New Visa Signature Cardholder Benefit: CLEAR Expedited Airport Security
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Visa Signature credit cards offer an array of valuable perks including auto rental collision damage waiver insurance, purchase and warranty protection, Visa Signature Hotels benefits and even free wine-tastings at various wineries in Sonoma County, and now Visa Signature has just started a partnership with CLEAR that provides cardholders with yet another perk: expedited airport security.
CLEAR is a program that issues biometric cards to airline passengers so they can get through security faster. It is currently available in Denver, Orlando, San Francisco, Dallas Fort Worth and Westchester.
Now Visa Signature cardholders can enroll to receive a six-month free trial membership plus a $60 discount off the annual renewal rate, which is normally $179 (so it'll cost $119 instead).
Sort of like you have to with Global Entry, first you register online, then you have to go in and verify your identity in person at one of the enrollment centers (at the airports they service plus a few other locations).
To take advantage of the preferential CLEAR membership pricing, Visa Signature account holders can visit visa.clearme.com/signature.
Although I wouldn't turn down a free perk, and I might take advantage of this just to test out CLEAR next time I'm flying through one of the airports where it functions, I think getting Global Entry is a much better deal.
Global Entry itself is for expedited customs and immigration and now functions at 40 different airports, but when you get a Global Entry card, you are registered as a Trusted Traveler and can save that number with the major airlines. When you check in for flights and head to the airport for your trip, your boarding pass will include information that you are a Trusted Traveler and you can use the TSA Pre-Check line and zip through security quickly, skipping ahead of even elite status lines in many cases, and not have to remove liquids or laptops from bags or take off your shoes. It's saved me tons of time at various airports.
Not only that, but if you have a Platinum card from American Express (including the business version and the Mercedes-Benz version I just got), the $100 five-year membership (literally less than a fifth of the price of CLEAR) is reimbursed, so you're essentially getting all that time-saving for free.
Still, if you live in one of the cities where CLEAR functions and you have a Visa Signature card (or several) it might be interesting to test out the free six-month trial and see whether it does save you the time it promises. If you do take advantage of this, report back on your experiences here!
As a reminder, Visa Signature cards include the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire, British Airways Visa, the Hyatt card, the Marriott Rewards Premier and Marriott Rewards cards, the Southwest Plus card, Bank of America's Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines cards,Capital One Venture, Citi Hilton HHonors and Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve, US Bank FlexPerks, and the Citi AAdvantage Visa Signature.