Editor’s note: ItsEasy.com provided TPG with a free passport application to test its service. The opinions expressed below are entirely those of the author and weren’t subject to review by the company or any external entity.
A few months ago, I realized that my passport was nearly full. It wasn’t due to expire for another couple of years, but I was running out of blank pages. I knew that some countries — including popular tourist destinations like Italy and Iceland — might even refuse me entry if I didn’t have two or more blank passport pages.
I got my passport back in 2017 before I worked at TPG and before I traveled much for work. I should have gotten the larger 52-page passport book, but I didn’t think I’d need it at the time. Now, I travel constantly for work (and fun). Thanks to TPG, I have visited places like Ghana and Liberia with visas that took up full pages. This is why I was quickly running out of space in my passport.
I had been reporting on the passport backlog for years, and I knew passport wait times had returned to prepandemic levels. Still, I had very little wiggle room between international trips to get a new passport.
That’s when a friend told me about a company I had never heard of called ItsEasy.com.
The company arranges last-minute passports and visas. The coolest thing is that you can do it almost completely online (or via the app). I wanted to test out the service for the TPG audience since readers often ask about expedited passports. I can tell you that I was one satisfied customer. I did go for expedited service, but I had my new 52-page passport within less than two weeks of mailing off the online application.
Here’s how the expedited service works and how you can get a special offer from the company to try it out, too.
How the expedited service ItsEasy.com works
ItsEasy.com charges a flat rate of just $39.95 for its service, which includes the online application, complimentary passport photos and 24/7 customer support.
Of course, you’ll need to pay for the actual cost of the passport and U.S. Postal Service and/or FedEx delivery fees. Still, that’s a real bargain, especially for expedited service.
The first thing you’ll do is install the app. It’s called “ItsEasy Passport Renew & Photo” in the Apple store.
Once you’ve installed the app, it’s easiest to apply on your cellphone. You can also use the desktop version at ItsEasy.com if you prefer. I think for the passport photo, it will be easiest to make it work with your phone, but it’s up to you.
Step-by-step directions
Open the app, and you’ll first see a welcome screen.
Once that animation ends, a menu will appear. You can choose to renew your passport and/or passport card, apply for a second passport, or change your name on the passport. If you need other services — like help with a child’s passport or a travel visa — there are options in the app for that, too.
I chose to renew and clicked on the “Let’s Get Started!” button. That took me to a page to confirm I was eligible for a U.S. passport renewal. You’ll then see options under the “Which type of passport service are you seeking?” box for a renewal, an add-on passport card, a special second passport and a passport name change.
The next options will allow you to choose a passport ($130), a passport and a passport card ($160), or just a passport card ($30). I wanted both a new passport book and a passport card, so I chose the second option and hit “Continue.”
The next screens allow you to choose standard processing, expedited processing or urgent processing. (You cannot receive urgent processing through the app. You’ll get a pop-up that says you need to provide proof of urgent travel and call them at 866-487-3279 for a consultation.) Next, you choose either a 26-page passport book or a 52-page passport book for no additional fee.
Finally, choose how you want to ship the application to ItsEasy.com. There is no charge for USPS First Class. Priority mail gets a charge of $11.95 with tracking and FedEx Overnight is $24.95 with tracking.
Next, choose return shipping through either USPS Priority Mail with tracking (which is included in your application fee) or USPS Express Mail with tracking for an additional charge of $21.36. You also need to decide whether you want to pay a $12.28 convenience fee for ItsEasy.com to send the federal government a check on your behalf or if you want to make a check out to the government for the full amount of your application.
I didn’t have checks, so I paid the convenience fee; you can save the 12 bucks if you include a personal check.
Then, you’ll enter your contact information, shipping address and whether you need one or more passports.
Next comes one of the coolest features. You don’t need to go to a drugstore to get passport photos taken. You can do it all in the app for free. The app will ask for access to your camera and then guide you to take the perfect passport photo. Once you are satisfied with your photo, you hit “My Photo’s Great!” It is so easy.
After that comes your payment screen, where you enter your phone number and credit card information. Then, hit “Submit Order.” If you have any problems during or after the application, you can call 866-487-3279. It’s open all year, 24/7.
Once you’ve successfully paid for the passport, you’ll see a page confirming submission and then a page that will allow you to use your order number to check the status of your application. You’ll need to create a PIN, so be sure to write it down somewhere.
Finally, you’ll get an offer for add-on services like a document check. This is also where you can set your notification preferences. In my case, I chose to get both text message and email updates on the status of my application.
The same day you complete the application, you’ll receive an email with a PDF that you can download and print. I took mine to a print shop in Oakland, California, where I printed the documents and prepared them for mailing.
I really liked the constant text messages and emails I got with status reports on the application’s progress.
I mailed the application on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, and despite the holiday, I had my passport by June 6. That’s just nine business days for a brand-new 52-page passport. I was impressed.
A few days later, I received my new passport card in a separate envelope. Eventually, I received my old passport back in the mail, too.
All in all, I was a very happy customer.
The total price came to $303.71. That includes $190 for the larger passport and expedited processing, $30 for the passport card, and $32 for faster shipping. ItsEasy.com took just $39.95 for its fee. That’s a pretty fair price to pay for all that convenience.
ItsEasy.com history
ItsEasy has been around for more than 40 years now. President and CEO David Alwadish told me that the company started as a service to help people get car registrations. Its motto was: “You name the states, we get the plates.” But when he and his team realized the high demand for passport services, they added that business — the first of its kind. Now there are competitors in the space, but Alwadish says ItsEasy is the best and cheapest.
The company added the app about nine years ago.
ItsEasy customers get a preprinted form, which Alwadish said the government loves because there is a preprinted bar code. “When they get it, they scan it, they issue the passport, and they’re done,” he said. They can knock out 20 passports in the time that it would take to process a traditional application, he added.
Alwadish told me the No. 1 reason passports are rejected is for bad passport photos. ItsEasy guarantees that the passport photos are perfect, and best of all, it’s free as part of the service. “I make sure that they’re flawless,” he said. “I’m not having a robot check each photo.” It’s done by a human.
“If your passport doesn’t come, I’m here,” he said. “You call ItsEasy. I do not rest until the passport is in your hands.” He said the bar-coded forms, prefilled and preprinted documentation, and the preapproved passport photos mean there is “nothing for you to do.”
Special offer for TPG readers
ItsEasy has a first-time ever offer exclusively for TPG readers. If you use the ItsEasy app or ItsEasy.com for any adult passport renewal service, you’ll get the company’s comprehensive Passport Protection Plan as a limited-time gift.
It includes:
- Government fee reimbursement for the value of the balance of full years remaining on the new passport that you just received. In other words, if you use the ItsEasy.com service to renew your current passport, the new passport you receive is protected for its 10-year term. For example: If the new passport you received expires in August 2034, and it’s lost or stolen in 2030, ItsEasy.com will contribute the value for the three years still available on your lost passport at a prorated price of $13 per year, so you’d get a $39 credit when ItsEasy helps you replace the lost or stolen passport.
- 24/7/365 live lost passport Global Assistance.
- Complimentary lost passport preparation plan in case of loss (normally $58.95), where ItsEasy.com 24/7/365 live customer service will help you prepare all passport replacement documentation, and an appropriate appointment, in the event your passport is lost or stolen.
- Complimentary government’s routine service of the exchange of the emergency “limited” passport you received abroad, in the case of a lost passport while traveling internationally, so you can get a full 10-year passport to replace your temporary passport upon return to the U.S.
- A 25% discount on ItsEasy.com urgent passport processing service fee to replace the qualifying lost or stolen passport within 10 business days or less.
To take advantage of this offer, add a note to your application in the notes section of your application or attach a separate piece of paper when you mail in your application with the special promo code “TPG-MYPASSPORT.” Offer expires Sept. 30.
“I do not rest until you get your passport,” said Alwadish. “If the Department of State deems you are worthy for a passport, I will make it happen.”
Bottom line
I found using ItsEasy.com to be a breeze when I needed to get a new, larger passport and passport card. It works whether you need to get an emergency passport, a larger passport book, a visa, a passport card or just new passports for the family.
While passport wait times have decreased since the worst of the pandemic, it can still be a frustrating process. The ability to complete almost the whole passport process via an easy-to-use app is a time saver and a road warrior’s dream come true. I was able to apply and mail it off while I was on the West Coast and get my brand-new passport on the East Coast in just two weeks. Doing it in between three trips made it all the more thrilling.
Related reading:
- When and how to renew your passport, according to the State Department
- This trick could help you bypass long waits for passport renewals
- You might be able to get a second US passport — here’s how
- Where can I cruise without a passport?
- Guide to taking your passport photo at home
- 5 things I learned when renewing my passport for the first time
