Passport Renewal ~ passport card ~ "Real ID"

Hi there,

1. Don't be worried about renewing your passport if it is a US Passport. Residents with dual citizenship or holding other Visas have to show additional paperwork as they've done forever. It took six months last time I renewed two years ago, but a friend had theirs back in two months. I think it just depends on the amount of people who suddenly remember theirs is about to expire!
2. According to the U.S. State Department, a Passport Card can be used for domestic travel only. International travel must use a Passport Book. We normally lock our passports in the hotel safe, only keeping whatever ID is in our wallets (usually our driver's DL) while walking around. We have never been asked to show ID. Also, this might depend on where you are traveling. Check Travel.state.gov for current travel recommendations.
3. The Passport Book will serve as the Real ID, not sure about the Passport Card.

Happy travels!

We renewed our passports this past fall-October
Mine took 15 days, my husband’s took 11 days
That was regular renewal not expedited
The current administration seems to have fixed a lot of the problems

It is best practice to keep your passport secure on your person -we use money belts
I consider my passport the most important thing i travel with so I would never leave in hotel

You are required by law to carry legit ID and your passport is the only iegit iD
We have been asked to show our passports -randomly at a train station and while sitting in a piazza in Florence

1. Passport ID cards; what is the advantage of requesting one? Is it adequate to carry as a form of ID when traveling in Europe so you can chose to keep your actual passport locked in your hotel safe? Or, is it best practice to keep your actual passport with you at all times?

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/need-passport/card.html

The US State Department says the following about the passport card:

The U.S. passport card is a wallet-sized, plastic passport that has no visa pages. The card is proof of U.S. citizenship and identity, and has the same length of validity as the passport book.

The card is for U.S. citizens who travel by land and sea from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and some Caribbean countries.

The card is not valid for international travel by air and is cheaper than the passport book.

Based on this information, the passport card will not be accepted as a valid form of ID in Europe.

If you need a plain vanilla passport renewal, you can do it online and the processing time is minimal. Mine took just six days last fall. Look on the State Dept. website to see if you qualify and also for FAQs on the Passport card.
See this thread: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/passport-renewal-an-online-miracle

The passport card is valid real ID at a TSA checkpoint
https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/identification

We have never been asked to show ID

Spring of 2023 in Italy, police were randomly asking people coming off multiple trains we were on.

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I renewed my passport in 2022, expedited, and received it in two weeks. A neighbor did his the regular at the same time and he got his in 4 weeks. Get the passport. The passport card is NOT valid as ID in Europe.

Thank you all, I appreciate your advice!
Happy Travels!!