Americans can get 2 types of passport, but one costs half the price and limits where they can go
- If you are applying for a passport, you'll need to consider whether to get a passport book or a passport card.
- A passport card is cheaper than a passport book, but can't be used for air travel and is only valid in Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean.
- Passport cards cost $65 for first-time passport holders, while passport books cost $145.
If you're leaving for an international trip, your passport is the one essential item you can't leave home without.
But the passport book that most Americans are familiar with isn't the only kind of travel document available in the US - there's also the passport card, which is made of plastic and is about the size of a credit card.
The biggest difference between a passport book and passport card is that passport cards are only valid to enter Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and Caribbean countries and territories (see the full list below) and can only be used at land border crossings or sea ports-of-entry. If you're traveling by airplane, you'll need to use a passport book no matter what.
There's also a price difference - passport cards are $65 for first-time passport holders, compared to the $145 fee of a passport book.
Check out the differences between the two types of passport using the graphic below, and scroll down for the full list of countries and territories that will accept your US passport card.
Here are the countries and territories where a US passport card is valid:
- Canada
- Mexico (within the border zone)
- 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 and the Grenadines
- Turks and Caicos Islands