[Miket61]

I thought I'd put this one here before, but it disappeared...

I finally got a passport. I want a nice passport cover, but the one that matches my briefcase is $450 and rather blah. I bought and returned one from Cartier that was $225, because I just didn't like the metal trim detail - seemed like it could snag on a pocket, and rummaging for something in a coat pocket in front of a border guard is never a good idea.

I think I've decided on this one:

https://www.smythson.com/SmythsonSite/product/WP-1004354.htm

But I'm not sure about the crest. I prefer the silver to the gold, because it looks more like something from the 1960s, when people wore suits to fly Pan Am and got hot meals that were at least as good as the Horn & Hardart.

My one paranoid thought is that it advertises that I'm an American. I don't intend to travel to any war zones, but is it just foolish for me to be concerned about attracting the attention of people who would be inclined to harrass Americans because of their disagreement with our government's policies?

 

[jackmccullough]

I don't see the point of having one. Could you explain? It would seem to make it bulkier, and when you're traveling who needs that?

 

[Miket61]

I don't see the point of having one. Could you explain? It would seem to make it bulkier, and when you're traveling who needs that?

This is basically a thin leather fold that protects the passport, which is made of a cardboard that looks like it wouldn't last ten years of steady use as a form of identification.

I definitely don't want what they call a "travel wallet," which is the size of a tie case with more pockets. I don't know where one is expected to keep that, unless you're going to drop it into a safe deposit box at the hotel when you arrive.

 

[AlanC]

I have one from Hartmann in belting leather. I liked it because it had no country crest.

 

[fenway]

I have one from Hartmann in belting leather. I liked it because it had no country crest.

Very nice looking and the price is right!

 

[Miket61]

I have one from Hartmann in belting leather. I liked it because it had no country crest.

I actually bought that one, in black. But I'm a sucker for high-end leather goods and wanted something a bit fancier. Not $450 fancy, but $170 fancy was OK.

What don't you like about the crest?

 

[Miket61]

Very nice looking and the price is right!

In black it's $10 cheaper.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Aspinal of London has passport covers in a few colors/styles.

 

[AlanC]

I actually bought that one, in black. But I'm a sucker for high-end leather goods and wanted something a bit fancier. Not $450 fancy, but $170 fancy was OK.

What don't you like about the crest?

Same thing as said above. I just wanted something a bit more discreet.

Swaine Adeney Brigg used to have a passport case on their website. Seems like it retailed for something like $80 or so, which is quite reasonable for them. You might take a look there. I don't see it on their website but an email to them might scare it up.

 

[Miket61]

Same thing as said above. I just wanted something a bit more discreet.

Swaine Adeney Brigg used to have a passport case on their website. Seems like it retailed for something like $80 or so, which is quite reasonable for them. You might take a look there. I don't see it on their website but an email to them might scare it up.

I was able to track down a picture online, still at $80. I will follow up with Classic Luggage, because I also need to replace my Briggs umbrella.

 

[Andy]

I have one, not necessarily for passport protection, but so no one can look over and see what country I'm from!!

Once you get to the customs/emigration officer they want it out of the case anyway and on a cruse you hand them your passport sans case so the only protection it would serve is in your pocket.

 

[Miket61]

I have one, not necessarily for passport protection, but so no one can look over and see what country I'm from!!

An excellent reason for keeping the Hartmann (previously discussed, $35) that I was going to take back!

 

[Adagio]

Once you get to the customs/emigration officer they want it out of the case anyway and on a cruse you hand them your passport sans case so the only protection it would serve is in your pocket.

+1 Enhanced security requirements like this appear to make a passport cover redundant. There is really no point if one has to take it out of the cover each time one presents it at immigration (so they can swipe it through the reader.). What a pity. I did thing about getting a cover as I will be getting a new passport shortly, but I doubt I will now.

A

 

[misterdonuts]

This is exactly why frequent travellers do not use a passport cover. I would not worry about the wear and tear on the cardboard. If you use your passport frequently enough, you will have filled up all the pages before your cardboard gets shredded.

Do not worry about showing the crest on your passport. It won't matter because people will spot in an instant that you are an American anyway, with or without inspecting your passport.

Plus, you would not want to cause irritation to other travellers by holding up the queue while you fumble to get your passport out of the fussy cover. THAT is more likely to provoke ire than the bird on the cover.

 

[globetrotter]

This is exactly why frequent travellers do not use a passport cover. I would not worry about the wear and tear on the cardboard. If you use your passport frequently enough, you will have filled up all the pages before your cardboard gets shredded.

Do not worry about showing the crest on your passport. It won't matter because people will spot in an instant that you are an American anyway, with or without inspecting your passport.

Plus, you would not want to cause irritation to other travellers by holding up the queue while you fumble to get your passport out of the fussy cover. THAT is more likely to provoke ire than the bird on the cover.

+1. I go through passport control maybe 20 times in an average month. I dont want to have to take the cover off.

 

[Concordia]

Back when they were still in business and looking prosperous, I got one from Mark Cross.

Never gets used now, mostly b/c of the PITA factor.

 

[Kav]

So get a passport cover with the crest of a nice nuetral country, one conneted with your ancestry maybe.

 

[Acacian]

I don't see the point of having one. Could you explain? It would seem to make it bulkier, and when you're traveling who needs that?

US passports tend to have a major problem when exposed to water - the plastic that covers the picture tends to peel back and even if you manage to get it back down in place, it looks like you may have tampered with it and substituted in a new picture.

I found this out after being exposed to my first Newfoundland ice storm (one in which the ice arrives in such a strong wind that the ice pelts you horizontally rather than vertically).

 

[cbird]

I just bought the Smythson model last week. It does help a little in that it stores the passport and boarding passes together, which reduces fumbling in security lines. It also fits nicely into my shirt pocket.
I also thought about the American logo question and briefly thought of getting another logo, but decided not to. The passport itself is easily identifiable as American, and the few times I would have to pull the passport out it's very unlikely anyone close enough to see it wouldn't also surmise my nationality, anyway - it would just look strange to have another country's logo on the cover. Maybe you could just get a non-logoed cover, but I doubt that you'd encounter anyone resentful enough of the US that they'd bother to take it out on you personally. As you often hear, many foreigners like Americans, just not our governments policies and actions.

 

[Miket61]

So get a passport cover with the crest of a nice nuetral country, one conneted with your ancestry maybe.

My family is Belgian, which is almost as neutral as you can get (their national motto is "Willkommen in France!")

I'm sticking with my plan, unadorned Hartmann, at least until I go to the Smythson store in January and see it in person.