Get a Free Year of FoundersCard if You Have a CLEAR Plus Membership

If you have a CLEAR Plus membership, check your emails for an invitation to try FoundersCard for 1 year for free.

Upgraded Points readers and writers are reporting receiving emails about 2 weeks after signing up for CLEAR Plus, offering the chance to preview the popular FoundersCard membership and a discount on future purchases.

With luxury travel perks, exclusive discounts, and unique benefits, a FoundersClub membership can be worth the hefty annual fee. But does the free preview deliver the same benefits?

Let’s take a look at the details.

Complimentary FoundersCard Membership

CLEAR Plus has partnered with FoundersCard to offer new members of the expedited airport security program a complimentary one-year FoundersCard preview membership.

CLEAR Plus is a must-have for many frequent travelers. It allows members to skip the standard security lines at busy airports, leaving more time for the lounges — or rushing to your gate if time is an issue.

Plus, many popular credit cards offer a CLEAR Plus membership for free or at a discounted price. So, if you scored yourself a free CLEAR Plus membership, you can now leverage that into a free FoundersCard membership.

FoundersCard is a business- and lifestyle-focused membership that provides a long list of perks, shopping discounts, and travel benefits. However, with a $595-$995 annual fee — along with a $95 initiation fee — it is a significant investment that certainly isn’t for everyone.

Fortunately, you may be able to preview the membership for free. Unfortunately, the preview membership doesn’t unlock all of the benefits, including:

• Hertz Gold Plus elite status
• Hilton Gold Status
• IHG One Rewards elite status
• Marriott Platinum Elite status challenge
• Virgin Atlantic elite status
• Discounts and perks at Four Seasons, Kempinski Hotels, Mandarin Oriental, Omni Hotels & Resorts, Park Hyatt, Peninsula Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton, Rosewood Hotel Group, United Airlines, W Hotels, and more.

The preview membership is far more limited than the full membership, but you may find some discounts useful.

If you were targeted for the free trial, you have until March 31, 2026, to activate it. You also can extend it for another year at a discounted rate of $395.

If you did not receive an email, you can try to register here.

Is It Worth It?

The benefits of a FoundersCard membership can be very valuable, and you can easily justify the annual fee if you maximize them. However, the free preview is a much more limited version of that membership.

However, it’s free. And if you got your CLEAR Plus membership for free, you are already ahead of the game.

So, as long as you don’t mind getting a relentless amount of emails asking you to upgrade your membership and can use the few perks that come with the preview, this is a great deal.

Plus, keep in mind that many of the benefits of the full FoundersCard membership are also benefits of some of our favorite cards, including The Platinum Card^® from American Express, which may already be in your wallet.

If you decide to try the preview membership, just be sure to set a reminder for the end date. That way, if you decide it’s no worth the fee to continue your membership, you can cancel before you get charged.

Final Thoughts

CLEAR Plus members may be targeted to receive a complimentary 1-year membership of FoundersCard.

This is a preview membership with limited benefits, so it might not be worth it for everyone. But free is free, so if you’ve been curious about FoundersCard, now is a great time to test it out.