United Partners With Clear to Give Elite Frequent Flyers Discounted Screening


Skift Take

This partnership is good news for United's most frequent customers. But will the deal between Clear and United enable the tech company to get a leg up on TSA PreCheck's dominance?

Clear, the company that offers expedited biometric screening in two dozen airports across the country, has a new cohort of customers coming its way. The security company announced last week a new partnership with Chicago-based United Airlines to offer MileagePlus elite frequent flyers free or discounted access to the program. Top-tier Global Services and 1K members now get a free annual Clear membership while other elites get tiered discounts. As part of the transaction, United also made an investment in the company, though as Travel Tech Editor Sean O'Neill reported, the terms of that deal were undisclosed. What was disclosed, however, was that United is committed to bringing the security technology to all of its hubs. Whether passengers take advantage of the new access is still unclear. Since its foundation, Clear has always walked the fine line of offering expedited identity authentication ag