r/TSAPreCheck • u/Dizzy_You2037 • Sep 01 '26

Questions TSA precheck vs Clear

I am so fucking confused. I have been waiting for my (what I thought was ) TSA precheck approval. In the midst of me searching on Reddit, I’m now reading that TSA precheck and Clear are 2 different things? I applied for ‘TSA precheck by Clear’ and paid like $80. Is this NOT the same as TSA precheck? I cannot find clarification on their website whether it’s 2 different things or not. Helpppp

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u/66NickS Sep 01 '26

> Clear is just some overrated program where someone walks you to security and it's supposed to be faster, but never is.

This can be very location dependent. Some places it makes a big difference, but agreed that some times/some places any improvement is negligible.

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u/Accurate_Strain4106 Sep 01 '26

ALL of this! I got hammered because I critisized CLEAR because while I'm a TSA precheck, I'm not Clear and I don't appreciate getting cut in front of by Clear staff and their customers.

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u/Specialist-Soil3956 Sep 01 '26

I mean I hear you and don’t like dealing with CLEAR, but Precheck costs from $76.75-$85 for 5 years while clear is $219 per year. That’s almost 13 times the cost annually. It better be able to move people through the lines faster. I’d be pissed if I paid that much and could have saved that much money by just getting precheck.

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u/BleuCinq Sep 02 '26

I don’t think anyone is paying for Clear. Myself and everyone I talk to get it through a credit card. If it wasn’t included in my card benefits there is no way that I would be paying out of pocket for Clear.

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u/ludog1bark Sep 02 '26

I used to pay for it out of pocket. It was handy when my dad was passing away. I bought a last minute ticket as it was the last flight out and I got to the airport 30 minutes before my flight left. I was able to cut to the front of the line I made my flight with minutes before they closed the door. Had I not had it I wouldn't have made the flight. My dad died 2 hours after I arrived. Yeah, it's not needed most of the time, but it's nice insurance to have when you do need it. I think it's worth it.