You might try contacting my colleague, Chris Elliott. Among other things, Chris is the National Geographic Traveler magazine’s reader advocate, but in my opinion, while American should not have let you fly out of the country using a passport card, having a passport was your responsibility when all is said and done.

When it comes to travel documents and documentation, it is the responsibility of each traveler to have the correct ones. With the Internet today, it’s actually quite easy for anyone to determine what you need to travel to a specific country, as a US citizen. The US State Department has a whole section of their website devoted to Country Specific Travel Information.

Then there are the travel websites like this one. We’ve been discussing Passports vs. Passport cards here and in our Forums, Talking Travelers, for sometime. I’ve written a few articles on the subject, as have other columnists here, such as Anita Dunham-Potter.

Another great resource for travel is a travel agent. I’m a big believer in travel agents, and even though I’m an experienced traveler and travel columnist, I use a “brick and mortar” travel agent (not those travel sales companies online like Expedia, Travelocity or Priceline) most of the time for my travel, and for all trips out of the country. You can’t beat the advice, the attention to detail, and the help if you run into a problem. In addition, my agent normally saves me money, and I’ve never had my trips cost more because I used a travel agent. I think many people stay away from travel agents because they think it will cost more than booking the trip themselves. That’s just not true.

I really appreciate you taking the time to write your comment today. I’m sorry that you had such a hard time. Unfortunately I’ve heard similar stories from scads of people over the last couple of weeks.

Unfortunately, it’s only going to get worse.

To start, I don’t understand American Airlines accepting the passport card at check-in. They know better. For plane flights out of the country to anywhere, the only accepted form of identification is a passport (there are some special exceptions, but the passport card is never an accepted form of identification for air travel).

The passport card is for travel by land or sea only, and only to WHTI countries.

Everyone should understand that not all countries in the Western Hemisphere are WHTI countries.

WHTI countries are only the following nations: Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica (except for business travel), Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Turks and Caicos.

Travel to all other countries by air or sea from the US require a passport, and I repeat travel to all WHTI countries by air requires a passport, not a passport card.

I ask for a couple of reasons. First, in countries in which a Passport Card cannot be used for returning to the US, they know what US Passports look like, but I wonder if they will recognize the Passport Card as legitimate ID for transactions at stores and banks, for example, and accept it. I suspect that while some in large cities some people might recognize it as a legitimate US governmental document, many, if not most, will consider it fraudulent and not accept it, as they know nothing about it. I’m even wondering if it will be recognized as a legitimate ID in the Caribbean, etc., considering its only legitimate use is in returning to the US at a US port of entry.

Second, in the US, for example, the airlines don’t accept it as legitimate ID for domestic flights. I’ve seen it refused several times, but US Passports themselves are accepted for domestic flights.

Personally, I’ll stick with my US Passport and carry it on my person, at all times when traveling internationally. It is the one form of identification, universally accepted internationally as proof of identity and citizenship. Oh, I don’t carry it in my back pocket.

I wish you the best in your travels Lee.

1)If you travel to a country that requires a Visa (I have China and Egypt), they need to place the Visa in your passport.
2) Thumbing through your fully stamped passport is just plain cool. It can bring back memories and act as a mini journal.

On their web site, the US Department of Homeland Security states:

“Will travelers from U.S. territories need to present a passport to enter the United States?

No. U.S. territories are considered a part of the United States. U.S. citizens returning directly from a U.S. territory are not considered to have left the country and do not need to present a passport. U.S. territories include the following: Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Swains Island and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.”

I have further delved into this statement and checked on each territory individually. My research confirmed your information about American Samoa. The information offered there by the US Department of Homeland Security about the US’s own territories is misleading. One would infer that you only need a driver’s license to enter each of these territories. While that isn’t true, DHS tells me you only need a driver’s license to directly return to the US from these territories.

I found that for Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands, US citizens flying directly from the US to those territories only need a driver’s license as their identification to enter the territory and return directly to the US.

I found that for American Samoa and Swains Island (Swains Island became part of American Samoa by joint resolution of the US Congress in 1925.) as well as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, US citizens flying directly from the US to those territories need to prove US citizenship and therefore need either a Passport, or a state driver’s license for identification purposes, plus either a certified birth certificate or naturalization papers. In addition, for American Samoa and Swains Island, US citizens must have a ticket for onward passage out of American Samoa and Swains Island, or proof of employment in the same.

You can find the correct requirements for American Samoa and Swains Island at the US Department of Interior, Office of Insular Affairs website: http://www.doi.gov/oia/Islandpages/asgpage.htm . You can find the correct requirements for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands at their tourism website: http://www.mymarianas.com/html/display.cfm?sid=1021 .

All the above being said, US citizens must remember that if you fly into any US territory not from the US, but from another country, or if you return to the US, not directly from a territory, but from another country, you need a Passport. No other proof of citizenship and identification will be accepted other than a Passport.