I recently renewed my US passport and want to share some of the things I learned along the way.

Without further ado, here are the top 7 things I learned…

#1 – Do not wait until your passport expires to renew it.

This is super important!  Most countries will deny you entry if your passport has an expiration date before the end of the visa.

Let’s say you go to Mexico for a one-week vacation and your passport expires within 90 days.  You will be denied entry because Mexico’s tourist visa is 180 days, and your passport expires in 90 days.

It doesn’t matter you only plan to be there one week.  Think about it… your plans could change and you could decide to stay the whole 180 days.

In that case, you would be in Mexico with an expired passport for three months, which they say in Mexico is NO BUENO!

#2 – It is not a fast process.

I’m sure it’s no surprise to hear the US State Department does not turn passports around very quickly.

According to their website, the standard time turnaround time is 10-12 weeks, but you can pay extra money to expedite the process to 4-6 weeks.

Click here for the official process and requirements for renewing your passport through the US State Department.

Save yourself some stress by allowing plenty of time for the processing and delivery of your renewed passport.

I mailed my old passport in for renewal on November 17 and had a trip to Mexico booked for December 30.  Let’s just say it was an emotional roller-coaster, wondering if my passport was going to arrive in time.

#3 – Do not assume you can renew your passport in person.

Apparently, most US State Department offices are either closed or very understaffed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

They are only taking in-person appointments in life-and-death situations so be prepared to renew your passport via the US mail.

I was really concerned about mailing my old passport as I have not always had good luck with the United States Postal Service (USPS).

What are the odds my package gets lost in the mail?!?!

I mailed my renewal documents using USPS Priority Mail Express.  This level of mail service was recommended on the State Department’s website since it’s the quickest service and delivers to post office boxes.

I was also able to track the package which gave me a little more comfort mailing such important documents.

Honestly, I breathed a DEEP sigh of relief when I got a notification they received my package the following day!

WHEW!  🙂

#4 – Renewing your passport is not cheap.

I was surprised to spend about $230 to renew my passport, which included the processing, photo, and mailing costs.  Here is a summary of my costs:

1. • Basic renewal at US State Department: $110
   • Expedited service at US State Department: $60
   • Passport photo: $16
   • USPS Priority Express mail: $26
   • Expedited shipping of new passport: $18

Click here for the US State Department’s website for updated prices.

#5 – Do not expect to make changes once your renewal application is accepted at the US State Department.

Once the State Department receives your application and begins the renewal process, there really isn’t anything anyone there can do to help you.

I was in a situation where I was two days from flying to Mexico and still hadn’t received my new passport.

I asked the customer service rep at the State Department if there was any way I could accelerate the process so I received my new passport in the next 24-36 hours.  He said there was nothing more I could do because I already paid for expedited service.

He also said the 4-6 weeks turnaround for an expedited renewal was NOT a guarantee and more like a “baseline.”

I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant but it didn’t sound good for me getting my passport in the next day or so!

I also asked him if it was possible to cancel the renewal and get my old passport back in the next day or so.  He said that wouldn’t work for two reasons:  1) I would forfeit all the money I already paid and would have to pay again to re-submit, and 2) it would take a couple months for me to receive my old passport in the mail.

At that point in time, his advice for me was to cancel or postpone my trip and hope for a full refund.

As Eddie Murphy sarcastically said in Trading Places (one of my favorite movies), “Thank you.  You’ve been helpful…” *face palm*

#6 – Manage cancellation policies carefully.

In case you haven’t figured this out already, cancellation policies can vary greatly across different companies!

Case in point:

I booked my flights to Mexico on Southwest Airlines.  They have the BEST cancellation policy in the industry.

Did you know you can cancel your flight reservation with no penalty whatsoever, up to 10 minutes before the flight’s departure?  No cancellation or re-booking fee!  This is their standard policy and NOT just in response to COVID.

I have spent a lot of years flying the major carriers with status and, while I miss my pre-flight drinks in first class, Southwest Air wins with their customer experience, pricing, and of course the Companion Pass where someone travels with me for FREE!

Now for contrast…

Priceline is so-so.

I booked my week-long stay at an all-inclusive resort through Priceline.  They had the cheapest rates, and I also got cash back through Rakuten.  Priceline advertised free cancellation up to 3 days before arrival.

As it turned out, 3-day cancellation policy is 3 CALENDAR days, not 72 hours.

With 80 hours remaining before check-in and my passport still in a status of IN PROCESS, I reached out to Priceline about canceling the resort reservation.

I was completely SHOCKED to learn I would incur a cancellation fee of almost $500 if I cancelled.

Apparently, since it was Monday and my check-in was Wednesday, I was TWO days from check-in and not eligible for free cancellation.  I argued I was more than 72 hours but that didn’t matter.

However, they said I could request an exemption from this cancellation fee.  I basically spent an entire day going back and forth between Priceline and the resort trying to get someone to approve or deny an exemption.

The end result of this back and forth charade was an “escalated” ticket from Priceline, who needed to speak directly to someone at the resort to issue the exemption.  According to all my follow-up calls, they couldn’t reach that right people at the hotel.

I NEVER heard back from Priceline on this exemption and, as you’ll see below, luckily it didn’t matter…  🙂

#7 – Monitor the renewal process.

After the State Department has your renewal application for 14 days, you can check the status of your renewal online.

Click here to check the status of your application.

Here is a table of the various stages your passport renewal will be in:

This won’t necessarily help expedite anything but it will provide you with information you can use to make decisions if necessary.

Here is the brief timeline for how my renewal progressed:

11/17:  I mailed the application and documents

11/18:  US State Department received my application and documents

12/2 to morning of 12/28:  status = IN PROCESS

Afternoon of 12/28: status = APPROVED

Morning of 12/29:  status = MAILED (with tracking ID)

Afternoon of 12/29: I received my new passport at my front door!

My heart STILL races when I think about how close I was to cancelling my trip to Mexico because I didn’t have my new passport!  I also got a few more grey hairs on 12/28 & 12/29 as I sat waiting for updates and the mail!

Conclusion

In the end, I flew to Cabo San Lucas on December 30 without a hitch and had an awesome time ringing in the new year with family and friends there.

It took exactly 6 weeks (expedited) from mailing in my renewal documents to receiving my new passport.

By the grace of God, it all worked out for me, but save yourself some stress and DO NOT cut your passport renewal timeline this closely! 😊

Additional Acknowledgement

Thank you to Levi Ventura on Unsplash for the featured picture above.