Ann is probably too young ;-)

to remember that in the UK there are two types of driving license. Only one has a photo on it and the address while the more traditional one has only the address.

Years ago I got on an aircraft using my library card (which does have a picture but no address) but it seems this does not work anymore.

yes, bilbo my grandad had one of the old type! [they were little red books if I remember rightly]

seriously, my first licence was a paper one; at some long- forgotten point in the far gone past it was replaced with a two part one, a paper part and the photo-card. The paper part is now obsolete so when I go to test drive a car on Wednesday, I have to take not only my driving licence but also my NI no!

BTW, my Cornwall library card wouldn't work as it's only got a bar code on it, and no photo or address.

Custom officers can access photographs and biographical information on your passport card from 20 feet away because each card contains a radio frequency identification chip. Officers pull up your info on their electronic devices before you reach them, speeding up the process. Your traditional passport can't do that.
The passport is needed for the stamp when you arrive and depart.

I know most countries in the EU have passport cards. We give them to hotels that need to see your passport and if purchasing items that need it. Just another Government form of ID. We can use only the card for Canada and cruising.
Thursday, you don't have to buy one.

It's the same as using your driver's license with photo if asked for identification when purchasing something in a store (shoes, shirts, camera lens, etc) when you don't want to be carrying around that much cash.

And no, I would never carry around a money belt. I use a shoulder bag, strung across my body when in a crowd, or just over the shoulder when not. I even have one from Tumi I use when dressed up; wearing a sports coat and out for the evening. I've never left my passport in a hotel safe. It fits nicely in the shoulder bag.

The only thing I use the hotel safe for is somewhere to put the computer when in an unfamiliar hotel.

@flpab - don't know about your passport, but both my UK and US passports now have RFID chips. I believe the passport needs to be open for the chip to be read, but some people carry them in special covers anyway, to keep the chips from being read. With the right equipment it isn't just the authorities that can read them. And if I want a government issued US passport card I do indeed have to pay the government for it. It is possible that we are not talking about the same thing, see:
http://travel.state.gov/content/pass...tion/card.html

@Robert - I'm not asking about stores and museums, I'm asking about the authorities. Is a US passport card, as opposed to a passport booklet, accepted as ID by police in Europe?

I have used a money belt for years, I feel undressed without it when traveling.

I have always always carried my passport in my money belt - always unless some hotel demanded I leave it there as has been the case.In Berlin Hbf several years ago I was waiting for a train and German cops demanded to see it - about the only time I've had to show it but glad I had it. And if something happens to you your passport is a good source of info on who to call, etc.

Always carry your passport on you IMO - and yes if it is the law obey the law.

"If something happens to you"

Yes, I travel solo, and these days hotel key cards often don't have any info on them. I suppose a credit card might be sufficient ID, but a passport or driver's license seems better, and I don't always carry a credit card.

The new Passports don't need to be open to be read, so a protective sleeve would be recommended.

I don't know if the passport card would be sufficient identification if stopped by some officers as I haven't been stopped for anything in years, except by the Guardia Civil when driving in and out of Pamplona during fiesta. All they wanted was a DUI breath test.

Travelmates were asked for their passports on the train from Paris to Dijon. One of them did not have hers with her, and they fretted that if she were asked for her passport on her return trip, she would not be able to get back to Paris that day. They had a complicated contingency plan, but learned that you never know when you will be asked by authorities for your passport, so best to carry it with you.

I always carry my passport. With MY luck, I'd leave for the airport for my flight home and guess where my passport would be. Yes, you got it, at the hotel of course.

Having my passport on my person has never been a problem.

I simply do not understand why people object to carrying a passport in another country! At home, I wouldn't dream of leaving the house without some valid form of identification. In the States that can be my driving license.

In France, your driver's license is NOT a valid form of identification; your passport is. By all means keep a copy in a retrievable form so the real thing can be replaced, why not just carry the real article?

Generally two lines of thought regarding the carrying of passports.

The first is to carry it. There are risks, that of losing it or having it stolen. During the heavy tourist season, the US Embassy in Paris reports processing hundreds of lost passport claims a month, just for Paris. Losing a passport can be a messing business and can bring your vacation plans to a halt until a new one can be issued, during which time you will have nothing to prove your status.

The second argument is to leave your passport in a secure location, at the hotel for example. There are risks, that of not be able to immediately show one if asked, though I have never heard of anyone being rebuked for only carrying a driver´s license for ID. Most US driver´s licenses and French drivers licenses are identical in format except that, for security reasons, French licenses do not show addresses. If a driver´s license is not sufficiently convincing to anyone asking you to prove who you are, a quick trip back to your hotel room would clear this up rather quickly.

I would not travel far without my passport but whichever you decide, carry it or not, there will be risks.

US Passports have electronic chips in them. I believe it was a requirement to renew yours for the newer model (around 2009?), even if it had not expired.

I don't bother with a protective passport cover, and I don't bother to protect my credit cards from RFID thieves. But then, I don't think I'm an easy - or very interesting - target.

Unless I needed my passport for travel or official government business, I have always carried a color copy of my passport since mine was stolen a few years ago and I went through hell to get it replaced. Never a problem using the copy for ID.

However, since a state of emergency has been declared, I'm leaving the copy at home and carrying my passport.

I worry about having my purse snatched and there is my passport gone. I usually don't carry that or my military id. I worry more about that being stolen than passport. If it is warm enough I have a jacket with a secure inside pocket and put them there. Pal, How do you fit your passport inside your money belt?
But will have on me at all times now that they said you must.

Carrying a genuine photo ID should not bother anyone, it's an entrenched part of 21st century life in most developed countries. On weekdays, I usually carry the following photo IDs
Swiss national identity card
Regional transport pass (aka a driver's license for the non-driver ;-) )
Swiss transport half-fare card
Work ID (photo badge with computer chip)

If there's even the slightest chance I'll be crossing borders, I carry my passport as well. So I'm often carrying in my wallet five real forms of photo ID.

Paper copies provide useful information for you; given how easily photoshop and other programs let you create altered copies, they have no validity to authorities. No wonder they're now demanding people finally stick to the letter of the law and carry the real deal with them.

"I worry about having my purse snatched and there is my passport gone"

So don't put it there. I have no trouble getting my passport (sometimes two) in my money belt. Actually, now plane and train tickets are mostly electronic my money belt is a lot emptier. I wear this one, with the pouch at the back:

http://www.backpacktravelstore.com/L...p/grlkwmbb.htm

thursdaysd - that's the sort I've got. I can see me using a lot more in the future than I have in the past.

as others say

Custom officers can access photographs and biographical information on your passport card from 20 feet away because each card contains a radio frequency identification chip.

sure can, as can any tom, dick or harry.

Best to keep it in a faraday cage, which you can make with aluminium foil (or indeed aluminum), I've worked in the RFID industry and its dead easy

I have been using the rfid passport carrier for years and have one for credit cards and ids.
Not an actual belt. My husband has an actual belt with zipper but mostly for money. Thursday, that was the whole point in not carrying it around. You have such a sweet disposition.

You mean you advocate breaking your host country's laws merely because you find them irksome.

Explain to me the difference between your contempt for other people and the terrorists'>

come on flanner - you need the difference explained? You ever go over the posted speed limit - if so you are saying that you yourself is like the terrorists?

Really you can't see the difference? ever heard of ISIL?