International travel: passport; credit cards; travel advisories; STEP; general advice?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I live in the USA and looking for some help from you who frequently travel internationally. It’s been over 10 years for me, and it was usually business travel. I’m retired now.

First, passport

My passport expired years ago and I need a new one. (I guess when I get it, I should never let it expire; I should always renew it and keep it current; OK I’ll do that.)

What’s the best way to get a new passport? My planned international travel will be in December, so I’ve got a couple of months.

I’m a AAA member and they have a service to get a passport, but the fees look a little prohibitive.

➜ https://aaa.rushmypassport.com ■
New Passport Application
$99.00 Smart Service
$34.95 Passport Card
$29.95 Passport Protection
$25.00 STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program)
$188.90 Subtotal
-$9.90 AAA Discount
Total $179.00
Not including $242.05 government fee. SAY WHAT??!! Is this usual and customary? Or ridiculous? Seems to be ridiculous.

I searched and we haven’t discussed this recently. I did find this thread,

➜ https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-emergency-facts-needed-now-16-feb-2024/997654?u=bullitt ■

In the 4th post, @MikeS gives this link

➜ https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast.html ■

This seems to be the best way. Fortunately I can select Routine, and not Expedited or Urgent. They do have a choice for Life-or-Death. Good to know.

Next — credit cards, money, how best to pay

What about credit cards for international use? I remember getting hit with FTXs, foreign transaction fees. Most of my international travels were for work and I got hit with many FTXs, but fortunately my company paid for those.

I want to avoid cash as much as possible.

I’m very security cautious. But my wife is not. She leaves her purse hanging on the back of her restaurant seat. I’ve got some training to do!

Next — travel advisories

I remember that I used to be able to subscribe by email for State Department Travel Advisories by country.

I found this but can I get advisories sent to me? Even by text?
➜ https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Philippines.html ■

My travel will be to the Philippines.

Finally — other international travel suggestions?

What suggestions do you have for international travel? Hotel bookings? My travel will be to the Philippines.

What about rental cars? And I’m actually thinking about renting a motorcycle, or maybe even buying an inexpensive one to use when I’m there.

Is STEP worth it? ➜ https://mytravel.state.gov/s/step ■

Any recommended program to expedite the customs process? A friend recommends Global Entry. Thoughts?

➜ https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry ■

Other suggestions?

•

Thanks in advance for your help!

2

For passport renewal, just follow the steps here: Renew an adult passport | USAGov. You don’t need to do anything special or outsource it to the AAA or anyone else, it’s easy enough on your own, assuming you live relatively close to a passport office. It is not an especially arduous process.

Global Entry is worth it, IMHO, not only for international travel (it REALLY speeds up going through customs on your return) but because it also includes TSA PreCheck for domestic travel, which speeds up domestic security. (EDIT: Note, before you pay for this, note that many travel credit cards will include it for free.)

I have never heard of this STEP thing, but for 20 minutes of work, why not? Not that the Phillippines should be especially dangerous…

Other tips:

  • If you plan to travel a lot more from now on, Google Fi is probably the best cell phone carrier for that. Your same number and data plan will work seamlessly in 200+ countries around the world… you’re automatically connected as soon the plane lands and starts taxiing, no need for additional SIM cards or anything. It is generally cheaper than comparable travel plans from other US carriers. Fi is a Google partnership with T-Mobile, which has a major international presence, and subcontracts out with other domestic carriers all around the world. In my experience, it gives you decent speeds in many countries… usually not the fastest you can get, but a lot simpler and cheaper than buying SIM cards everywhere.
  • Or you can buy eSIMs as you go, such as with the “Saily” app.
  • A good travel credit card can make a big difference and save you some money with its perks, as long as you don’t accrue interest on it. My Chase Sapphire has been very, very good to me: Sapphire | Credit Cards | Chase.com, paying for itself many times over with primary auto insurance, other travel insurances (lost luggage, delayed flights, medical, etc.), no foreign transaction fees (not that they’re that much to begin with), lounge visits, free airport food (soon to be discontinued, I think), and generally being very good about chargebacks, returning several hundred dollars from scammy businesses. Oh, and it also includes free Global Entry. There are others too, both from Chase and other operators.
  • I’d consider turning on location sharing on your phone (either Google’s or Apple’s) so your family can keep track of you as you bounce around the world, just in case they need to try to reach you in an emergency.
  • You might also want to consider long-term travel insurance + medevac, in case you need to be flown back (or to a nearby hospital). Depends on your overall health and risk tolerance.
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OK, I was just there in November. The Philipines is very safe except for the southwestern area of Mindanao. Even that isn’t unsafe, but the state department advises against it. Really nothing to do there anyway.

If you are staying in a city do not bother getting a car. Get a metered taxi and make sure they use the meter. If you are adventurous you can try the trikes, especially for short hops. You can also rent a driver and car for out of city visits.

Check with you cell provider to see if the have an international plan so you can use you number. You may need it if a credit card is denied. I recommend just taking cash of of a ATM at a bank or mall, not from a street or small store.

How long are you staying? I used Air BNBs for long term stay and got great rates.

Get a rabies shot and hepatitis shots before you go. Stray dogs are everywhere, better safe than sorry. Don’t eat street food and always drink bottled water.

There are lots of YouTube channels about the Philipines, check them out.

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IMHO: Logistics aside — and I should note that this is largely a matter of personal preference — my partner and I both find that we get a lot more out of travel when we can meet and get to know some locals. That might mean staying at hostels (or Couchsurfing, if that’s still a thing), meeting up with friends who live nearby, going to local events & venues away from the major touristy areas, chatting with shopkeepers and people at cafes, etc. It usually means sacrificing some time that would otherwise be spent following the guidebooks and videos and brochures, but you get a much more intimate feel of the culture (not to mention local favorite places) that way. It’s not always possible to travel that way, like when you don’t have any language in common with the locals or just don’t feel comfortable/safe doing so, but whenever possible, it makes travel much more interesting for us.

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Take multiple credit and debit cards along and U.S. dollars and don’t keep them all in the same place (money belt?). There is a risk: Credit card company: “Bullitt has charged something in the Philippines, but he has never left the U.S. before!. Obviously a stolen credit card. Shut it down immediately.”

6

It used to be that some credit card operators will let you submit a travel notice ahead of time (either online or by phone) letting them know that you’ll be overseas. These days, some (like Chase) stopped bothering with those… the link is still there in the website, but when you click it, it just says “Traveling soon? No worries, we got your back, no need to tell us in advance” or something like that.

On the other hand, my credit union did immediately block my cards the first time I tried to use them overseas, and I had to contact them (across time zones) to unfreeze them. It was a pain.

7

There’s a government app that gets you through Customs in a priority lane at selected airports. It’s kind of like Fastpass at Disney. Here’s the link: Mobile Passport Control (MPC) | U.S. Customs and Border Protection Mobile Passport Control (MPC) | U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Individual airports have their own sites for priority lanes for security. I’ve used them for JFK and Schipol in Amsterdam, and they’re worth signing up.

Bank of America has a Travel Rewards Visa card, no fee and no foreign transaction fees.

About travel in the Philippines, I know people who’ve used the Viator website for finding local tours. The domestic airline market is very competitive now (it’s not just Philippine Airlines any more) and has added lots of inter-island flights at good prices.

Have you looked into booking your international flights yet? December is high season.

Re. shots, look into shots for malaria and dengue.

I lived in the Philippines for 9 years and have family there. My last visit was in 2010. Remembering the roads there, my advice regarding driving would be to avoid it and hire a driver. It’s like the Wild West with insanely aggressive drivers.

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My doctor told me not to worry about these unless I was actually going to spend a lot of time in the jungle, or stay for more than a couple of months. And that the dengue shot was only for a certain strain but there were several strains. That said, it is the tropics, TB and Hep A and B are common.

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Great idea. Every American citizen should have one. I helps with onboarding with a new job and just imagine if a friend calls and asks if you want to go to The Bahamas in a month.

For renewals by mail visit this page or this page if you can do it online.
If you cannot renew because it has expired, download this form. Fill it out (but don’t sign) and make an appointment to go to the post office near you that does passports along with your proof of citizenship (most likely your birth certificate). Many (all?) of those post office can take your passport photos for a small fee. Pay the passport processing fee and wait.

Ask each credit card if they charge fees. Mine do not but I’m sure they make money off of arbitrage in the exchange rate.

Best way I have found to get a little local currency is to use an ATM in the airport at landing. Avoid your bank and especially currency exchanges.

Book directly with the hotel. If you go 3rd party (booking.com, hotels.com, &c.) and there is an issue, the hotel will not resolve it. Also, get a full itemized receipt before you travel. I have had two bookings with hotels that refused to email a full receipt despite repeated requests and both times there were major issues. The one in Venice scammed us by charging us double what we should have paid and we had nothing to say, “This should be the price.” The other was a hotel in Key West that gave away our room even after confirmation when we landed in Miami then claimed we never paid for it (it was pre-paid) so they owed us nothing.

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If you get Global Entry, you don’t also need this (it’s a separate line).

And if you do a LOT of traveling, Clear will let you jump even more queues when combined with Global Entry or Precheck. It’s an additional cost though, a private company with a monopoly…

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There are airports where Clear has a free reservation program. That’s the one I used at JFK and Schipol.
Since the OP doesn’t do a lot of international travel, I’d think twice about the paid Clear program.

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Nitpick/clarification: you’re still eligible to renew online or renew by mail if the passport has expired within the past five years (and some other requirements like you’re still in possession of it, it was never reported lost or stolen, etc.) If that applies to you, you might not even have to go to the post office to get it renewed — unless you need to buy stamps.

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Some good suggestions here. My two cents:

I agree that you should forget about using 3rd party services for your passport. They are mostly useful if you live somewhere with poor access to what they call acceptance facilities. Large metro areas have a lot of these. If you have your proof of citizenship documents and apply right now, you’ll have your passport in plenty of time for December travel and it will cost about $165 (the AAA quote of 242.50 was expedited processing plus expedited shipping).

In fact, living where you do, you can get an Urgent passport in a few days if you have proof of travel in 14 days or less (you need to make and appointment at the Federal Building, go there to apply and then return a few days later to pick up you passport)

As far as credit cards go, find out which ones have no fees (or low) associated with foreign transactions. If you are lucky, one of your cards will be a good card for travel.

The best travel credit cards offer perks like free Global Entry registration and airport lounge access. Bear in mind that Global Entry is only for US passport control on your return, but you do get TSA Precheck with Global Entry, and that is a gamechanger for passing through security (I now get very annoyed if it takes more than 5 minutes to get through security at LAX because it almost never happens). My last use of Global Entry at LAX was: bypass all the line, walk up to a camera, stand still for a few seconds, and proceed, so if that is attractive…

Lounge access seems like a luxury until you run into cancellations, delays, and chaos at the airport, then it is a blessing.

As far as transportation goes, consider whether you might want to hire both a car and a driver for parts of your trip. In countries like the Philippines this often just raises the cost to about the same as a rental car rates in the U.S.

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And check if Uber is available. When we were in Monaco and the train broke we could not get back to the cruise ship in Nice because Uber is not allowed in Monaco. Luckily we were able to cross the street into France and get a ride back to the ship.

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This may sound minor, but it’s a 15 hour flight from the west coast to Manila. Make sure you have enough in-flight entertainment options.

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I have traveled to South America a couple times recently, and my wife and I visited Costa Rica last year. Here are some things we did:

Enroll in the State Dept smart traveler program:

https://mytravel.state.gov/s/step

Make copies of your passports and stash them in your suitcase. Make a couple copies and put in different places.

I created little “banks” for our cash (both USD and local currency) out of a used deoderant container and an empty toothpaste tube. Just roll-up the bills and insert. I never had any issues with hotel room theft, however.

We were usually within the traveler bubble so security felt safe most of the time, but a burner phone is always an option.

If you need local cash using certain banks for ATM withdrawal can get better conversion rates than traveler checks. I understand credit cards can have even better rates. Also, call your bank/credit card and let them know where you are going so when charges start coming in from The Philippines it won’t be suspicious.

For our phones we simply relied on the hotel/lodge/accommodation wifi rather than getting a SIM card, altho a longer stay it would be prudent to get a SIM/eSIM.

And yeah, traveler insurance for sure.

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Also… they almost always have free booze, open bars* with wine/beer/well cocktails. They’re terrific for having a few before the flight to help you sleep, especially for those long red-eyes. Plus they usually have food, both to eat in and little snacks & fruits you can take with you. The credit card ones are also not limited to a specific airline, so you can fly a budget airline (that offers you no food at all) and eat lounge food instead.

And… air conditioning! Especially helpful in Europe, where some airports aren’t air-conditioned very well (or at all) but the lounges may be.

Outside of credit card lounges, airline-specific lounges sometimes also have special attendants too who can help you resolve travel problems — if nothing else, it lets you skip the otherwise loooooooong lines that would result from a travel delay where the entire plane needs to talk to an agent.

I don’t think any of these are perks worth paying out-of-pocket for (usually $50 a head), but if they’re free with your credit card, why not?

(*I mean, obviously don’t get trashed, but they’ve never had an issue with my partner and I having 2-3 drinks apiece, all included in the lounge entry.)

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Oh yeah, good call! On your phones and tablets (but not laptops), most of the streaming providers will let you download movies and shows for offline watching up to 2 weeks or so.

On that note, you might also want to download offline maps in Google Maps on your phone before you go, just in case you get lost and don’t have reception there. It looks like entire country of the Philippines would only be a few hundred megabytes.

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There is a bit of an expense to have a US phone working every day, but rather than mess with SIM cards I went with Verizon’s plan two times. I needed it every day to use public transportation. Though you can plan a route in hotel wifi and do screen shots, that never really works in practice. Mine was 12 dollars a day per country. If you cross a border you get a new 12 dollar notice.

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I have rarely had success with foreign SIMs. My phone never seems to connect with the system yet everyone else seems to have no problem. Maybe it is my phone although I think it’s about me. Sometimes I think I need a “burner” phone instead. But for this thread, learn before hand what you need for your phone to work in that country.