CLEAR+ Price Increase 2026: Now $209, Amex Credits Adjusted

CLEAR raised its annual membership fee to $209 as of July 1, 2026 — a $10 increase and the fourth price hike the biometric airport security service has imposed in under four years.

What Happened

CLEAR+ membership now costs $209 per year, up from $199. Family add-on accounts remain at $125 per year (the family plan has risen from $60 in early 2023 to its current rate through a series of prior increases). The service stores biometric data — fingerprints and iris scans — allowing members to bypass the identity check lane at participating airports and proceed directly to the security screening queue.

Simultaneously, American Express updated the CLEAR+ travel credits on several of its premium cards to match the new $209 price. Eligible Amex cardholders — including those holding the Platinum, Business Platinum, and several co-branded cards — still pay $0 out of pocket after the credit is applied.

Why It Matters

For Amex cardholders with the matching credit, the price increase changes nothing in practice. The credit is updated, the membership remains free, and the service continues to be worth using at airports where it delivers meaningful time savings — primarily high-volume hubs like LAX, JFK, SEA, and SFO where identity check queues regularly add 5–15 minutes to the security process.

The more important signal is the pattern. Four increases in under four years suggests CLEAR has not found a stable price floor and continues testing cardholder tolerance. Each increase so far has been covered by matching credit adjustments from Amex — but that’s a vendor-credit relationship that can change on either side. Travelers whose primary justification for CLEAR+ is “it’s free with my card” should recognize they’re dependent on continued alignment between CLEAR’s pricing and Amex’s credit value.

For travelers without an eligible Amex card, the question is whether $209 per year is worth 5–15 minutes saved per flight at the airports they use most. For frequent travelers on high-volume routes, it often is. For occasional travelers or those primarily using smaller regional airports with short lines, the value diminishes quickly. CLEAR currently operates at over 50 US airports.

Source: One Mile at a Time

Content created with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.