Euro Lowest Since 2005, Great Time to Renew Your Passport - Expedited Passports

If you’ve been putting off a trip to Europe due to the expense and the unfavorable exchange rate, now might be a good time to pack your bags and say “Bon Voyage.”  According to this press release from Hotels.com, the euro is trading at its lowest rate since 2005. Not only will you lose less of your money if you travel overseas, but there are also a lot more great deals to be had on lodging, even in traditionally expensive cities like Paris, London and Cannes.

In the press release, Taylor L. Cole, APR, director of public relations for Hotels.com, explains why you shouldn’t put off that trip to Europe any longer:

“With the large selection of European hotels on hotels.com, and many offering summer promotions, this is an ideal time to travel abroad. The Euro is down and the dollar’s gaining, so Americans traveling to Europe can get more for their money. Additionally, we’re seeing an increase in online searches for travel to Europe which demonstrates that travelers are catching on to the bargains.”

Well, they would say that…but they also provide a list of sample room rates that look pretty tempting. A four-star room in Barcelona for $73 a night, anyone? How about a room in Capri for $84?

If you want to take advantage of these deals, now ‘s the time to go. You’ll need to apply for a passport renewal if yours is expired, of course. As you plan your trip, remember to allow enough time for your passport renewal to be processed.  If you apply with normal processing, you’ll need about 6 weeks, while applying for expedited processing from the Department of State can cut processing time down to 3 weeks.

If you find a truly irresistable last-minute deal, you can also use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com to get your passport even more quickly. An expediting company can get your passport renewal application processed in as little as 24 hours, with no need to travel to a passport agency office.

Renew your passport today!

Every child knows the stories of Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty and Little Red Riding Hood. If you’ve already done Disney, you might consider getting a US passport renewal, grabbing your kids, and heading to Germany to drive down the Fairy Tale Road to take them to the scene of these enchanting stories.

The New York Times just ran a feature on the  Fairy Tale road, which connects the real, historical homes of the Brothers Grimm with sites that fit the descriptions of the settings of classic fairy tales like Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood.For example, the Dornröschenschloss Sababurg is an old castle near where Kassel, where the brothers Grimm collected many of their fairy tales. When the brothers were alive, the castle was deserted and surrounded by masses of briars and wild roses, just like in Sleeping Beauty. Nowadays, of course, there’s the obligatory museum with a gift shop where you can treat your own little princess to a souvenir.

Then there’s Rotkäppchenland, which roughly translates to “Little Red Cap” land in English.   Long ago, the people inhabiting this valley wore clothes that indicated their ages and social position.  Little girls wore red caps-hence, “Little Red Riding Hood.”

In addition to the New York Times article referenced above, Weather.com also has an excellent guide to the Fairy Tale Road that can help you plan your trip.  But if you want your trip to have a happy ending, check the expiration date on your passport, and make sure to apply for a US passport renewal well in advance if necessary!

It takes about 6 weeks to get your passport renewed if you apply with normal processing, and about 3 weeks if you request the government’s expedited service. Also, don’t forget that your kids need passports too, no matter how little they are.

If you’re about to leave the country and looking for a fairy godmother to get you your passport on time, don’t despair! You can either make an appointment at a regional passport agency office or use a private passport expediting service like RushMyPassport.com. An expediting service is much faster and more convenient-there’s no need to make an appointment at a passport agency or wait in line. The expediting agency delivers your documents directly to the Department of State for you, for processing times as low as 24 hours. It’s like magic!

Apply for your US passport renewal today!

Can you imagine spending $5000 for a passport renewal? A New Zealand man recently did just that, after he discovered at the last minute that he would need his passport replaced to attend the World Cup in South Africa. According to the New Zealand Herald, Dave Barrett was about to board a plane to fly from Auckland to Johannesburg when officials noticed he didn’t have any clean pages in the back of his passport book. So, they told him he couldn’t board the flight.

Apparently, if you are a British citizen living in New Zealand, getting a passport renewal is a long process. Mr. Barrett was told that he would have to wait at least a month for a new passport, by which time the games would be over. So, he decided to fly from New Zealand to England to get a same-day passport renewal, and then fly to South Africa.

He told the New Zealand Herald:

“I thought about going to Hong Kong, but in the end I decided that the best thing to do was to cancel my original flight and go to London for a new passport…It was a long and expensive trip, yes. The new ticket cost me the equivalent of $5000, but I had no option,” he said.

Fortunately, he was able to get his passport renewed in London to attend the World Cup. Although I personally can’t imagine paying an extra 5 grand for the privilege of hearing those obnoxious vuvuzela horns in person, I’m glad Mr. Barrett’s story has a happy ending.

Fortunately, Americans don’t have to get a passport renewal when they run out of pages. As long as your passport is valid, you can simply add pages to the back. If you’re overseas, you can stop by a US Embassy or consulate. If you’re in the US, you’ll have to send it off- see “How to Get New Pages For Your Passport” for details.

If you need it in a hurry, you can either make an appointment at a Regional Passport Agency office or use a private passport expediting service, neither of which will cost you $5,000. In fact, RushMyPassport will personally deliver your application for extra pages to the Department of State for processing times as low as 24 hours.

Add pages to your passport today!

According to Jaunted, many of the major airlines are adding new international routes to their lineups, possibly making it easier for you to see the countries you want to see. Here’s a quick rundown of the new routes.
If any of these appeal to you, you might want to start packing your bags and check to see if you need to renew your passport:

American Airlines: Chicago to Beijing

American Airlines now flies from Chicago to Beijing.  If you are a member of their frequent flier program and you don’t mind being a guinea pig, you can earn an extra 15,000 miles for being one of the first passengers to fly the new route.

Continental: Houston to Auckland

This particular route hasn’t been finalized yet, but starting in 2011 you may be able to fly from Houston to Auckland on Continental. This is one to watch.

Delta: Atlanta to Liberia

You’ve probably never thought of visiting Liberia, but maybe that will change when Delta’s new route opens in September. Planes leave from the Atlanta airport and stop in Ghana before continuing on to Monrovia.

Spirit: Fort Lauderdale to Columbia

Spirit is now flying from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Barranquilla. That’s exciting news if you’ve always wanted to visit Columbia, and even more exciting if you happen to snag a coveted $9 fare!

Of course, before you book your tickets, make sure to check your passport expiration date. Remember, you may need to renew your passport even if yours is still technically valid-if it expires in less than 6 months, many countries won’t let you in.

Passport renewals usually take at least 6 weeks. If you select the government’s expedited service, you can expect to wait at least 3 weeks, and you’ll pay $60 extra for the privilege. If you need to renew your passport more quickly than that, a private passport expediting service is the fastest and most easiest way to get it done.

Expediting companies like RushMyPassport.com can forward your application to the US Department of State, so you get super-fast processing without having to make an appointment at a passport office.

Let us help you renew your passport today!

You just can’t make this kind of stuff up, folks. A Delaware woman applied for a passport renewal, only to be turned down because she had apparently been marked as deceased, healthy vital signs notwithstanding.

According to NBC’s local Philadelphia affiliate, the incorrect death report came to light when Terri Penza was applying for a passport renewal at the passport office in Philadelphia.  Since she was scheduled to be in Jamaica for a family vacation in just a few days, she applied in person at the office instead of by mail.  Imagine her confusion when, during what was supposed to be a routine appointment, she was told that she couldn’t get a passport because the government thought she was deceased!

Ms. Penza had been turned down earlier in the year for a store credit card for the same reason, but she had believed that it was just a “crazy fluke” since she was, after all, very much alive.  Fortunately, she was able to get her passport renewal on time, though not without a visit to the Social Security administration to get a letter confirming that the death record had been issued incorrectly.

Experiences like this demonstrate why it’s a good idea to apply for your passport renewal as far in advance as possible.    You never what could happen to turn a perfectly normal renewal request into a long, drawn-out affair.

If you’re on a deadline, an expedited company like RushMyPassport can help get your passport application processed more quickly, so you get notified of any problems ASAP and can hopefully get them corrected. We personally deliver your application to the Department of State, for processing times as low as 24 hours, and you’ll get a trained, professional passport specialist to walk you through the process.

Also, you’ll notice that Ms. Penza had to travel from her home in Delaware to the Philadelphia passport office to get her passport renewed in time. That’s because passport agency offices that can issue same-day passports are scattered about the country. You may not have one near you. If you don’t, or if you just don’t want to take the time to drive down there, an expediting company offers a more convenient solution.

Let us help you apply for your passport renewal today!

For the past several years, traveling to Europe has been an expensive proposition. With the euro worth more than the dollar, US travelers would lose an irritatingly large portion of their trip budget at the exchange counter.

Now, the euro is falling, which means that traveling to Europe is becoming cheaper than it’s been for quite some time.  Is it time to apply for your passport renewal and book a flight?

Perhaps so.  Jaunted notes that for the euro, “a continued slide is more likely than not,” but the US dollar faces significant challenges as well. Jaunted concludes that “if you’ve got some money and time lying around, now is a very attractive moment to hop across the pond.”

Of course, to do that you will need a US passport. If you’ve let yours expire waiting for an affordable European travel deal to show up, now would be a good time to apply for that passport renewal.

Passport renewal usually takes about 6 weeks if you choose the standard processing option. If you choose the government’s expedited passport renewal option, there’s a good chance you’ll still be left hanging for at least 3 weeks.

Of course, sometimes the best travel deals are last-minute deals, like this special on flights to Europe from Aer Lingus. Fortunately, you can still take advantage of deals like this, even if you can’t afford to wait 3 weeks for your expedited passport renewal.

To get your passport even more quickly, you can make an appointment at a Regional Passport Agency office (assuming, of course, that one is located close to your home). However, this can be time-consuming and inconvenient, plus many people live to too far away from the nearest office to make this option feasible.

The fastest and most convenient way to get your passport renewal done quickly is to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport. RushMyPassport.com’s experienced passport specialists will personally deliver your passport renewal application to the Department of State, for processing in as little as 24 hours.

Apply for your passport renewal now!

It’s already May, and that means it’s time to start shopping around for summer travel deals. Here’s how to end up with an incredible, affordable summer vacation in 3 easy steps:

Step 1- Apply for your US passport renewal

Some of the best travel deals this summer will take you out of the country. Since you now need your passport even for most trips to our neighbors in Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean, it makes sense to go ahead and apply for your passport renewal now.

Step 2- Friend/Follow your favorite airlines and hotels

One great way to get the inside scoop on travel deals is to connect with your favorite airlines or hotels on Twitter and/or Facebook. For example, CBS’ “The Early Show” reported that the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort is offering discounts of up to 40% off to travelers who “like” the resort’s Facebook page.

Likewise, many airlines announce specials on Twitter. For example, JetBlue airlines uses the @JetBlueCheeps account to broadcast discounted fares to its followers.

Step 3- Monitor sites for deals

Many discount travel sites will send you updates by email to show you what their latest deals are. For example, Orbitz has a service called “Deal Detector” that lets you name your desired price for a specific itinerary. If the price for the trip drops down below a certain point, Orbitz will notify you by email.

Other travel websites will send you email newsletters with hand-picked travel bargains. If you don’t want these clogging your inbox, consider changing your email settings to have them routed to a special “travel” folder, which you can then review at your leisure.

While it makes sense to book ahead most of the time, last-minute deals do also come up. That’s why it’s so important to have a valid passport. US passport renewal can take 6 weeks if you apply with regular processing, and 3 weeks even if you apply for the government’s expedited processing.

If you need your passport renewal more quickly, there is hope-a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport can get your application processed in as little as 24 hours, without you having to spend a lot of time in a passport office.

Apply for your US passport renewal today!

Is your passport due to expire within the next 6 months to a year?  While you may not feel like shelling out the extra cash for a new one, it’s still a good idea to go ahead and get it renewed. In many cases, a passport with an expiration date 6 months or less in the future is almost as useless as one that’s expired.

Consider, for instance, the case of Charles Herman. According to the Chicago Tribune, he attended a friend’s wedding last year in Uganda.  Before he went, he researched the country’s visa requirements at the US State Department’s website. His passport was good for just a little less than 6 months, and the Department of State website said that it only needed to be good for 3 months.

However,when he tried to board his flight, he was told by the airline that he needed to have at least 6 months left on his passport, not three. Instead of letting him get on the flight to Uganda, the airline made him fly into Kenya instead, at an additional cost of $855.66.

Yikes! The airline then refused to refund the price difference, even after Mr. Herman referred them to the incorrect information on the Department of State’s website (which has since been corrected.)

The moral of the story, according to Steve Lott, a spokesman for the IATA, is to check multiple sources for your travel requirements. Mr. Lott told the Tribune:

“If there’s a dispute, if you get mixed messages or mixed information, the ultimate authority here is the country you’re going to,” Lott said. “Make sure you get something in writing, and make sure you cross reference with your airline.”

One way to ensure that this doesn’t happen to you is to renew your passport more than 6 months before it expires.  Of course, it’s easy for your passport expiration date to creep up on you, and it can take up to 3 weeks to get your new passport back in the mail even if you apply for expedited service.

Using a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport is the way to go if you need to get your passport renewed in a hurry and you want to avoid the hassle of making an appointment and driving to a Regional Passport Agency office. We hand-deliver your application to the Department of State, so you can renew your passport in as little as 24 hours!

Renew your passport with us today!

Travel writers have an awesome job.  I mean, really, getting paid to travel the world,  see cool stuff, eat delicious local foods, etc.  Awesome!

If you’ve always wanted to become a travel writer but aren’t sure how to get started, there’s a new online course available to help you get your feet wet.  The Matador Network, which bills itself as the world’s largest independent travel magazine, is offering a program called MatadorU aimed at teaching aspiring travel writers the tricks of the trade.

According to this review of the course on the Sharing Experiences website, for $225 you’ll get professional critiques of your work to help you improve your writing style, information on how to pitch articles and how to find job leads, and information on how to build your career using tools like social media.

In addition to tips from industry insiders, the MatadorU course also comes with a guarantee-if you don’t like it, you can cancel within 3 weeks to get your money back. All in all, it doesn’t seem like a bad deal-especially compared to learning the craft of travel writing the traditional way, through the school of hard knocks!

Of course, for an aspiring travel writer, there are a few accessories that you absolutely won’t be able to go without.  Obviously, you’ll need either a laptop,  or a pen and paper if you’re old-fashioned. You’ll also need a valid US passport.

Since many countries require your passport to be valid for at least 6 months after your trip, you should renew your passport well before it expires. In most cases, you can renew your passport by mail- see Passport Renewal or a New Passport? to see if you will be eligible for passport renewal by mail.

Remember, it can take at least 6 weeks to renew your passport using normal processing, and at least 3 weeks if you use the government’s expedited processing.  If you need your passport renewed more quickly, an expediting agency is the easiest and fastest way to go. With RushMyPassport.com, y0u could have your passport renewal processed in as little as 24 hours!

Renew your passport with us today!

Where can you go to apply for a passport renewal in New York City? Actually, most people are eligible to renew their passports by mail and do not have to go to the New York Passport Office. There’s no need to apply in person unless one of the following statements are true:

• Your old passport has been lost or stolen. You must turn it in with your passport renewal application.
• Your passport was issued when you were under the age of 16 or was issued more than 15 years ago.
• You have changed your name on your US passport and you don’t have legal documentation of the name change.

If any of the above statements apply to you, you are not eligible to renew by mail and must apply in person at a Passport Acceptance Facility, usually a library or a post office, for a brand-new passport.  If you are eligible to renew by mail, you can fill out passport renewal form DS-82 and send it in to the US Department of State. You’ll need to include the following documents:

• Your old US passport.
• Two passport photos
• Legal proof of any name changes since you got your last passport, i.e. a court order, marriage certificate or divorce certificate.
• A check or money order for the $75.00 application fee, plus an additional $60 if you need your passport expedited.

Easy enough, right? Well, as that old song goes, “the waiting is the hardest part.” If you apply with regular service, you can expect to wait at least 6 weeks for your new passport to arrive in the mail. If you apply with the government’s expedited service, it will take at least 3 weeks.  (more…)