

On the other hand, the US passport card is only accepted as a U.S. Every country of the world, permitting US citizens entry to their country, authorizes them to use their passport for identification for entry to, and exit from their country. passport and passport card, so you can understand my decision.įor US citizens, the passport is the sole official travel identification document, recognized, and accepted across the world, regardless of the citizen’s mode of transportation. Here’s some of the basic facts about using your U.S. At $20, when you get it with a passport, I think it’s worth it.

I found a worthwhile use for it. My passport card will be my travel ID back-up. So what’s changed to induce me to spend an extra $20 for a passport card? passport renewal application, to get a passport card with my new passport. You can imagine my surprise when I found myself putting an “X” in the checkbox on my U.S. The passport card’s usefulness as an international travel identification document is so limited, it’s not adequate for most of its intended use. passport, not a passport card, as their travel identification document for international journeys. passport card, I have advised the vast majority of US citizens to obtain a U.S. Note: Orbitz compensates authors for their writings appearing on this site.Since the inception of the U.S. Passport Card, visit the State Department website. Lucia, Anguilla, Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos, and Dominica-the Passport Card will get you there, albeit by land or sea only.įor more information on the U.S. PRO: If you want to reach some of the best countries in the North West hemisphere-namely Mexico, Canada, St.Virgin Islands, or faraway Guam, all of which accept a driver’s licenses by land, sea, and even air travel. CON: Passport Cards only grant access to the above and are not needed for travel to Puerto Rico, U.S.PRO: The Passport Card is an excellent way to legally visit the following by land or sea: Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Caribbean Netherlands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten), Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, the Grenadines, and Turks and Caicos.Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthélemy, and the French side of Saint Martin). Countries that have either opted out or are embargoed include Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Cuba, and French West Indies (i.e. CON: Passport Cards are not accepted in all of the Caribbean.This is especially appealing when traveling with kids, whose cards only cost $15 to renew. PRO: At just $30 per renewal every 10 years, Passport Cards are a fraction of the cost of the $110 required to renew Passport Books.If you want to visit faraway lands, this isn’t a good option. CON: It only grants access to 19 countries-all three in North America, most of the Caribbean and Bermuda.

