For as fun and exciting as travel can be, it can also be quite stressful. That anxiety often starts before you even get to the airport as passengers have long been told that they need to arrive plenty early lest the TSA security line be long. In response to that, services such as TSA Precheck and CLEAR Plus have come along to help speed up the process and make it smoother for travelers overall. Alas, those programs come at a price — and, on that note, the cost of CLEAR Plus is going up once again.
The Points Guy exclusively reports that a CLEAR Plus membership will go for $209 starting July 1st. That’s up $10 from the current $199 fee. Also, that membership fee is annual, so existing members will see the new price on their renewal bill after July.
A spokesperson mentioned to TPG that this is only the third time in 15 years that CLEAR has increased prices. However, what they failed to mention is that all three of these hikes have come in the past three years (it went from the long-held $179 rate to $189 in 2022 and to the current $199 in 2024). Moreover, beyond raising the regular membership price, CLEAR has also made loyalty pricing for Delta and United elites less generous and heavily adjusted the cost of adding a family member upward, as this option went from $70 when I first joined to $110 today.
The good news is that, as TPG reports, Amex will be increasing the value of its CLEAR Plus credits in response to this update. Currently, both the American Express Platinum Card and American Express Green Card include credits that cover the entire cost of a CLEAR Plus membership. So, while their credits are set at $199 now, they’ll apparently also be increasing to $209 shortly.
Even though I enjoy using CLEAR when traveling, I’ve long realized that I would not be willing to pay for the service out of pocket if I had to. Although you can use CLEAR in conjunction with TSA Precheck (in fact, I’d highly recommend doing so if you are going to get CLEAR), the value you get from the latter is much greater in my opinion — and is a fraction of the cost. At this time, a TSA Precheck membership is just $78 and lasts for five years. Incidentally, the Amex Platinum and Green also cover the fee for this service or Global Entry.
Seeing as I get CLEAR Plus “for free,” I guess I really can’t complain about this price hike too much. Still, it is pretty wild how quickly the cost the risen in recent years. Furthermore, although there are some big promises being made about what the future of the program holds, those haven’t come to fruition yet. Can the extra $10 a head help them to achieve that vision faster? Perhaps — but I can imagine that some paying members may be losing patience. So, we’ll have to wait and see how things shake out in the months ahead.