Traveling outside the U.S. is about to get more expensive as passport fees go up on July 13th. Currently an adult passport book is $75 plus the $25 acceptance fee that’s paid to the location where you choose to submit your application. In just less than 2 weeks, that fee goes to $110 plus the $25 acceptance fee, making the adult passport book $135.
Passport cards also see a rate hike from $20 plus the $25 acceptance fee to $30 plus the $25 acceptance fee. For minors, passport books go from $60 to $80 and passport cards from $10 to $15, both requiring the $25 acceptance fee as well.
Confused about card vs. book? The U.S. passport card is only used for land or sea ports-of-entry for Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean islands. Is it not valid for international air travel. It’s cheaper and more convenient to carry than a passport book, but is extremely limited in use. The U.S. passport book is accepted at every international border crossing – by land, sea or air – as proof of U.S. citizenship.
Most closed-loop cruises (those that depart from a U.S. port and return to that same U.S. port) do not require a passport, however should an emergency occur while traveling that would require you to leave the ship, having a U.S. passport book makes it much easier to return to the States.
We recommend the passport book since you never know when the perfect travel opportunity will appear and the passport card is more limited. We also prefer to carry our passports as ID for both international and domestic travel. Again, you just never know and I’d hate to miss out on the amazing opportunity because I don’t have my passport available. Plus, it might just be my imagination, but I seem to get through security easier with my passport than my companions do with their driver’s licenses.
For more information on the passport book and passport card, visit the U.S. State Department website HERE. Looking for a case for your U.S. passport book? Try Luggage Online or Levenger or see what the creative folks at etsy.com have cooked up!
- Kimberly
