Holiday travel can be stressful enough without worrying about getting everyone in your group through airport security. This year, CLEAR is introducing a new perk that could make things a little easier for members, their friends, and family.
Starting today, CLEAR members can share up to five free Holiday Guest Passes with friends and family who aren’t already members, giving them access to the company’s expedited airport security service for 14 days.
And there’s an especially useful detail: You don’t have to be traveling with someone to send them a pass. The passes are part of a broader holiday travel push from CLEAR that includes a redesigned app, new gift cards, personalized airport assistance, and the company’s biggest membership discount of the year.
How to get CLEAR’s free holiday guest passes
For the holidays, CLEAR is making guest passes available directly through its mobile app, allowing members to share them with a single tap.
“If you’re a CLEAR member, you’ll be able to open your CLEAR app, and you’ll see them, and you’ll have up to five to send to family and friends who are not members,” Campbell Millum, CLEAR’s vice president of communications, told Fast Company.
That means members can send a pass to someone traveling across the country, even if they aren’t flying together.
“If you know that your friend is traveling, if you know your mom is traveling, or a friend or family member, you can go ahead and send those, and then they can have the experience of CLEAR at what we know is the most stressful time of the year to travel,” Millum said.
Recipients will need to stop at CLEAR’s airport pods to enroll before using the service. Once enrolled, they’ll have access to CLEAR for 14 days, potentially covering both their outbound and return flights.
CLEAR’s new app helps travelers get from home to gate
Alongside the guest passes, CLEAR is introducing an upgraded app designed to help travelers navigate more than just airport security. The app now features Planning Mode and Travel Mode, which automatically adapt to different stages of a trip.
Planning Mode helps travelers prepare before leaving home, including booking a ride to the airport and calculating when to leave based on traffic conditions and their preferred airport arrival time.
Once travelers arrive at the airport, Travel Mode takes over, helping them locate CLEAR+ lanes, estimate the walk to their departure gate, and access services such as CLEAR Concierge.
The app also supports Live Activities, allowing travelers to receive real-time updates on their phone’s lock screen.
“We want to help members win the day of travel from home to gate and back again,” Millum said. “We hear all the time, and I know for myself, that travel isn’t just about the moment you get to the airport. It starts long before when you’re at home, when you’re planning, and then all the way through to when you get to your gate.”
Millum said the company wants to take some of the guesswork out of travel by bringing information and services into one place.
“We know that between your flight, the traffic, and the walk to your gate, we want the app to do the math so that you don’t have to,” he said, noting that the app uses real-time information to help travelers plan their airport arrival, rather than relying solely on historical estimates.
“We want to make sure that whenever holiday travel is already stressful because of all the unknowns, you’re [not left] asking, ‘When do I leave? Where’s my gate? How far is my gate?’” she said.
The company is also introducing gift cards, allowing customers to purchase its services for friends, family members, employees, or clients.
The busiest holiday travel days, according to CLEAR
The announcement comes as CLEAR prepares for what it expects to be a particularly busy holiday travel season.
Based on historical travel patterns, the company predicts Sunday, November 29, will be the busiest day of the season for its members, with security lines expected to be especially crowded between 5 and 7 a.m. and remain busy until 6 p.m. local time.
For Christmas, CLEAR expects Friday, December 18, to be the busiest departure day, with additional crowds anticipated on December 22 and 23. The return rush is expected to peak Sunday, December 27, with crowds beginning to ease around 5 p.m.
The predictions are based on CLEAR’s own travel patterns rather than nationwide airport passenger totals, so actual airport conditions may vary.