The loving and loathing of passport stamps

For some time now, Australia and New Zealand authorities have not stamped the passports of residents when they travel overseas. If you are a frequent traveller, a passport can soon start to fill with all those stamps. Often that means an expensive replacement well before the expiry of the original passport. While the move does mean a significant saving when it comes to costs, not all travellers are happy. With more and more countries doing away with passport stamps altogether, some of our members are applauding the move, while others loath it.

They are certainly becoming a part of a bygone era as more places use electronic means for tracking boarder movements. However are you happy to see them go or do you still love getting that stamp, if nothing else to say you’ve been there. For me, I love the stamp. I look over my passport and see the places I’ve been and it always brings back good memories. However it took me nearly 2 years from the day I received my passport to the day I got my first stamp in it, since in those years I was simply flying Melbourne to Auckland and vice versa flights, which of course for Australian citizens you don’t get stamps for these days.

For those that love getting stamps, it seems the appeal rests in the ability of those stamps to bring back memories of a trip long since taken. As you get older, that collection of old or expired passports grows. Thumbing through the pages on a rainy day with a cuppa or a glass of wine can be a pleasurable experience.

I am on my 6th passport and love looking at stamps from previous visits. The best stamps are from Countries that no longer exist such as USSR, East Germany and Yugoslavia. Also the stamps from European Countries that now form the EU Great memories

With the Australian dollar continuing its inevitable devaluation against most currencies in the past year, perhaps frequent overseas travel will be less of a feature in many members budgets going forward. Those currently loathing the filling passport might find their rate of stamp collection declining. But business travellers will no doubt continue to fly regardless of the currency situation. For those amassing stamps on a regular basis, consideration should be given to the options available at renewal time.

I used to like them, then with my last passport I filled it up after only 5 years, so hit with another several hundred dollars to get a new one, this time I went for the 64 page variety

When was the last time you had to replace a passport because it was full? Has it been recently when it seems most Australians were taking a break overseas to enjoy the buying power of our dollar? What memories does looking at your old passports bring back, join the conversation HERE.

Staff Writers