Anyone vaguely THINKING they may be traveling more in the future, when you order your new passport,order the "book" which is fatter and already comes with the extra pages, thus saving you about $80 if you need to add them later. They will only want to know why.. and planning on traveling a lot is a valid reason.

Extra pages used to be free but now they cost an arm and a leg. I will never renew my passport without asking for the fat one again.

I only see the book offered on the web site. There is no option to have the standard passport or the book - only the book.

In Spain you have to request it or they send you one ( or at least they USED to) that is a third the size of my Spanish husband's.

stilltravelingat62, be careful; there is so much misinformation in these responses. Certainly, blank pages <i>are</i> required for some countries.

As the US State Dept website site says:

<i>Question: How many blank visa pages do I need to travel? Answer: Some countries require your passport have two (2) to four (4) blank visa/stamp pages. Some airlines will not allow you to board if this requirement in not met. See Add Extra Pages for how to request more visa pages. </i>

The State Dept site goes on to recommend that US citizens traveling to France contact the French Embassy or a French Consulate for the most current information.

I recently had pages added to my US passport. When you complete the additional pages form, you have a choice to get the standard 24 additional pages or 48 additional pages. Standard processing time is three weeks. In order to expedite, you must show proof of the upcoming itinerary.

As julia1 advises, it is an unnecessary risk; get the extra pages.

Thanks for the advice. I had decided to just get the extra pages since I have over a year left on my passport. I had no idea you could get add'l pages in both a new and current passport (thanks,lincasanova and VolCrew) so now I will look into this further. Instead of paying for add'l pages for just a year, maybe I should just get a new passport with add'l pages.

The 2 blank pages required by South Africa must also specifically be visa pages. They can't be blank amendment/endorsement pages so even if you think you have some pages left, check to make sure they're actual visa pages. People have been denied boarding for this.

The new RFID double size passports are 52 pages (vs the 28 page standard one) of which 41 are actual visa pages.

Extra pages can also be added at US embassies aboard and the turn around time is often the next day. This is done through the American Citizen Services section which may have different hours than regular embassy hours. Unfortunately, it's still $82.

I don't think I'd go through the expense of adding extra pages to a passport with only one year plus left considering it's often useless in the last 6 months.

I've actually found most immigration agents to be pretty careful about keeping stamps together and not randomly stamping on blank pages. Most of the time I'm surprised at how considerate they are. That's not to say I haven't had a couple of rogue ones :)

I agree with Patty 100%.

With only one year left, and not being valid in many countries 6 months before expiration.. get a new passport but ask for the BOOK passport that already has the extra pages " because you will be traveling extensively in the next few years".

Out of curiosity I checked my passport for my last 2 entries into France and they stamped me in and out both times at CDG (December and March). The March ones were stamped right over a used Kenya visa and some old CDG stamps taking up no new space.

Thanks again everyone! I am going to apply for a new Book passport.