What's the difference between, TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, and CLEAR?

What is the difference between TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, and CLEAR? And are you paying for the wrong one? In this episode of Talk Travel to Me, host Kristy Ouellette breaks down the distinct rules, specific pricing structures, and enrollment workflows for major expedited airport screening lines. She also provides a detailed breakdown of the brand-new, completely free TSA PreCheck Touchless ID system, and clarifies specialized land border crossings like Nexus and SENTRI so you can perfectly customize your airport speed strategies.

Key Takeaways

1. Global Entry is Almost Always the Smarter Purchase: For only a $35 to $45 cost premium over a five-year period, Global Entry delivers all standard domestic TSA PreCheck lane advantages plus major fast-track privileges through international customs lanes upon returning to the United States.
2. CLEAR Does Not Bypass Physical Safety Scanners: CLEAR is operated by a private company rather than a government security screening branch. It strictly clears your identity confirmation checkpoint to let you skip the standard physical document control queue , but still routes you directly through the real luggage scanning lanes.
3. TSA PreCheck Touchless ID is a Massive Free Asset: If you already hold active PreCheck or Global Entry status, you can completely sidestep CLEAR subscription fees by opting into the newly developed Touchless ID feature inside your existing airline app profile (currently supported across Delta, American, United, Southwest, and Alaska at selected major airports).

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Transcript

[00:00] Intro: Ready for your fast pass to the perfect vacation? This is Talk Travel to Me. Join host Kristy Ouellette and the Mickey Guru team for one big travel question every episode. Solo insights or expert roundtables all with a sprinkle of magic and the ultimate insider edge. Fasten your seatbelt, it's time to talk travel.

[00:23] Kristy: Hey Traveler, welcome back to Talk Travel to Me. I'm your host Kristy Ouellette and this week I'm answering the question, what's the difference between TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, and CLEAR? And are you paying for the wrong one? Let's talk about it. So seriously, here's the truth: most people don't actually understand the difference between these programs and that's exactly why you may not even have one yet or maybe you even have the wrong one. The acronyms alone stop people in their tracks before they even get going. So today I'm going to break down what each one actually does, the approximate costs, and which one fits your travel pattern so you can stop guessing and start moving through the airport faster—and who doesn't want that?

[01:12] Kristy: Let's start with the one you've probably heard the most about: TSA PreCheck. That gets you into a shorter, dedicated line for domestic security screening. You can keep your light jacket and belts on, your laptops and your liquids stay in your bag, and the whole thing just moves faster. Also, the TSA PreCheck lines typically use walk-through metal detectors (magnetometers) instead of full body scanners, the advanced imaging technology where you have to put your arms up above your head and get the whole body scan there. You may not know this if you don't travel a lot, but I definitely want to point this out because as of July 2025, TSA got rid of the shoes-off rule for everybody. That used to be a real big perk for being TSA PreCheck is that you could leave your shoes on when everybody else was like taking them off and walking barefoot in the airport. But as of July 2025, that is not the case anymore. Everybody can keep them on. So the real advantage with PreCheck now is a shorter line. Most people that are PreCheck act like they've been out of the house before and through an airport security system, so it's a little bit easier in that vein.

[02:33] Kristy: So as for cost for TSA PreCheck, you are looking at between $77 and $85 for a five-year period. It depends on which enrollment provider you go through. And this is another thing that gets people a little bit confused: you don't actually enroll directly through TSA itself. It doesn't run the enrollment centers; it actually contracts with three private companies. One of them is called Telos, one is called CLEAR (which I'm sure you've seen in the airports), and then there's also one that is IDEMIA (kind of looks like idea-me-something-ish). So those private companies handle the application, fingerprints, and the paperwork. And so when you go to TSA.gov to sign up, it actually has you choose one of the three. For the most part, what you would choose is the one that has the location closest to you, especially if you're in a more rural area where you may not have the option of all three, and if you can save a couple bucks, that's usually worth it too.

[03:44] Kristy: So as part of the application process, as I mentioned, there's a background check and an in-person appointment. They don't actually do an interview with you when you go in for that appointment, but they do take your fingerprints and they do a photo of your face. So if you are of the mindset that you don't want to have yourself embedded in government records or keep your identity private, it's not going to be for you—but also flying probably isn't either. You basically hear back in three to five days, but it can take up to 60 days. But 99% of PreCheck members are going to wait less than 10 minutes at security. So if you're somebody that flies domestically with any regularity and you don't have international travel on your radar, TSA PreCheck might be enough for you.

[04:40] Kristy: All right, now let's talk about Global Entry because if there's any chance you're leaving the country in the next five years—like you want to go out and explore the big beautiful world that we have—I want you to hear this part closely. Global Entry does everything PreCheck does, but it also gets you through customs faster when you're coming back into the United States. And that's whether you're flying, driving, or arriving by cruise ship, my favorite kind. The best part is it actually automatically includes PreCheck, so you don't have to do it separately. The cost is a flat $120 for five years. The process is a little different though: you'll do the background check just like PreCheck, but then you'll also need an in-person interview at an enrollment center, and that can be the step that catches people off guard.

[05:30] Kristy: I went for Global Entry for the first time during COVID because I was like, hey, let's just try to get out of here at some point. At some point it'll come back online. So my family and I actually drove to Derby, Vermont, which is right on the Canadian border, and we did our interview there. We also have in the New England area, there is also a place in Maine, and Logan Airport Terminal E also has an enrollment center for Global Entry. But you have to actually make an appointment, go there, and they do an interview with you. I don't remember exactly the questions that they asked, but I live a pretty calm life, I've never gotten into any sort of trouble, so it was not something that I was concerned with for sure. So what I will say is that it can take a couple of weeks or so to get the background check done, and then you have to get an interview scheduled, and it can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months depending on where you live and the backlog that they're dealing with. So if you're thinking about Global Entry, the best time to do that is actually before you even book a trip. And again, I really think that Global Entry is the way to go if you're considering any international travel plans. I almost said train, but you're definitely not taking a train into a nap—well, maybe you would, maybe you could from Canada, US to Canada. Anyway, I'm going down the rabbit hole there.

[07:02] Kristy: My honest take is that the difference between PreCheck alone and Global Entry is like $35 to $45, and since it already includes PreCheck, unless you're certain you'll never leave the country, Global Entry is almost always the smarter buy, and that's why we went for that one. One thing I definitely want to mention is for those of you that are parents, kids under 18 can enroll for free if a parent already has Global Entry. And that's also true for Nexus and Sentry too, which I'll get to in a minute. But there's a difference between PreCheck and Global Entry here that trips people up a lot: with PreCheck, kids 12 and under can go through the line with an enrolled parent without needing their own membership, and kids 13 to 17 need the indicator to show up on their own boarding pass. Global Entry doesn't offer that same walk-through courtesy for customs; your kids need their own membership to use that expedited kiosk. I know it's confusing, but hopefully that breaks it down a little bit. And again, if you're thinking of going outside the country at all, Global Entry is your way to go for sure.

[08:17] Kristy: Hey, I'm going to pause us right here for just a second because I want to ask you for a favor. If you've been hanging out with me on Talk Travel to Me and you're getting something out of it, would you take two minutes and leave me a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify? I know, I know, nobody loves being asked to do the thing. But reviews are genuinely how other travelers find the show, and honestly, it just makes my day when I see them pop up. Even just a few words, even just stars—I'll take the stars. Okay, favor asked, back to it.

[08:48] Kristy: All right, now we're going to talk about CLEAR—what it actually is, what it does for you, and who it might be for. And I'm going to slow way down here because this is one that confuses almost everyone, including me. So the core idea is CLEAR is a private company. It's not run by the government, there's no background check, and you're not applying to TSA or Customs and Border Protection at all. You're simply paying a private company to verify who you are faster using your face, your fingerprint, or an iris scan, so you can skip the line where a TSA officer checks your ID and boarding pass. That's really the whole product. And CLEAR will show up in other places as well, not just at the airports. In fact, I recently learned that there is an apartment complex here in New Hampshire that requires you to have been verified by CLEAR in order to even tour for an opportunity to live in the complex. So a lot of companies are starting to use this as a way to say that they have verified your identity and not leaving it to, let's say, the person that happens to work in the leasing office of an apartment building.

[10:09] Kristy: So this is the part I really want you to understand because it is the most common misunderstanding I hear from my clients: CLEAR does not replace the actual security screening at the airport. Once CLEAR verifies who you are, someone walks you over to the real screening area. If you also have PreCheck, you can go into the PreCheck lane. If you don't have PreCheck, however, you're still doing standard screening, meaning your laptop is coming out, you're taking your jacket off, and the liquids are coming out of your bag. How does it actually work? You enroll online or at an airport kiosk; it takes a few minutes. At the airport, you head to the dedicated CLEAR lane, and I'm sure you've seen this because I know I have, specifically at MCO in Orlando and in Boston. Sometimes you'll be standing in line waiting to show your documents and a CLEAR representative will walk either a person or a whole family over and cut right in front of you. So I've definitely seen it happen, you probably have too. At newer airports, you'll walk up to something called an E-Gate, which is just a quick facial scan that takes a few seconds. At some of the older locations, you'll still use a kiosk with a CLEAR staff member helping you along.

[11:29] Kristy: So as for the cost, it's $209 a year for one person, and you can add up to three more adults for $125 each per year. Kids under 18 are free if they're enrolled with an adult. A couple things worth mentioning too: Delta and United members get discounted or even free CLEAR depending on your status with the airline, and several premium credit cards like AMEX Platinum offer a statement credit that covers all or some of the fee. So check out your card's current benefits rather than assuming that it doesn't cover and see how it goes. I also noticed at the time of the recording of this episode, which is in July of 2026, that CLEAR has a program right now where you can get the CLEAR membership for $219, and that includes TSA PreCheck. Talk about making it more confusing! They've just created a bundle to make it a little bit easier for people to buy into the product essentially. But rather than a five-year membership like TSA PreCheck and Global Entry, CLEAR actually renews every year, so you've got to pay again yearly. All right, CLEAR is available at somewhere between 55 to 60 different airports right now. It is growing, and they're out using it at stadiums and venues and, like I mentioned, apartment complexes. It's smaller than PreCheck and Global Entry. It's worth checking to see if your typical airports—your home airport and where you typically travel to—have the CLEAR option before you decide to pay for it.

[13:14] Kristy: Now let's talk about something that is new, it is free, and lots of people don't know about, and that is the TSA PreCheck Touchless ID. And full disclosure, I signed up for this recently, have not used it because I didn't really understand how it was going to benefit me, and now that I know, I'm going to be all over it. So this one deserves its own spotlight. Like I said, it's newer, it's free, and it changes everything we just talked about with CLEAR. So here's what it is: it's TSA PreCheck Touchless ID, and it's free, it's free, it's free, it's free, it's free, it's free, it's free, it's free. It's TSA's own version of that facial recognition idea, and if you already have PreCheck or Global Entry, it costs you absolutely nothing extra. There's a catch though: you have to opt in through your airline, not through TSA directly. So once your passport and known traveler number are linked, you just walk up to a camera at the airport instead of pulling out your ID and boarding pass. And for the privacy-conscious folks listening, TSA deletes your information within 24 hours of your flight. You'll still want to carry your physical ID as a backup just in case the tech has a hiccup, of course, or an officer deems it necessary to check manually.

[14:29] Kristy: So here's how you opt in: you go into your frequent flyer profile with a participating airline—and right now, that is Delta, American, United, Southwest, and Alaska. That's it, those five right now are the only ones that are using this Touchless ID. You upload a photo of your passport page and give consent to store that information there. It takes a few minutes; I did it literally while I was in the airport last time. But you have to do it separately for every airline you fly; it doesn't carry over between carriers. So if you are typically a Southwest person and you know you're just going to jump on a flight—I'm actually looking at this myself jumping on a Delta flight for, you know, a random reason—you're going to have to add it to your Delta profile as well. So the nuance here that I really want to make sure that everybody understands, because this is great and it is really beneficial, and I love that it is free, there's no extra charge for it—but it depends on both the airport and the airline. Just because your airline is on the list—like you booked with one of those five—it doesn't mean that every airport also has that partnership. I will say that I often fly out of Manchester, New Hampshire, and they don't have it yet. But I fly to, and therefore from, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, LAX, John Wayne in Orange County, California, Long Beach, and Miami. Those airports all currently participate. So if you're flying one of the five airlines in one of those six airports, you'll be able to use that.

[16:16] Kristy: So how does it stack up against CLEAR? It's basically doing the same job—verifying who you are so you skip the ID line. But again, I can't say this enough, Touchless ID is free if you already have PreCheck or Global Entry, and CLEAR is over $200 a year. The trade-off though is coverage: CLEAR is a private company that can expand fast and has its own upgraded E-Gates rolling out. Touchless ID depends on the TSA's pace and your specific airline. So here's my advice: if your airport and your airline both support Touchless ID, there's less reason to also pay for CLEAR. If they don't, CLEAR might still be worth it for you.

[16:57] Kristy: All right, I know most of you listening won't need this, but I want you to know it exists, especially if you've got family near the Canadian or Mexican border, or you're somebody who road trips across either one. Nexus is for the US-Canada border. It's $120 for five years, same price as Global Entry. It does include Global Entry and therefore PreCheck, on top of having dedicated lanes at land, air, and sea crossings into Canada. It just takes a little longer because both the US and the Canadian governments have to approve you. SENTRI is the same idea but for the US-Mexico border, built for people who cross regularly by car. It's the same $120 fee, same five years, and it also includes Global Entry and PreCheck. Here's the one-line takeaway: if you cross either border regularly, one of these is a better deal than Global Entry alone. Same price, more coverage. If you don't cross land borders, just skip it and stick with the Global Entry. Make sense?

[18:00] Kristy: All right, I'm going to make this real simple, and here's how I'd walk you and any of my clients through this: if you only fly domestically and you have no international travel planned or on your bucket list, start with TSA PreCheck. But if there's any chance you'll be leaving the country in the next five years, skip right to Global Entry since it includes PreCheck as part of that program. If you already have PreCheck and you're flying one of those five airlines out of a participating airport, go to your apps right now and enroll in Touchless ID. It's free! Did I mention that yet? And if you want the absolute fastest airport experience or your airline and airports don't support Touchless ID, that's when CLEAR is worth considering. But just double-check all of those features to make sure that you're going to make it worth it because it is considerably more expensive. And of course, if you're someone who crosses the Canadian or Mexican border, Nexus or SENTRI is going to be your go-to instead of just that plain old Global Entry.

[19:09] Kristy: This is exactly the kind of thing I walk my own clients through before a big trip because getting this wrong or applying too late can mean scrambling right before you're supposed to leave, and nobody wants that. One more thing before we close, since this comes up more than you'd think: all of these programs run a background check and there's a real list of things that can disqualify you. But here's what I want you to understand: it's not as scary as it sounds. Let's say you once wrote a bad check back in your 20s when you were in college and that's the only blemish on your record—that is not going to keep you out of these programs. TSA and Customs and Border Protection are looking for serious stuff, things like violent felonies, drug trafficking, and yes, those TikTok videos you've seen of people losing it and assaulting a flight attendant or getting physical at the gate—that kind of behavior can absolutely get someone permanently banned from these programs. Also from the sky, so maybe it doesn't matter. So don't self-eliminate over something minor from decades ago, but also know that these programs do take a real look at your history.

[20:18] Kristy: Alright friends, that is one more question unpacked. Next week I'm being joined by a few of the professional travel agents from Mickey Guru Travel Company to answer the question, is a VIP tour at Walt Disney World worth the money? Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss out. And if today's episode got you thinking and now you have questions or you'd like a pro to take over the heavy lifting of planning your next vacation, please reach out. You'll find us on our website, mickeyguru.com and over on TikTok and Instagram too. See you real soon traveler.

[20:52] Outro: Thanks for listening to Talk Travel to Me. We hope this episode cracked open inspiration for the treasures that await you at your next dream destination. If you love the show, please review, subscribe, and share it with a friend. At Mickey Guru Travel Company, we're your trusted guides for theme parks, cruises, resorts, and more. Visit our website at mickeyguru.com to learn more and book your vacation today.