Tag: Passport

When I Lost Our Passports The Night Before Going To Japan (And What I Do Now So It Never Happens Again)

I’d like to think that I’m a relatively organized person. Well, to be honest, stuff like my computer desk usually looks like a tornado came through and threw stuff everywhere, but I call it “organized chaos.” I generally know where everything is and it works for me.

Going hand in hand with that, I ALWAYS know where my passport is. But there was that one time when I was in charge of both my and Joe’s passports and had no idea of where they were. Here’s the story about that, as well as what I do now so that never happens again.

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Why You Shouldn’t Give A Young Child A Passport

According to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, all U.S. citizen must possess his or her own passport if they plan to travel outside of the United States (well, with the exception of Canada and Mexico – there are other options for those two). I get that and it makes total sense, not only in a governmental “We need to know where all our citizens are at all times” way, but also in a “We need to know the identify and nationality of all visitors to our country” POV.

That being said, there’s one thing you don’t want do with any of your family’s passports.

Don’t give them to a young child. Here’s why:

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Credit Card Offer Of The Year, Worst Flight In America, Spending 3,000,000 Marriott (Bonvoy), Rewards & More

Happy Sunday to all of our travel friends, both near and far! Here are some articles we’ve read from other bloggers (and other sources) that we think you may like, as well, so we’re passing them along.

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Should You Get a U.S. Passport Card?

You know what documents you need to get on an airplane. For most people in the U.S., you show your driver’s license to the TSA agent at the checkpoint. If you’re taking an international flight, you’ll have your passport with you and might use that instead. The TSA currently allows many different forms of identification to get past the security checkpoint. Here’s the list from tsa.gov:

  • Driver’s licenses or other state photo identity cards issued by Department of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent)
  • U.S. passport
  • U.S. passport card
  • DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
  • U.S. military ID (active duty or retired military and their dependents, and DoD civilians)
  • Permanent resident card
  • Border crossing card
  • DHS-designated enhanced driver’s license
  • Federally recognized, tribal-issued photo ID
  • HSPD-12 PIV card
  • Foreign government-issued passport
  • Canadian provincial driver’s license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
  • Transportation worker identification credential
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
  • U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential

I’ve seen U.S. passport cards before but never thought they were good for much. When my dad showed me he had gotten one, I thought it was a waste of money since he also got his passport at the same time.

What can you use a U.S. passport card for, anyway?

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Where Should You Keep Your Passport When Sightseeing In A Foreign Country?

After all that planning, you’re finally on that trip of your dreams, far away from your home country. Your keep your passport handy during your actual travels because you’ll need it for Customs and other travel-related things. But now you’re getting ready to go out and about as a tourist and you pause for a second…should you bring your passport with you? Or should you leave it somewhere secure in the room?

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