A Major U.S. Airline Rewards Frequent Fliers With Security Benefits

If you’re a frequent flyer with Alaska Airlines, you may be eligible for a new reward that will get you through security quickly. Alaska Airlines and Clear recently entered a partnership to provide loyal fliers with Clear Plus. The new reward only applies to longtime Alaska Airlines customers who utilize the Mileage Plan.

Clear Plus lets travelers circumvent the standard TSA screening protocol. Instead, you get access to a designated security lane and can scan your retina and fingerprint to verify your identity. You qualify for Clear Plus through Alaska Airlines if you have MVP, MVP Gold, MVP 75K, or MVP 100K status. Not only do you get the expedited security experience, but Alaska Airlines also rewards you with points when you sign up for Clear Plus.

Qualifying Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members automatically receive 1,000 bonus miles if they sign up before July 16th. After that, you can receive an additional 1,250 bonus miles for each year that you renew your Clear Plus membership. Loyal Mileage Plan members get a discounted rate of $179 per year for Clear Plus.

You can take advantage of Clear Plus with Alaska Airlines at 52 airports in major cities like New York City, Atlanta, Seattle, and Los Angeles. This isn’t the first time that Clear Plus has struck a deal with a major airline to offer discounted rates to frequent fliers. United and Delta also offer the same $179 rate for Clear Plus.

Premium Delta Medallion Diamond members can even get their Clear Plus membership for free. The news of Alaska Airlines’ new Clear Plus offer couldn’t come at a better time. Recently, flight delays and long TSA wait times have disrupted summer travel for countless fliers.

Another key benefit of Clear Plus is that travelers under 18 can join you in the Clear Plus lanes if they are traveling with you. They don’t have to be Clear Plus members, however, and this is great news for Alaska Airlines customers that travel with their children and family member.

Clear Plus offers travelers a much faster and smoother travel experience. Instead of waiting in a long line to go through TSA, you must simply walk to a designated Clear pod and meet with a representative. They will scan your boarding pass and your retina or fingerprints, and then you get to jump to the head of the line for a physical screening.

This eliminates the need to present your photo ID to present to TSA officials at the airport. You can save 30 minutes or more with each trip that you take as a Clear Plus member. Depending on how often you fly, a Clear Plus membership could save as much as 12 hours per year that would be spent waiting in lines.

According to Clear’s Kasra Moshkani, “Clear is obsessed with delivering the best customer experience, so we're excited to provide Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members with the confidence and predictability of Clear Plus. We look forward to expanding our partnership with Alaska Airlines to continue unlocking seamless experiences for their frequent flyers from home to gate and beyond”.

The new partnership with Alaska Airlines is poised to add many travelers to the 16 million fliers who already use Clear Plus. While there are other options, such as TSA PreCheck, Clear Plus is widely considered the fastest way to get through an airport. TSA PreCheck offers a similar reduced security wait time, but it’s a government program.

While TSA PreCheck is quite useful, the program doesn’t take advantage of the same technology and customer service as Clear Plus. The biometric scanning that Clear Plus is known for saves lots of time at the airport compared to TSA PreCheck. However, travelers can enroll in both programs, and it’s a good idea as Clear Plus is only currently available at 52 airports.

The bonus miles that you can get by signing up for Clear Plus as an Alaskan Airlines frequent flier are worth it alone. Summer travel has yet to hit its peak for the year, so it’s not too late to sign up and skip to the front of the line at the airport. Clear plans to add pods and lanes at many more airports over the next few years, so the program will soon become even more useful.