As of February 1, 2023, people who use CLEAR at the airport have to pay more when renewing their membership.
I’ve written that no one should pay full price for CLEAR. Previously, the standard price was $179 but general members of Delta SkyMiles and United MileagePlus received a discounted price of $119. It didn’t make sense why CLEAR offered such a considerable discount just for signing up for a free frequent flyer account, but that’s what it was.
In addition, you could add up to 3 adults to your account for $60 each. If you had the American Express Green or Platinum cards, you could use your $189 CLEAR credit and pay for up to 2 adults.
Those days are gone.
The base price for CLEAR has gone up to $189, a reasonable price increase of $10.
However, the discounts took a big hit, particularly for those without airline status:
- For general Delta SkyMiles members and general United MileagePlus members: the CLEAR renewal fee will be $179 (a $10 savings on the annual fee). New members will now also receive a 14-day free trial.
- For Delta Silver, Gold, Platinum Medallion or eligible Delta SkyMiles American Express Card Members and for United Premier Silver, Gold, Platinum or United U.S. Credit Card Members: the CLEAR renewal fee will be $149 (a $40 savings on the annual fee).
- For Delta Diamond Medallion and 360° members and for United Premier 1K and Global Services members: CLEAR Plus will remain $0 (a $189 savings on the annual fee).
If you do not have status (or a co-brand credit card from Delta or United), the discounted price is now $179, a $10 discount and the same as the old base price.
It doesn’t hurt as much if you have a co-brand card or any level of status as the price is going to $149. That’s a $30 increase and a $40 discount.
Members with top-tier status with Delta or United still get a free CLEAR membership.
For us, a family of 2, this means we’ll have to pay $209 ($149 + $60). Since we each have an AMEX card that provides a $189 benefit, I contacted CLEAR to see how we could use the credits from both cards.
According to them, it is not possible to split a payment between two credit cards. The only thing we could do is to drop Sharon from my “family plan” and have her sign up for her own account. That way I can pay with my card and she pays with her card.
I’m not sure if that’s worth the hassle for $20. In addition, I’m not sure if I will keep my AMEX Platinum card and if I cancel it, we’d have to go back and open up the family plan again.
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3 comments
“In addition, for $60 you could add up to 3 adults to your account. If you had the American Express Green or Platinum cards, you could use your $189 CLEAR credit and pay for up to 4 adults.”
No this is not correct. It’s $60 for each adult and you can have up to 3 adults on your Clear Family Plan.
Thanks. I don’t know how I mixed this up. I’ve fixed the post.
You set up a new account and pay for yourself and then later add the second person and the payment method. Or drop the second person from the account just before renewal and then after the renewal change the payment method and then add the second or third person, etc.