Today I Made It Through Airport Security In 3 Minutes

This morning I flew from San Francisco to Detroit, and did something that I have not done in years. I made it through security in minutes, literally. From the time I walked into the airport terminal until the time I was past security was less than 3 minutes! How? A few months ago I signed up as a Clear pre-screened traveler. I had to provide multiple forms of ID as well as biometric data, and then had to wait while the TSA did a full background check. The process was supposed to have taken a few weeks, but actually took over two months. I received my Clear Registered Traveler card a few weeks ago, but none of the airports I flew through since then had Clear lanes. SFO is one of the airports that does (and even has Clear signup desks), and so this was my first chance to use the card. I deliberately arrived at the airport later than I usually would have, 40 minutes or so before departure (usually a really bad idea in SFO). I inserted my card in the Clear machine, presented my index finger for scanning, and was then escorted all the way to the front of the security lines. It was quick and simple and it just worked. The biggest problem with the system is that too few airports have Clear lanes. Indianapolis, Little Rock, Oakland, Orlando, Westchester, ... it's great that they have Clear lanes, but honestly, those are not airports I frequent. And so I held off from signing up for a while. But, now that San Francisco and San Jose and New York's LaGuardia are on the airport list, with Atlanta and Washington Reagan coming online soon, I signed up. And if you frequent the supported airports, you should too. It's well worth the $100/year. You can enroll here, and feel free to use referral code SCB28371.