Clear Is Getting an Upgrade in 2024

New technology is in the works at Clear, the paid service that helps members skip the identity check at airport security checkpoints and other venues.

Clear uses biometric technology (usually a scan of eyes or fingerprints) to verify members' identity. In 2024, Clear plans to roll out new facial recognition pods that are designed to make the process even faster.

However, the first step in implementation is to get all Clear members upgraded to the new NextGen Identity+ Platform. You may have already gotten an email about this change if you're a Clear member.

Here’s what members need to know and why these changes are happening.

How Clear works

Clear’s flagship service, “Clear Plus,” allows members a faster security experience at airport checkpoints. Members have their identity verified at Clear kiosks, which allows them to skip the part of the security process where Transportation Security Administration agents inspect IDs and/or boarding passes.

A Clear membership costs $189 annually, but certain credit cards will reimburse the cost, including The Platinum Card® from American Express. (Editor's note: As of August 2024, Clear has increased the cost to $199.)

Delta SkyMiles or United MileagePlus members are also eligible for discounts on Clear.

What is Clear NextGen Identity+?

Clear NextGen Identity+ is the new identity verification platform the company is deploying as part of its overhaul. The company is billing this as a higher-caliber form of identity verification — one that “includes data directly from the issuing source,” such as the federal or state government for a passport or driver’s license.

Each Clear member will be eligible (and required) to do a one-time, free ‘upgrade’ to this platform. Members should have received an email containing a link to make a one-time password and verify their mobile number.

If prompted, on the next visit to a Clear kiosk, members must bring a valid ID, such as a passport or driver’s license. A Clear ambassador will help members complete their switch to the new platform. It’s estimated the whole process will only take a few minutes. Members will receive an email confirmation once the whole process is finished.

Clear lanes changing in 2024

Enrolling in NextGen Identity+ is just part of a much larger transformation Clear is planning. Throughout 2024, Clear’s traditional kiosks will disappear as it rolls out the new hardware.

The new Clear pods will quickly verify identities based on a facial image (instead of a fingerprint or iris scan). The company claims members should be able to pass through while barely stopping.

Clear has collaborated on these upgrades with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (which oversees the TSA) since 2020.

Clear is about to get faster

The upcoming changes could improve a couple of pain points for Clear. The NextGen Identity+ upgrade could, in theory, reduce the need for additional ID checks as TSA had announced in September.

Plus, as Clear has grown in popularity, some airports have had longer-than-expected wait times. For instance, I waited around 35 minutes to access the Clear kiosks this past fall at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

In contrast, I’ve barely stopped walking during my last several trips through U.S. airport passport control facilities, thanks to the efficiency of Global Entry kiosks — and that’s without using the new Global Entry mobile app.

If the Clear experience could, in the future, mimic the Global Entry experience, that would prove to be a major improvement for passengers, potentially making the cost a little more enticing.