My additional page inserts have letters -- and it's been this way for at least around two decades for US passports.

I have one insert with nearly a dozen Chinese visas from just one year alone and each of those single or dual-entry visas take up a full page. At that kind of pace, my passport use costs would jump up under this page insert ban, and I will have to hope they issue the bigger page passports as secondary passpports too.

The biggest percentage jump in US passport use costs for persons like myself came during the Reagan Admin when the US House of Representatives was controlled by his opposition. But the massive percentage increase in passport fees was determined by the Admin.

The page insert ban under the current Admin will be the de facto second biggest percentage cost increase for me. This large increase in costs for me is also determined by the Admin.

I meant that people will be carrying around multiple passports as a 5-year passport will always expire before a 5-year visa.

If you need a second valid passport as well (and maybe a second expired passport containing an unexpired visa too), that just makes it worse.

My dad has a passport from a 5-year country, and he must currently carry 4 passports to travel to the country of which he is a resident (but 3 of them are sealed and bound together - though they are not the same size!)

Fortunately this will change soon as his renewed visa will not be in a passport.

My old passport, issued in the late 90s, has page numbers on the original book and letters on the 24-page add-in. My current passport has no page numbers.

This is fine if they just issue a 48-page (or whatever) passport to everyone. I don't think you could do more than one additional book of pages in the past, so no problems there. What killed me was, when I got my current passport, I asked for the extra book and was denied. A few months later, they started charging for the extra book.

I plan on getting a new passport a few years early, since I'm out of pages and to get the add-on book costs the same as getting a whole new passport. It's a waste of two years potential use, but it doesn't make sense to add pages to a passport that expires in two years. That's a substantial expense of money, time and effort.

Is this an actual post or a reference to something I am not fully understanding :confused: ;)

It's a reference to some people liking (more) stamps and some people caring less or little for them, regardless of how many they have.

I like the stamps, as I have used them as already on-hand evidence either of individual presence or of individual absence (or of both) with regard to one or more countries in any given period of time.

New Zealand has a chance to go back to a ten-year validity period passport -- it changed to the five year period due to a push for more "security" -- and is likely to take it, but it may end up being packaged in legislation that will further enable the government to deny otherwise free NZ citizens an ability to fly around.

The new US passports with the polycarbonate biodata pages may have the RFID chip in the polycarbonate page with the purpose being to reduce the likelihood of the chip ending up disabled.

Most of ePassports with polycarbonate page have RFID chips inside this page, although I am not sure if it is to protect the chip or for some other reasons. Of course, passport holders from other countries are less likely to hammer their passport to disable the chip :D

The EU countries' passports with polycarbonate pages which have the RFID chip in them are in there to reduce the opportunity to disable or otherwise alter the chip. It was a deliberate decision in this theater too. They can still be disabled. :D

The first version(s) of NZ passports with RFID chip had it on a separate page at the back of the passport. Subsequent versions have it on the main personal data page. Yup, much harder to tamper with when it so obvious.

US passports issued after October 2014 aren't eligible for additional page inserts in them. Still not sure when this change became effective, but it'll hit eventually this year if it hasn't already.

By year-end (if not earlier) or start of 2016, even pre-October 2014 passports won't be eligible for additional page inserts.

US passports issued in 2016 or later will also not be eligible for additional page inserts.

The era of additional page inserts in US passports is coming to an end. My suggestion for those interested in additional page inserts, try to get them done sooner than later. When the insert stock runs out, time runs out.

"Security" reasons are why this option is being killed by the government.

I know the Irish government claims the new laser-engraved polycarbonate passports are cheaper to produce. Not sure if the US would use the same process, as I doubt Americans would put up with black and white passport photos (despite them being MORE secure).

While we see reports online, I highly doubt THAT many people hammer their passports. It takes a special type of dense... "hey, let's damage one of the main security features that can prove my passport is authentic before I try to apply to be a guest in this other country that doesn't have to let me in"

The non-functioning nature of the RFID doesn't make an authentic, valid passport any less authentic and valid than a passport with RFID functioning.

My passport cover bending drives me nuts. I wish they could use a better material to fix that.

I never said it did, at least if it fails accidentally (it happens). Tampering with a passport does invalidate it. But another country doesn't have to admit anyone, you're their guest. I know if I was a border security official, I'd be highly suspicious, especially if the passport looked otherwise new (i.e. was unlikely to be through the amount of wear needed to damage the chip), and your smashed chip might cause you substantial delays while your passport was investigated. Just depends on other factors that seem suspicious, it's one of many things. But it strikes me as a special kind of dense-beyond-sanity to do something that can have no beneficial effect, only cause you delays or possibly worse.

P.S. Personally, I'll add I love the e-passports, at least as implemented in the UK. Scan passport, look at facial recognition camera, walk through gate. It's fantastic. Can't think why I'd possibly want to greatly inconvenience myself by smashing the chip forcing me to talk to immigration officers.