Monday, December 2nd
2024 Passport Service Reviews
Rush My Passport
- Offers expedited passport courier services for new and renewal passports, lost/stolen/damaged passports, children's passports, and more
- 11 locations nationwide (offices located in FL, GA, IL, TX, CA, NY, PA, DC)
- Costs range from $119 for 8-week "smart service” to $599 for "emergency service” in 2-4 business days (once documents are received)
- Partnered with AAA, AARP, and more
- Customer service available Monday-Saturday
- Over 9,000 5-star reviews
Rush My Passport is a service offered by Expedited Travel Holdings. If you're a member of AARP or AAA, you might have gotten promotions featuring Rush My Passport as their premium partner for passports and travel visas. But, their services are available to anyone, regardless of whether or not they have a membership with a partner company. This passport courier service has 11 offices nationwide, with locations in eight states plus Washington DC.
Priced from $119 to $599
You'll start the process by selecting the service you need in the dropdown box. Those include passport renewal, new passports, lost or stolen passports, child passports, and more. Here's what you can expect from Rush My Passport, keeping in mind that the pricing and timeframes are the same for both renewals and new passports (unlike many rival services that make a distinction between the two):
- $119 for 8-week Smart Service
- $209 for 3-week Expedited Service
- $364.65 for 7-9 business days Priority Service
- $599 for 2-4 business days Emergency Service
Not the clearest explanations of the process
The timeframes for each of those begin once Rush My Passport has received your paperwork. Keep in mind that wherever you go for your expedited passport help, the "emergency” option usually requires that you have proof of international travel plans within 14 days. Rush My Passport doesn't spell that out unless you read through the "Required Documents” list elsewhere on the website, so we did it for you. They also don't make it very clear at any point during the ordering process that you still have to visit a passport acceptance facility to verify your identity, then ship the sealed envelope the agent gives you to Rush My Passport. We can see how customers would get the wrong idea and not understand these steps; it would be helpful if the website made that clearer during the purchasing process. (We only knew to look for it because we're experts on expedited passport services.)
Shipping fees added later
Those fees we mentioned also don't include the inbound and outbound shipping that are automatically added during checkout. On the Emergency Service we selected, we were charged $69.90 total for shipping both ways.
Mediocre reputation with the BBB
We have some mixed feelings about Rush My Passport's reputation. On the one hand, under its parent company's Better Business Bureau profile, this passport service only gets a "C” rating for having 136 complaints filed in the last three years (and for not responding to two of them). While reading through those frustrated BBB reports, we were left feeling a little leery of Rush My Passport: it's true that most complaints get a response, but it's unfortunate that those clients had to endure the stress of not getting their passports when they were promised, or chasing down refunds.
Mixed feedback elsewhere
On the other hand, comments left on Trustpilot are more positive overall, with over 9,000 clients taking the time to leave a 5-star review. It seems like you'll either be eternally grateful to Rush My Passport for saving your trip (78% 5-star reviews) or so aggravated that you'll call the service a scam (15% 1-star reviews). Take a look at these two comments left within just days of each other: "Our documents were sent on the 13th and delivered perfectly on the 20th” vs. "My application was never sent, and nobody bothered to let me know. I've never felt so demeaned knowingly paying more money to the company that was scamming me.” Yikes!
Save this passport service as a backup
Overall, we'd give Rush My Passport a just-average rating. You could wind up with really exceptional service here…or you could wind up without a passport in time for your trip. More customers get the former than the latter, but the frustrated clients' experiences are enough for us to recommend that you look at the higher-ranked passport services on our list first, and maybe save Rush My Passport as a backup plan.
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The process for getting passports was massively impacted by the pandemic, with processing times and requirements devolving as the world adjusted to new travel norms. During the height of the pandemic, passport processing was severely disrupted. Many passport agencies were closed or operating with reduced staff, leading to massive backlogs and long waits for travelers needing to renew or obtain new passports.
While the situation has improved, there are still some lingering effects that travelers should be aware of. Now, standard passport processing times have stabilized somewhat but remain longer than pre-pandemic levels. On average, it can still take anywhere from 10 to 13 weeks to receive a passport after submitting your application through traditional methods (like going to the post office or another passport acceptance facility).
Passport Service FAQ
Continued from above...
If you opt for expedited processing through that route, you might reduce the wait time to around 7 to 9 weeks. This still represents a significant delay compared to the pre-pandemic era when standard processing typically took 6 to 8 weeks, and expedited processing was often completed in 2 to 3 weeks. It's no wonder that passport expediting services have become increasingly important.
Expedited passport services are designed to help travelers who need to obtain their passports more quickly than the standard or expedited processing times offered by the U.S. Department of State. Expediting services work by leveraging their connections and knowledge of the process to submit applications directly to the agencies that handle passports. They often have the ability to secure appointments at passport agencies, which are otherwise difficult to obtain. However, it's important to understand that these services do not magically cut the processing times in half. On rare occasions, they can help you get a passport in as little as 24 hours in cases of emergency or urgent travel, but more typically within 1 to 3 weeks.
Of course, these services come at a premium, with costs varying depending on how quickly you need the passport and the specific provider. It's also worth noting that even with an expediting service, you still need to have all your documents in order and be prepared to pay additional government fees.
So, which passport service can get your passport to you fast? And which ones will just cause you extra stress and delays? Here are some criteria to help you choose the right one for your needs:
- Services offered. Most passport services can help with all kinds of applications, from new passports and renewals, to replacing lost or stolen ones. Just double-check to make sure the specific kind you need is on their list.
- Available timeframes. "Expedited” means different things to different passport services. If you've got a trip coming up and you didn't realize you needed to have six months left on your passport for it to be accepted, you need "expedited” to mean a timeframe that lets you get on that plane or cruise ship. Pay attention to when the promised timeframe begins: for many expedited services, the clock starts ticking only when they receive your paperwork, which doesn't count for any time needed to go to a passport acceptance facility in person (which is needed for most new passport applications for identity verification).
- Fees. Make sure you understand what's included and what's not. Most passport services don't automatically include the fees charged by the State Department (though some do).
- Reputation. What have clients said about the overall experience with the passport service? Did "expedited” really mean a fast turnaround time? Was there clear communication throughout and on-time delivery, or did documents go missing? Check out customer reviews and Better Business Bureau ratings before you commit to any particular passport service.
Ready to see the world? All that's left is your passport, and so the travel fans at Top Consumer Reviews have reviewed and ranked today's most popular services from first to worst. Whether you just want some help making sure you've dotted the "i”s and crossed the "t”s or you need someone to fly to the rescue and get your passport in hand as fast as possible, our info will connect you with a passport service where "expedited” isn't just a lofty goal but a promise kept. Bon voyage!
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