Passport Cards Vs. Passport books

Edited to Add: New Travel Requirements effective June 1, 2009 - Read about it here
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Many of my friends and clients have been asking me about the difference between the new passport cards and the passport books. The government has begun to accept applications for the new passport cards on February 1, 2008. The first cards will be issued sometime in May.

I had addressed information about the passport cards in another blog post. Here is a quick glance look at the difference between the two.

Passport Book- Valid for travel by air, sea and land

Passport Card- Valid for travel by land and sea only. Is limited to trvel between the U.S. and canada , Mexico, Bermuda and Carribean. It is not valid for travel by air.

Passport Book and Passport Cards are both valid for 10 years for adults and 5 years for minors.


Passport book- Costs- 1st time applicant- $100 - Minors $55

Passport Card - Cost- $45 for adult, $35 - minors

My suggestion would be to obtain the passport book. Its less restrictive, and it can be used for air travel, although its more expensive .

NEED TO GET A PASSPORT?- CHECK OUT THE SERVICE ON MY SITEwww.GailsDreamVacations.com Look under "Travel Resources" at the bottom of the page and click on Passport and Visa Applications


********************************************
Gail Walker RN, AKA GailTravel is a Travel Consultant in the Bronx New York . My goal is to provide you with your best travel experiences at reasonable cost.
Visit Her website at , And
www.GailsDreamVacations.com/
or Email- WLKRG5@GMAIL.COM
********************************************

Important information about the U.S. Passport Cards-

U.S. Passport Card Applications Accepted Beginning February 1
U.S. citizens may begin applying in advance for the new U.S. Passport Card beginning February 1, 2008, in anticipation of land border travel document requirements. We expect cards will be available and mailed to applicants in spring 2008.

The passport card will facilitate entry and expedite document processing at U.S. land and sea ports-of-entry when arriving from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. The card may not be used to travel by air. It will otherwise carry the rights and privileges of the U.S. passport book and will be adjudicated to the exact same standards.
The Department of State is issuing this passport card in response to the needs of border resident communities for a less expensive and more portable alternative to the traditional passport book. The card will have the same validity period as a passport book: 10 years for an adult, five for children 15 and younger. For adults who already have a passport book, they may apply for the card as a passport renewal and pay only $20. First-time applicants will pay $45 for adult cards and $35 for children.
To facilitate the frequent travel of U.S. citizens living in border communities and to meet DHS’s operational needs at land borders, the passport card will contain a vicinity-read radio frequency identification (RFID) chip. This chip will link the card to a stored record in secure government databases. There will be no personal information written to the RFID chip itself.

Learn more about the U.S. Passport Card

EDITED TO ADD - 5/31/09 - Effective June 1, 2009, passports or passport cards are now required for all travel.

My advice- Get the whole deal. Get the Passport Book, everything is covered. Enjoy your vacation!
********************************************
Looking for great acation deals? Contact Gail, by emailing WLKRG5@GMAIL.COM You can also Visit Her website at www.GailsDreamVacations.com,
For more information, fill out the Form on the right.
*******************************************