in CLEAR, as simple as singing up online and completing a five-minute session at the airport on the day of your next flight, you’ll be escorted to the front of your eligible line (if you are enrolled in TSA PreCheck, too, you’ll go to the front of this line; otherwise, to the front of the general security line), bypassing everyone present and no longer needing to show physical ID to proceed through security. At times when PreCheck is closed, this service is especially valuable as you will still not need to wait in the dreaded general security line.

CLEAR also expedites entry to some Major League Baseball stadiums, and provides benefits with select other partners, including Hertz. Annual membership is $179 and can be purchased here.