If you're fed up with those long lines at airport security checkpoints, for $199.00 per year, you can become a member of the CLEAR program, which will allow you to fly through these lines in under five (5) minutes.
Sure, you'll still need to have your carry-on bags put through an X-ray machine, and you'll walk through a metal detector, but when you participate in the CLEAR program, you'll be entitled to utilize special lanes at security checkpoints (within participating airports), and your screening process will be quicker than passing through TSA security checkpoints, plus there will be no wait.
Currently, CLEAR is offered at 21 major U.S. airports, including LaGuardia, JFK and Newark airports in New York. By the end of 2009, Steven Brill, the founder and CEO of Verified Identity Pass, Inc., the company which offers CLEAR, reports upwards of 40 airports will be participating in the program. Additional venues, including sports arenas and train stations, where security bottlenecks often occur, are also starting to participate in this program.
Brill also stated that the company has developed technology that will allow passengers to keep their shoes on when passing through airport security checkpoints. This technology will be introduced shortly, once it's approved by the TSA.
After completing an online application, Verified Identity Pass, Inc. will verify each applicant's identity at a CLEAR kiosk, and then have their fingerprints and iris eye scan data encoded onto their personalized CLEAR membership card.
Brill explained that the application process takes just minutes, and the identity verification process is done within three to five business days. For frequent travelers who leave from or visit participating airports often, being a CLEAR member can save them up to an hour per trip waiting in long airport security checkpoint lines.
Unfortunately, members still often need to wait in line to check in at their airline's ticket counter and, if applicable, check their luggage. Yet, CLEAR members report that the time savings they do experience each time they use their card makes the annual membership fee well worth it.
The $199.00 annual membership fee applies to individual members, however, family and corporate discounts are available, as are discounts if you pre-pay for a multi-year membership.
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