After I lost my passport (embarrassing, given my job as a travel editor), I’ve learned lots about travel IDs—including the differences between a passport book vs. card—in my quest to replace it and hopefully stop myself from losing it again. Allow me to share my hard-won wisdom.
In many situations, the right travel advice or recommendation is different for every traveler, depending on trip, taste, and other factors. But for travelers in the United States, the matter of passport books and passport cards is much more straightforward: Passport books are best for all types of international (and domestic) travel, while passport cards are best for travel to the Caribbean and land travel within North America.
Both require you to pay an application fee, so to get the best value for your money, I recommend picking up a passport book, first and foremost. It’s valid for all travel situations, wherever you’re going. Plus, with the change to Real ID rules for domestic travel fast approaching, it’s better to be covered in all ways possible. Domestically, passport cards are also compliant with Real ID rules, but they meet only certain international travel conditions and cannot cover you outside of those specific scenarios, which makes it less reliable for when those unpredictable travel snafus arise.
Read on for more intel on the pros and cons of a passport book vs. card, what you should get and why, and how to apply for one.
What is a passport book?
Passport books are the required form of identification for international travel by land, sea, or air. Issued by the US Department of State, they’re little booklets, five inches by about three inches, and blue in the US. (Check out the Passport Index to see what passports issued by other countries look like.) Passports are valid for 10 years if the holder is an adult; for 5 years if the holder is under 16 years old.
The ID page of a passport contains key information about the holder: their legal name, nationality, birth date, gender, place of birth, and photo, as well as the passport number and its dates of issue and expiration. While you’re abroad, it’s always handy to keep a printed photocopy of your passport’s ID page in case you happen to lose the passport book itself. (A lesson learned the hard way, for my part.)
Also, the most notable feature that separates passport books from cards: Passport books have blank pages (about 20 for standard booklets; more for larger-format passports) for the holder’s visas, the stamps and stickers a traveler receives from immigration offers when crossing borders.
Currently, applying for a new or replacement passport costs $165 for adults; and $135 for applicants under the age of 16.
What is a passport card?
Passport cards are similar in a few ways to passport books: They’re issued by the Department of State and valid for 10 years if the holder is an adult; for 5 years if the holder is under 16 years old. It also bears important information about the holder: their legal name, nationality, birth date, gender, place of birth, and photo, as well as the card’s number, and dates of issue and expiration.
