TSA PreCheck, Global Entry and CLEAR

Three programs that do three different things. Two of them are worth paying for once; the third is a subscription. Most premium travel cards cover one of the fees, so check your wallet before you pay.

What each one is

Prices checked against each program's own site on .

TSA PreCheck

$85 or less

five years

What it gets you
A dedicated domestic security lane. Shoes, belt and light jacket stay on, and laptops and compliant liquids stay in the bag.
What it does not
Domestic departures from US airports only. It does nothing at passport control, and it is not accepted at every checkpoint at every airport.
How long it takes
Online application, then a short in-person appointment. Most approvals come within a few days, though some take longer.

Source: TSA — TSA PreCheck

Global Entry

$120

five years

What it gets you
Expedited US customs and immigration on arrival from abroad, using a kiosk instead of the queue. Membership includes TSA PreCheck.
What it does not
Speeds up your return to the US. It does nothing at foreign passport control, and the interview backlog can be months at busy enrollment centers.
How long it takes
Application, conditional approval, then an in-person interview. Interview slots are the slow part, and Enrollment on Arrival lets some travelers do it when they next land.

Source: US Customs and Border Protection — Global Entry

CLEAR+

$219 a year

annual, $125 per added family member

What it gets you
Identity verification by eye or fingerprint at a CLEAR podium, which walks you to the front of the document-check queue.
What it does not
It replaces the ID check, not the screening. You still go through the scanner afterwards, in the PreCheck lane if you have it and the standard one if you do not. Only at airports where CLEAR operates.
How long it takes
Enrol online and finish at a podium, or do the whole thing at the airport in a few minutes.

Source: CLEAR — CLEAR+

Cards that reimburse the fee

14 current cards, read from our card records rather than kept by hand. The credit is typically once every four or five years, matching the enrollment cycle, and each issuer states its own terms.

Card Issuer Annual fee
Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card Bank of America $95
Business Platinum Card® from American Express American Express $895
Capital One Venture Business Capital One $95
Capital One Venture Rewards Capital One $95
Capital One Venture X Business Capital One $395
Capital One Venture X Rewards Capital One $395
Chase Sapphire Reserve® Chase $795
IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card Chase $99
IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card Chase $99
Sapphire Reserve for Business Chase $795
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card Chase $299
U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card U.S. Bank $0
United Explorer Card Chase $150
United Quest Card Chase $350

No longer open to new applicants

Kept here because the credit still applies if you hold one. These cards cannot be applied for and carry no application link anywhere on this site.

We do not list the reimbursement amount per card. Our records hold whether a card carries the credit, not how much or how often, and a dollar figure typed in by hand is the kind of number that is wrong for a year before anyone notices. Check the issuer's own benefit terms.