Update on #longestlineever Contest for iPad

As many of you know, I mentioned a contest prior to Black Friday to win a free iPad sponsored by Clear Me. I finally got my hands on the official rules of the contest and it seems it is going all the way through the holiday season. Each week you can enter again. Best part? they're not judging by the size of the line, it appears to be a random drawing. So twit pictures of any lines you see during the holiday season.  Just make sure to use TwitPic to upload your picture and include @clear_me and #longestlineever in your Twit.

Random Drawing: Prize winners will be selected in a series of random drawings on or about the drawing date indicated in the chart above, from among all eligible entries received within the corresponding Giveaway Period by Attention USA, an independent agent of the Sponsor whose decisions are final.
Winners will be notified by Twitter Direct Message (DM) and requested to confirm their mailing address via return email or phone. The prize will be awarded within approximately 45 days after the winner is verified.
Prize Conditions: If a winner is otherwise eligible under these Official Rules, but is nevertheless deemed a minor in his or her state of primary residence, the prize will be awarded in the name of winner's parent or legal guardian. If prize notification is returned as undeliverable or if a selected winner cannot accept or receive the prize for any reason, or he/she is not in compliance with these Official Rules, the corresponding prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected in a separate random drawing.

Well, the first week is over and I won. Sadly though, it's not the iPad. It seems that where I thought the prize was an iPad and a year's membership to Clear, the prize is actually two winners each week: one iPad and one membership. I just looked back at my original post and I did write one of each. I will keep trying to win the iPad until December 26th (last entry day) but what are the odds I win twice? I hope my Twitter followers are enjoying the pictures I've entered. I chose to use @makingcentsofit instead of my personal Twitter to hopefully gain a few new readers while trying to win.

If you travel through Orlando or Denver airports often, a Clear membership might be a great investment but even when I worked in Orlando, I only went through the airport four times throughout the year. Maybe this is an excuse to visit Mickey Mouse again.

Longest Black Friday Line Can Win You a Free iPad

The private airline security company, Clear, is all about helping you shorten the line at airport security. In honor of Black Friday which often hosts the largest lines of the year, they are giving away a free iPad to the person that shows them the longest line.

CLEAR is dedicated to helping you skip long airport lines and in honor of this commitment CLEAR is launching a Longest Line Ever sweepstakes starting today, November 22nd. With Black Friday around the corner and holiday travel in full swing long lines are appearing all over the country. To enter the Longest Line Ever sweepstakes participants must send @clear_me, a Twitpic of the longest line they can find including the hashtag #longestlineever and follow CLEAR on Twitter. Additionally, CLEAR's Facebook page has a simple upload tool for the sweepstakes and is hosting a gallery of all the images submitted.

Each week CLEAR will select one entrant to win a iPad and one entrant to win a free CLEAR membership, valued at $179 until December 31st, 2010. Even if CLEAR is not in your local airport your membership will not be activated until the winner uses their CLEARcard for the first time.

As for the value of Clear, I have seen it at the Orlando Airport a few years ago and it's basically like a fastpass lane through security. Instead of having to show your license and wait for it to be verified, Clear gives you a card with a computer chip. The chip stores your fingerprints and retina (eye) scan. A few seconds at their booth and your identity has been positively confirmed so you can walk right over to the metal detectors.

I can't say if it's changed much with the tighter security we see, but they do still claim to speed up the security process. It's currently only offered in Orlando so unless you travel a lot through MCO it's not worth the annual fee right now. They will be opening up soon in Denver, so keep an eye out in the future because if they spread to more airports it might be worth the money if you are a frequent traveler.