As you fill out your US passport renewal application, you may notice that you have some new options: you can order just a new passport, just a passport card, or both a passport book and a passport card together. Before you choose, it’s important to understand the differences between the two documents.
A US passport card is a smaller, wallet-sized version of a passport. It’s also significantly cheaper: $ 30 versus $ 110 for a full-sized passport. However, a passport card is only valid for certain, specific travel circumstances. It can only be used for land and sea travel to and from Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean. It cannot be used for travel by air to these countries, and it cannot be used for travel anywhere else. In contrast, a full-sized passport book can be used to air travel anywhere in the world.
Basically, the US passport card was created to provide a cheaper, easier to carry option for people who make frequent, short trips across the US border. Most people who travel internationally will still need a passport book.
So, you shouldn’t apply for just a US passport card if you have international travel plans unless you know that those plans do not involve air travel or visits to countries other than Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean. But applying for a US passport card at the same time as your US passport renewal is easy, and it can be useful to have as a second form of ID.
You don’t really save any money by applying for a US passport renewal and a passport card at the same time, but you’ll save a little bit of time since you only need to fill out the paperwork once.
The bottom line: it’s up to you, just make sure you get the right travel document to match your travel plans!
Alison Kroulek is a freelance writer and blogger with a focus on the travel industry.
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