Savvy Traveler: CLEAR your way through TSA Palm Beach & Jet Blue deals and steals

With the leaves about to change, millions of Snowbirds are readying for their annual trek southward. Most will drive, some will use the auto train or ship their vehicles and others will fly.

While the auto train does take some time and distance off the trip, you still must drive to Reston, VA and then overnight to Sanford, FL. A similar option is to fly and have your car shipped.

The one that makes the most sense for a great number of people is to ship the car, fly down and have it waiting for you on arrival. Amortize the cost of a three-day drive, high cost of gas, meals and motels and the differences aren’t so great. That doesn’t even factor in the wear and tear of a 1,200 to 1,500 mile drive.

The Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau announced a partnership with Jet Blue Airways to bring exclusive vacation offers within the Palm Beach area to the New York/New Jersey Metro area.

Some 14 hotels and resorts are participating in the fall travel escape program that runs through the end of this month. Discounted travel will be valid through November 20.

The program will offer discounted airfares and 25 percent discounts to participating hotels and resorts. Featured hotels include the PGA National resort & Spa, Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort & Spa and Boca Raton Resort as well as the Waldorf Astoria Collection. For more information check out www.jetblue.com/vacations.

The Jet Blue getaways package options include bundling of flights and hotels with other amenities such as car rentals to offer discounted rates.

The Palm Beach area stretches along 47 miles of Florida’s southeast coast and has been a vacation hot spot for more than a century. With such packages as the Jet Blue program, vacationers can price out their costs without worry about getting slammed by extras. Vacationers can simply…vacation.

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One factor that discourages many people from flying is the airport hassle. But modern technology has come up with answers to make all of that more palatable.

Some airlines in cooperation with the TSA have established a program called TSA pre-check where, if you are a member of their frequent-flyer program, you can almost skate the lines. You’ll have to apply through each airline you have an account with and they will note it on your ticket.

For international travelers there is the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Global Entry program. You’ll be required to come in for a personal interview and take an eye scan and fingerprint scan. If approved, you can by-pass the long lines waiting for passport control simply by going to the Global Entry kiosk, scanning your passport and then your eyes and fingerprints. This is only good for reentry to the U.S.

A relatively new program that is good for all travelers, especially frequent flyers, is the CLEAR Registered Traveler Program is perhaps the best of the lot. The main drawback is that at present it is only available at a handful of domestic airports. That is about to change as CLEAR is set to add several new airports and plans are in the works for some 30 added locations in the not too distant future.

Upon arriving at participating airports, CLEAR members can skirt the horribly long lines waiting to go through security.

There is a fee for both Global Entry and CLEAR. Global Entry is good for five years while CLEAR is valid for one year. Remember, GLOBAL Entry is only valid for those returning from foreign destinations while CLEAR is valid for departing passengers.

For further information on CLEAR, check out http://flyclear.wikidot.com/how-does-it-work.

For Global Entry look at https://goes-app.cbp.dhs.gov/main/goes.

Be aware, however, that for any of these programs, if you have any criminal record you may be declared ineligible. If you have a mark against you, be sure to declare it. Honesty is the best policy here and you may be able to obtain a waiver.

As a special gift to our readers, we’ve arranged for a three-month free trial with CLEAR. If you’d like to take advantage of this offer, go to CLEAR.com and enter CLEARmeT3 in the promo box. Happy traveling!