CLEAR Promotions: Free CLEAR Membership Via Kayak, Credit Cards, and Elite Status

AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. Terms Apply to the offers listed on this page. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.

Offers for the American Express^® Green Card are not available through this site. All information has been independently collected by AwardWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. Some offers may have expired. Please see our card marketplace for available offers.

For frequent travelers, CLEAR is an excellent way to save time when going through the airport. Plus, CLEAR often offers additional promotions to take advantage of when signing up for a CLEAR membership. Even better, travelers have several ways to claim a free CLEAR membership. The current promotion is from Kayak, offering anyone a free 3-month CLEAR membership to make their travels easier over the holiday season.

Here are all of the current ways that you can get CLEAR for free, plus ways to get a discount if you don't qualify for a free membership.

What is CLEAR?

If you're not already familiar with CLEAR, here's a synopsis. CLEAR is a service that has been around since 2010. CLEAR uses biometric data to verify your identity at airport security. Once confirmed — which takes as little as a few seconds — you're escorted to the front of the TSA security line. That means speeding through security without having to wait in the standard lines.

In rare cases, CLEAR lines are longer than the regular security line or TSA PreCheck. But, my own experiences with CLEAR at the Denver and Seattle airports were fantastic, as I was (somehow) the only person in the line both times.

Although CLEAR is only available within the United States, it includes more than just airports. In fact, it supports services at 50+ stadiums and event centers as well. Here's a full list of the locations where you can find a CLEAR kiosk:

Make sure to check out this post in AwardTravel 101 — our official Facebook community — to read about members' experiences with CLEAR.

How to Get a CLEAR Membership for Free

The CLEAR membership usually costs $189 per year. However, there are various ways you can get your membership for free, or at least at a discounted rate.

First, here are all of the ways you can get CLEAR for free:

• United Global Services and Premier 1K members get complimentary CLEAR membership.
• Delta SkyMiles Diamond Medallion elites can also enjoy a free CLEAR membership.
• Cardmembers who hold The Platinum Card^® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express can enroll and use their card to pay for a CLEAR membership to get the fee reimbursed in the form of a statement credit. Make sure to enroll first, as enrollment is required for this specific benefit.
• American Express^® Green Card can also enroll to get up to $189 per calendar year in statement credits, when you pay for a CLEAR membership with your card. This enhanced benefit now covers the entire cost of a CLEAR membership.

Discounted CLEAR Membership with Cards and Statuses

If you don't qualify for one of the free ways of getting CLEAR, there are also a couple of options to pay a reduced rate for your CLEAR membership.

• United MileagePlus members can get an annual membership for $179. Even better, you can drop that price to $149 if you have a United credit card or United Premier Silver, Gold, or Platinum elite status.

• Similarly, Delta SkyMiles members with Medallion elite status can get a discount on their CLEAR membership. Platinum, Gold, and Silver Medallion elite status members can get $40 off their CLEAR membership ($149 per year). Even general SkyMiles members can get $10 off their CLEAR membership ($179 per year).

[Expired] CLEAR Enrollment Promotions

The newest CLEAR partnership is with Kayak. Through December 31, 2022, Kayak users can claim a free 3-month CLEAR membership. This comes just in time for the 2022 holidays when airports are at their busiest.

Use this link to claim your free 3-month CLEAR membership.

What's great about this promotion is you don't need a premium credit card or elite status to claim it. Kayak is a platform for anyone, and they're just on a mission to make traveling easier this holiday season.

As always, don't forget to cancel your CLEAR membership at the end of the year if you don't want it to renew, or you will be charged the full annual rate of the membership.

Terms and Conditions

• Only available to new CLEAR Plus members.
• Must be 18+ and a US citizen.
• You will be billed the annual rate of $189 at the end of your 3-month complimentary trial if you don't cancel before that.

Past CLEAR new membership promotions

Over the past few years, CLEAR has offered several membership promotions. For reference, here are some that we've seen:

• Anyone could claim a free 6-month CLEAR membership in December 2020
• 5,000 bonus United miles in November 2021
• $100 United TravelBank credit in February 2022
• Free 1-Year CLEAR Membership with $100 United Spend Promotion in April 2022
• United MileagePlus Members Get up to 15,000 Miles with CLEAR Membership through July 2022
• Up to 50% off CLEAR enrollment using a targeted Amex card through August 2022
• $75 Uber Gift Card CLEAR Promotion

Our Take

The new Kayak promotion is great for anyone wanting to try out CLEAR who hasn't joined already. True, it's not as good as the 6-month free memberships that have been offered in the past, but who knows when we'll see those again.

Not everyone wants to release their biometric data when signing up for CLEAR. But for those who are considering getting a CLEAR membership, or already have one, these are certainly nice promotions to take advantage of, especially if you're claiming your membership with full credits. Everyone has their own opinions of CLEAR, but I found it quite useful the two times I used their security lines.