Six Month Passport Validity Rule

Today, I learned something that affects many of our clients - it’s called the “Six Month Validity Rule,” and I decided to do a bit more research on the topic to help all of our clients who travel to other countries.

If your passport is set to expire soon and you have travel plans, watch out for this six month rule. Many countries require a six month buffer on your passport’s expiration date. Quite simply put, this means if you travel to those countries and your passport expires in a month, it may not be valid and you may not be able to board a flight, or enter your destination county.

Your best bet is to renew your passport at least nine months before it expires; however, it’s useful to know which countries enforce the rule. U.S. Passport Help Guide lists 50+ countries that require six-month validity when traveling from the U.S.

Here are a few of the most popular for tourists:

• Bahamas

• Belize

• Bolivia

• Brazil

• Burma

• China

• Cote d’Ivoire

• Ecuador (Galápagos Islands)

• French Polynesia

• Guyana

• Honduras

• Jamaica

• Kenya

• Mexico

• Malaysia

• Mozambique

• Namibia

• Nicaragua

• Papua New Guinea

• Philippines

• Singapore

• St. Lucia

• Taiwan

• Thailand

• Trinidad & Tobago

• Venezuela

• Vietnam

For a complete list of countries that require six-month validity, head here.

We recommend that you renew your passport nine months before your passport expires. This gives you enough time to apply for a U.S. passport with the passport office.

If you are traveling soon and your passport is about to expire, you will need to expedite your passport renewal. The post office is not recommended in this situation as the turnaround time to expedite a passport renewal at the post offices is two to four weeks. Go to a passport agency or center. Find more information here or contact your favorite Upon A Star agent. Happy traveling!

What exactly is a charter flight?

You may have heard about great airfare deals you can get by taking a charter flight. Or, perhaps you found a low price on a packaged vacation, and the airfare component is on a charter flight. Chances are you might also be one of the many travelers who doesn’t know what exactly a charter flight is, or the benefits associated with charter flights.

Unlike the scheduled flights of most major U.S. airlines, charter flights generally take place outside of normal schedules. Seats on charter flights can be sold individually through a charter company or as part of a vacation package through a tour operator. Charter flights are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for safety.

What are the benefits of a charter flight?

When you charter an aircraft, you (or in most cases, the tour operator), rent the entire airplane and pay for that plane to be repositioned to your location Consequently, costs may be higher than buying standard scheduled air tickets, but it’s worth it, especially when you are flying to a destination that does not have nonstop flights from your departure airport.

Flexibility: Fares for charter flights do not carry most of the stringent restrictions that are imposed with commercial flights. These include special advance-purchase and minimum or maximum stay requirements.

Clarity of prices: Many charter fares are not subject to the typical legacy airline fare-class distinctions.

Less Hassle: Charter flights are usually direct (nonstop).

Service: Ease of ticketing, simple boarding procedure and low-stress airport experience.

Personal experience

I was fortunate enough to test out a charter flight from Pittsburgh to Cancun in August 2016. I loved that we were in our own terminal at the airport, where it was not crowded and everyone was happy because we were all headed to Cancun! We boarded nearly an hour before we were due to leave, because we were all there. Therefore, we were allowed to depart early, which meant that we arrived early. Our charter service representative was there to make thing ran smoothly. He arranged for an in-flight free snack and non-alcoholic beverage for each guest, plus there were alcoholic beverages available for purchase. During the flight, the Allegiant flight attendants passed out the forms that we needed to go through customs in Cancun and explained how to fill them out properly. It was a great experience and I will most certainly travel on a charter flight again!

Real ID Act and What it Means for Travelers

Depending on where you live, you may have started to hear whispers that "you know, you need a passport to fly now!" As a Travel Agent, this is a question I've gotten a lot over the past few weeks. The reason this issue has been coming up is due to the Real ID act.  This act was actually passed way back in 2005, and then in 2013, Congress rolled out phases of enforcement. There is a lot to the act, and although I am certainly no expert, I can tell you what it means for travel! This post will have links and resources all in one place to make the transition to Real ID compliance as painless as possible.

Department of Homeland Security has a great list of FAQs that can really help you understand what the law is about. For the purposes of this post, I'm only highlighting what relates to travel and what it means for you. Click here for the link to the FAQs. 

Right now, about half of the United States are in compliance with this law.  There are several others who are under "extensions", allowing time to comply if they choose, and a handful are non-compliant.  You can check on your state by clicking this link.  Compliant states are good to go! Yellow states are under extensions -- those extensions may or may not be renewed, so watch the site for updates on what ID is acceptable. Non-compliant states will need to ensure they have alternate ID.

Our agency is based in Pennsylvania, and PA residents will note that as of January 2018, we will be out of compliance. In fact, there is already signage at Pittsburgh International Airport prepping travelers for the change:

Signage at PIT

So, if your state (like PA) is non-compliant with the Real ID act, what does that mean for travel? Basically, you'll need another form of ID to go through security at the airport.  The popular choice is a passport, but there are other acceptable forms of ID (click here). 

If you plan to apply for a passport, save yourself the trouble, apply early! There will likely be an influx of applicants, so be ahead of the game. Applying for a passport isn't as scary as it seems.  In fact, here is a great link to walk you through the process.  If you currently have a passport, check the expiration date, and apply for renewal if it expires in the next year.  Many countries are now requiring your passport to 6+ months left before expiration in order to travel to their country.

Of course, these are just resources for your perusal.  For full, up-to-date info, keep an eye on TSA.gov and the Department of Homeland Security's website. 

Happy Travels!