New Friends Update: Calvin & Kyle

This past Saturday after Ryan & Jessica's wedding festivities concluded, my parents and I checked out of the Marriott and drove up to Boulder - home of the University of Colorado and my father's high school friend, Angus.

After spending most of his childhood in New Jersey, Angus moved to Boulder in 2007 with his amazing wife Keri, where they started a family for the express purpose of me having some kid friends to play with when we visited them this weekend.

Calvin (almost 3 years old) and Kyle (4 months old) are my two newest little friends. As you can see, I'm a little late for announcing Kyle's birth, but as my four Lap Child Diary readers know, I've never been good about breaking a news story.

Despite my unbecoming first impression (crying after being woken up from a car ride nap), they still welcomed me into their house and more importantly gave me access to all their cool toys. I'm looking forward to seeing more of them as the years go on.

Marriott Denver West

Hotel Stay Details
Hotel: Marriott Denver West 
Dates: August 22-24, 2013
Wedding Rate Paid: $119/night
Points Earned: 4,500 Marriott Points
Gold Status Value Received: $151

This past Thursday and Friday nights, we stayed at the Marriott Denver West hotel. By "Denver West" they actually mean Golden, Colorado, which is about an easy 30 minute drive from Denver International Airport.

As I mentioned, my parents were attending their friends' wedding and were able to score a discounted Wedding Rate of $119/night (closer to $125/night after taxes). However, because my father's a nerd about his travel loyalty programs and promotional deals, he was able to extract additional value.

2x Chase Ultimate Rewards ($10-25 value)
First, back in March (yes, 5 months before) when the wedding hotel was selected, he booked his reservation by first going through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Shopping Portal. By doing so, he clicked through Marriott which was offering 2x points at the time. So for $119/night, he would earn a total of 476 Chase UR points for his two night stay, which are worth anywhere from $10-25. Not a huge haul, but free for an extra 30 seconds of internet clicking.

Two $100 Marriott Gift Cards for $80 each ($40 total savings)

Second, in June, American Express had a special promotion called Daily Getaways, where they would partner with leading travel companies to offer a variety of discounted packages. Some were just OK deals, but others were pretty significant. The catch was that the # of packages was limited to first come first serve and you had to log into the website at exactly 1PM Eastern to have a shot at these packages. (Hint: Start logging in at 12:57PM and keep hitting RELOAD until you get through).

One package was $100 Marriott Gift cards for just $80 each if you paid with your American Express. My father snagged 2 of them to cover $200 of his expected $250 hotel bill. He could have bought more speculating that he would spend more than the base rate and taxes, but he NEVER buys more than he 100% knows he's going to spend. Otherwise, he'd lose value or be forced to spend more just to recoup the value. He's not in the points/miles game to lose money or spend more, so stuck with just two gift cards.

Free Marriott Gold Status Match (estimated $56 value)
Third, on July 15th, United Airlines announced a strategic partnership with Marriott Hotels where elites in one program were matched to elite status in the other. In my father's case, United Platinum status gave him free Marriott Gold status which gave him the following benefits:

• Lounge Access and breakfast
• Room upgrades
• Complimentary in-room internet
• Priority late check out
• 25% bonus points

As you may know, my father is a Starwood Hotels loyalist (having just made Platinum the other week) as well as a Hyatt Diamond member until February 2014, so he had no status whatsoever at Marriott. Since he wasn't looking forward to being "just a regular hotel guest" for this wedding, he was pleasantly surprised that United offered him a free status match just in time.

On the positive side, we received Lounge Access which came with free hot breakfast (scrambled eggs, cooked ham, pastries, fruit, cereals, etc) and free wifi in the room. Had we paid for both amenities, it would have run at least $10 per person for breakfast and another $12.95 per night for wifi, or about $43 for the first day. The hotel also gave us a pack & play and a mini fridge upon our request. Unclear if that was because we were Marriott Gold members or if we just asked. But either way, those came in super handy.

Unfortunately, there weren't many suites at the hotel and the few were taken by wedding party, so we just received a regular double bed room for the 4 of us (my parents and my grandmother and me). Additionally, the lounge was closed on weekends, so for the second morning, we could have taken gift certificates for free continental breakfasts in the lobby restaurant on Saturday morning. But the wedding party had a brunch for all the guests that second morning, so we ate breakfast there instead. But we did use the wifi for the second night, so another $13 of value.

Overall, we saved/received at least $106 in direct cash value, plus another 4,500 Marriott Reward points (estimated at $45 of value) for a total of $151. Given we spent $250 on two nights, that's really valuable. Perhaps it's my Asian-Jewish background, but I think getting 60% of your payment back is pretty great.

Rooms and Hotel
Of course, we also enjoyed our time at the Marriott Denver West as well. Location wise, it was very easy to find (right off I-70) and had a mega shopping complex across the highway called Colorado Mills Shopping Center which had a Whole Foods, a Super Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Barnes & Noble, and just about any restaurant chain you could imagine.

Check in was smooth and the hotel seemed very clean and well maintained. Despite having a Harley Davidson convention as well as other weddings, we didn't have to wait in line when we checked in, but that could have because it was 9PM Thursday night.

Our room was on the 6th floor (same floor as the lounge), but way down the long hallway. As you might be able to see on the hallway map here, we were right next to a much larger suite, but I would have felt bad taking a suite away from the wedding party.

So, my parents and I shared the single room with my grandmother instead. Despite having 4 of us in a regular room, we had plenty of space. In fact, the pack & play could have fit either between the beds or along the window as well. As it turned out, I liked sleeping next to my grandmother in her bed, so we ended up not really using the pack & play.

As I mentioned, the hotel also provided us with a mini-fridge to use (at no charge). It came in handy to store some of the milk and soft drinks we got from the lounge. This empty fridge setup was much better than trying to re-arrange a pre-packed mini-bar, because we usually can't find enough space for my things among the overpriced soda and mini-liquor bottles. Thank you, Marriott!

The bathroom was pretty standard and nothing to elaborate much on, but we did appreciate that it was very clean and functional. Sometimes, we had less than great experiences (such as finding sand/hair in the bathtub at the Hyatt Place Long Island).

However the best part of the Marriott Denver West was the swimming pool area (they had both a heated indoor and a heated outdoor). Fortunately, I had the chance to get two swimming sessions during our short 2 night stay (thanks to our late 3PM checkout). It was also nice that you could access the pool (1st floor) without having to walk through the lobby (2nd floor). I always feel awkward walking around in my wet baby bathing suit as business people are checking in.

We ended up ordering room service a few times during our stay, because it was easier than to get me "restaurant-ready," and we found the food to be pretty decent. Nothing amazing, but prices were moderate enough for a hotel ($14 for a burger and fries, $10 for buffalo wings, $7 for a kid's pizza, etc.). Plus, my parents enjoyed the convenience of having lunch in their bathrobes. But come wedding time, they cleaned up pretty nice. Well, at least my mom did.

Congrats Ryan & Jessica

I didn't attend the wedding last night, as I was having a play date with my 7 month old baby friend Shayna and my grandmother, but my parents went and celebrated with the happy new couple.

Ryan and Jessica met while they were both living as ex-pats in Vietnam teaching English. While Jessica hailed from the great state of New Jersey (where my father grew up), Ryan grew up in rugged Colorado. Despite growing up in the same country, it took a life-changing trip halfway around the world to Vietnam for them to find each other. Pretty amazing.

Now, the countdown begins until I have another installment of New Friend Update.

Citi Thank You & Free Car Rental

As I mentioned yesterday, we're spending the next 10 or so days in Colorado. However, unlike New York City, the Denver public transportation system is not quite as efficient. So we've rented a car to use for our trip here.

While late summer in Colorado is definitely not peak season, it still ends up being a little over $300 for the 10 days (which comes out to $30/day for the non-Asians). Now while I hope that $300 won't break my family's bank account, I'm sure anyone would like to save $300 to use on other fun things while they're on vacation.


Citi Thank You Points
That's where the Citi Thank You Points come in. Like Chase's Ultimate Rewards and American Express' Membership Rewards, Citi has their own internal point system called Thank You Points.

But unlike Chase & Amex, you cannot use TY points to transfer to airlines or hotels. You can only redeem them for merchandise, retailer gift cards or use them to book travel (flights/hotels) through their captive travel agency. Most of the time, you can only get a maximum of 1.0 cent per point of redemption value (ie, a $100 Best Buy gift card will cost 10,000 TY points).

Flight Redemption
However, if you (or a friend) have a Citi Premier Card ($125 annual fee waived 1st year) then you can redeem Citi TY points for flights at 1.25 cents per point. So if you have a friend with the Premier Card, you're best option is to transfer your TY points to their account and have them book flights for you. From the airline's perspective, it's as if you booked using cash, so you'll earn mileage and elite status credit.

Given we fly within the US as often as we do internationally, we like using our Citi TY points for domestic coach flights. This approach saves us cash, such as when when we booked our flights to Memphis this October for 50,568 TY Points, saving us $672 for 2 economy tickets (at the time of booking, TY point flight redemption rates were 1.33 cents/pt). For long haul international flights in business/first class, however, we're much better off using airline miles (United, American, US Airways, etc) because we'd need A LOT of TY Points to redeem for such an expensive ($2,000+) ticket.

Rental Car Redemption
But sometimes, my parents aren't trying to always "maximize redemption value" and would like to just save some cash for things they'd need anyway. For example, a rental car in Denver.

When renting a car using TY Points, you log into your account and then use their search engine (like you would Expedia or Travelocity) by inputting the dates and location you're looking for. Then the website will show you the options available at various $ and point prices.

Now, these prices may be different from what you'd find on Expedia or actual rental car websites, so be sure to look at all your options to make sure you're not getting a bad deal through Citi Travel.

But if you're confident you're getting a fair price, when you find a car type and price you like, you just click through to make the reservation. You will have the option to pay in 100% cash, 100% points or a combination of both if you don't have enough points.

The reason we like using Citi TY points here is because these points are not as versatile since you cannot transfer them to airline or hotel partners. We could have also used Chase UR and Amex MR points to redeem for a car rental as well at 1 cent/pt, but why use more valuable transferable points when you can use the more restrictive Citi points for the same redemption?

Some Warnings
Unlike booking directly with Avis, Hertz, Dollar, etc, these Citi Travel bookings do have penalties for cancellation. Our booking had a 1 day penalty (paid to rental car company) if we cancelled within 2 days of pickup time and a $15 modification/cancellation fee (paid to Citi) for any changes at any time.

Normally, my father would book directly and then use Autoslash.com to automatically check to see if prices dropped and rebook if necessary. This time, we were stuck, unless rebooking would save him more than the fees to make the change.

But if you're OK with fixing your rental car plans, then Citi Thank You is a great way to save cash using points that aren't as flexible or versatile.

But Why Do We Even Have Citi Thank You Points?
The fact that these points are less flexible and can't do anything that Chase UR or Amex MR can do raises a good question. Why do my parents even collect Citi Thank You points?

Well, in February, my father applied for a special Citi Thank You Preferred credit card that earned him 5x points per $1 spent at grocery stores, gas stations and drugstores (GGD) for the first 12 months of use. At 1-1.33 cents/pt, that's a 5.0-6.7% rebate on all our GGD spend.

Given I eat a lot, my family's grocery spend is pretty significant, even though we try to save money by going to Trader Joe's instead of Whole Paycheck Foods. While we don't drive often in NYC, we do frequent drugstores quite often for diapers and other supplies, including the elusive Vanilla Reload cards and Visa Gift Cards to use for our Bluebird Amex. Through our regular grocery and drugstore spending as well as opportunistic manufactured spending, we've been amassing quite a lot of Thank You points at a 5x clip every month.

When the 12 month promotional period ends, though, we'll probably stop cold turkey and go back to using our boring Starwood Amex (1x on everything) or Chase United Select card (2x at groceries).

Note:  Unfortunately, the 5x promotional offer on this credit card is no longer officially offered online. However, several people report being able to get the offer when physically going into Citibank branches. See The Miles Professor's write up here.

Colorado...and Then Some

Well, it's getting close to Labor Day and as you know, much of the developed world takes (at least) the last week of August off for a final summer vacation before the kiddies start school in September.

As you've probably guessed, my travel-crazy family is no exception. Last August, we went to Japan and South Korea to visit my two great grandmothers. Later today, we're flying to Denver, Colorado.

This Friday night, my father's friends Ryan and Jessica are getting married right outside Denver. My father didn't set them up like he did his other friends Ben & Huyen, but this would be the third marriage resulting from this 2008 trip.

Plus given how many great mountain ranges we've seen this year (British Columbian Rockies, Argentine Andes, Idaho Foothills and German Alps), we had to go to Colorado to see their Rockies.

Also, my grandmother's coming with us, so she and I will get some quality time together while my parents are dancing the night away at the wedding reception.

After the wedding weekend, we'll stay for another week and turn it into a summer vacation, spent mostly at the Westin Beaver Creek for 5 nights (all on Starwood points).

As you may know, when you book with SPG points for 5 nights, you get the 5th night free. In addition, my father received a special Starwood gift for being a SPG Gold member where he would get 25% discount on any points redemption. He was able to stack the 5th Night Free and the 25% discount in a single award redemption, so we're getting 5 nights for the price of just 3 nights (only 36,000 vs. 60,000 SPG points normally)!

Further, since my father finally reached SPG Platinum status the other week, we'll get some nice benefits and possibly free upgrades. And for making Platinum, he received yet another Starwood gift for 35% points discount on any award redemption (for up to 5 nights through February 28, 2014). Not bad. Not bad at all.

Israel
As soon as we get back from Colorado, we're gonna hop across the Atlantic (and Mediterranean) to visit my other grandparents in Israel. September's a great time to be in the Holy Land. Plus, United non-stop flights from Newark to Tel Aviv were priced very reasonable ($1,150/person) and I'd still be able to fly as a lapchild.

Our original plan was to fly over there for Christmas/New Years, but by then, I'll be over 2 years old and have to pay full price for my own ticket. One last long haul as a (10% paying) lap child!

There are a few Starwood hotels in Israel, but none where my grandparents live so we'll just stay with them and save some sheckles. However, my father did book two rooms (using just 3,000 SPG points per night per room) at the Le Meridien Dead Sea for my parents and my grandparents to take me on a mini-trip. It will be my first time at the Dead Sea. Kind of excited.

Memphis
Come October, Columbus Day Weekend should be a great time to head down South. Using our Citi Thank You credit cards that offer 5x bonuses for gas, grocery & drugstore spend, we were able to use 50,568 Thank You points to pay for our $336/person tickets ($672 in free flights that earn us United mileage and elite status credit). While we're down there, we'll get some delicious BBQ on Beale Street and watch the famous ducks march through the Peabody Hotel.


But since my father loves his new Starwood status (complimentary upgrades, free continental breakfast), we'll actually be staying at the Westin Memphis Beale Street (for 10,000 SPG points per night). No duckies there.

Passport Process Nightmare - Part 2

As I started talking about yesterday, my father's experience getting his additional passport pages was (as you can tell from the title) quite horrible. It all started on July 15th when he sent his current passport to the US Department of State.

After about 3 weeks of processing, the South Carolina Passport Agency sent his passport back using regular US mail on August 2nd, but it went missing. The Post Office claims they never received it from the sender.

It was now August 14th and on September 3rd, my parents and I were scheduled to fly to Israel to visit my grandparents. As you may know, Israeli security isn't too keen on letting people into their country without proper identification.

Normally, that'd be enough time, but the week before, we were going to be in Colorado (August 22nd through August 31st), so we really wanted to make sure my father had his passport before we left for Denver this Thursday.

After 3 rounds of playing US passport bureaucracy games, my father seemed to be on his way to a brand new passport after cleverly scheduling an elusive NYC Agency emergency appointment for Wednesday August 21st.

Round 4
It was still Wednesday August 14th and he had his appointment in 1 week where he'd explain how they lost his passport and he should be issued a new one for free. But the tone of the apathetic National agent kept eating at him all afternoon. Something just didn't feel right, so he called his new South Carolina friend to see if the passport was found at her office. Unfortunately, it was after 5PM, and she had left for the day. So he left a message.

At 7:30AM Thursday morning, the SC agent called my father back and confirmed his missing passport was not in their offices and most likely lost in transit to the post office. He was still very disoriented having been sound asleep, but he managed to ask her if the NYC Passport Agency would process his replacement as she suggested and if she could provide him with any sort of official confirmation / authorization to show the NYC Agency that the SC office specifically instructed him to proceed that way.

She put him on hold while she spoke with her supervisor. When she returned, she confirmed, "Yes, there's a chance they will charge you for an entirely new passport application. I can't be certain with how they'll treat your application."

By now, it was Thursday August 15, and my father was starting to get very nervous. He decided to go back to Option #1 and re-send a new DS-86 form with passport photos and overnight it via FedEx for Friday morning delivery. The SC agent assured him that she would be looking out for it and have it returned via UPS Overnight to ensure a Saturday delivery.

So by 8:30AM Thursday morning, the new DS-86 package was dropped off at my father's local FedEx facility sent to the following given address:

Replacement Supervisor 233
Charleston Passport Center
1269 Holland Street - Building D
URGENT Passport Locator #xxxx301
Charleston, SC 29405

The package was then on it's way scheduled for 10:30AM Friday delivery and had a real FedEx tracking number.

Now, nothing to do but wait, right?

Round 5
After constantly refreshing the FedEx Package Tracker website over and over again Friday morning, it was close to 9:30AM and the Tracker still had the last scan being "Departed FedEx location Memphis, TN" at 4:07AM. I'm not a logistics expert, but tough to see how the package would get to the Charleston, SC Passport Agency by 10:30AM if it didn't get to Charleston yet by 9:30AM.

So my father contacted FedEx to see what the status was. He was given the option to chat with an online representative, Brandy.

You have been connected to Brandy.
Brandy : Hi. I am researching your question now...
Dad: Good morning
Brandy : Can you please verify your delivery address?
Dad: Charleston Passport Center 1269 Holland Street Building D Charleston, SC 29405
Dad: it's an urgent passport document that they need to provide my passport within 24 hours
Brandy : I apologize for the inconvenience, your package has been delayed due to fog at the airport. This FedEx express service is running hour behind.
Brandy : hours
Dad: can you confirm how many hours behind?
Dad: its CRITICAL that it be delivered today
Dad: with enough time for them to process my passport before i fly out
Brandy : Yes, I am sorry, it is 2 hours.
Dad: so by 12:30PM eastern it should be delivered?
Brandy : Yes, It will be delivered today.
Dad: what recourse with FedEx do i have that it's delayed?
Dad: my expectation was that it would be delivered by 10:30
Dad: they need time to accept the package and then process before close of business today. I'm not sure how long it takes them
Brandy: One moment while I research...
Brandy: I am sorry about the delay due to fog. The package will be delivered today. You can all 1-800-463-3339 and ask to speak with a station manager after sorting. Is there anything else I can assist you with today?

My father then called the SC agent to give her an update that she should expect the package at 12:30PM. She thanked him for giving her an update as she was also checking the FedEx tracker site and didn't see any updates.

My father then called FedEx and spoke with an actual native English speaking American on the phone. This FedEx representative was less optimistic than the online chat representative. She wouldn't confirm a 12:30PM delivery or even that the package would be delivered that day. Despite my father's protests and complaints, she didn't seem wiling or able to help in this situation.

As expected, 12:30PM came and went. The latest update on the FedEx Tracker was that the package arrived at the local Charleston FedEx facility at 11:57AM and then put on a delivery truck at 12:22PM. But it was unclear when the package would reach the destination. If it was end of day, then it wouldn't be enough time for them to process the package and have it mailed by the last 7PM pickup.

But at 2:06PM, the FedEx tracker said it was delivered and signed for! Immediately, my father called the SC agent and told her the package had arrived. Unfortunately, she said she didn't get it yet and that it was probably accepted at a different facility.

It was unclear when it would make its way to her desk for processing and she was finishing her shift soon. She assured him that she would leave detailed instructions and notes for the person on the afternoon shift that would relieve her and hopefully get the package out by 7PM. After a roller coaster of ups and downs, my father's heart fell to the floor yet again.

But at 2:30PM, she called my father back and said she now had the package and was starting right away. She said she would do everything she could, but that if her shift ended, that my father would be in good hands with the next person. She even gave my father the name and direct phone number of the second agent.

Now, nothing to do but wait, right?

Round 6
After waiting a few hours, it was 5PM and didn't hear from anyone. So my father decided to be annoying proactive and call the second shift person. But unfortunately, it went to her voicemail, so my father left a message. No call back that evening, so my father could only hope that the passport was processed and given to UPS for overnight delivery.

Saturday morning, no package delivery.

Saturday afternoon, no package delivery.

Sunday was a day of rest, so when Monday (August 19) rolled around, my father called his favorite SC Passport agent again. She confirmed that the package was not sent out Friday night and that the second agent she told me about didn't come in Friday. She said it was processed by someone else and was going out that night (Monday) for Tuesday delivery. Then when she looked in the system to confirm status, she said "I can't believe it..."

Apparently, the 2nd shift crew finished processing my father's passport, but didn't follow the instructions. Instead of having it sent via UPS Overnight, they sent it regular US Priority Mail (3-5 business days). Instead of receiving it Tuesday morning, it would hopefully arrive by Thursday or Friday (after my parents and I will have left for Colorado). Since it hadn't gone out yet, she said she would try to look for it in case she could intercept it before it left. But unfortunately, no such luck.

My father, refusing to accept that fate, asked her if she could process a completely NEW passport and have it sent overnight. Unfortunately, when she asked her supervisor, they told her that she cannot work on another shift's application, so that my father would have to wait and call the second shift supervisor when they took over at 3:30PM and came out of their daily meeting. She also encouraged him to call the National hotline and request them to send an Urgent Email to the SC Passport Agency Supervisor for a call back.

Now, nothing to do but wait, right?

Round 7

After repeatedly calling every 5 minutes starting at 3:30PM, my father finally reached the second shift agent at around 4PM. Thankfully, she was expecting my call and told him of 2 options (sound really familiar?):

1. Schedule an emergency appointment at the NYC passport agency for Tuesday to get a new (3rd) passport.
2. Have the SC agency re-issue the new passport and have it sent UPS Overnight.

My father elected #2 since the SC Agency had the background context and history. Given all the bureaucracy he's dealt with in the past week, he didn't feel confident that his situation would be given the same amount of urgency at an entirely new agency without an on-site internal champion like his SC agent. So the second shift SC agent assured him that she would start on it right away and have it ready for the 7PM UPS deadline.

Now, nothing to do but wait, right?

Final Outcome
Well, around 7PM, my father called the second shift SC Agent and got her voicemail, suggesting perhaps she was done for the day. Though a bit frustrated at this point, my father realized there was no more he could do aside from plan to go to the NYC Passport Agency on Wednesday August 21 and take his chances.

But then the second SC agent called him back at 7:30PM. She said she was on the late shift and provided him with the UPS Next Day tracking number. And on Tuesday morning at 9:30AM, UPS finally delivered my father's passport to our apartment. Phew!!!!

And if you were wondering, yes, my father did call the National Passport Hotline to cancel his Wednesday appointment so that the slot would open up to other travelers in need.

Now, nothing to do but pack!

Passport Process Nightmare - Part 1

Put this one in the "Counting Chickens Before They Hatch" column.

Background
About two weeks ago, I posted how easy it was for my father to get additional pages added to his passport (see: "Extra Passport Pages" from Aug 6, 2013). In case you're not a fan of clicking random links while you're at work, here's a summary recap:

• July 15 - My father mailed out his passport with the DS-4085 form and the check for the fees. 
• July 18 - The US Postal Service notified him that the package was delivered. 
• July 19 - The check was cashed by the Department of State.
• August 1 - My father saw good prices for flights to Israel and booked a trip for Sept 3.
• August 6 - They emailed him a status update. The passport was in the mail scheduled for Aug 10.

Well, Saturday August 10th came and went....No passport.

Perhaps, it will come the next business day (Monday, August 12)....Nope.

Well, now this was getting a bit worrisome. The US Postal Service tracker number that was provided wasn't any help at all. It only said that the label was created on August 2nd. This is an example of how it looked on August 12th.

Upon further inspection (and a few calls to the US Postal Service), the local Post Office said they would have scanned it upon accepting the package on August 2nd. If, for some crazy reason, they accepted it without scanning, someone else in the chain would have scanned it as it made its way  from Columbia, SC to New York, NY - either at the next collection hub or a sorting facility along the way. This is how it should have looked.

The fact that there was no scan history at all after August 2nd should have alerted my father that something was wrong. But too often, my father had ordered things online (via points/miles earning shopping portals) that didn't show any online shipping progress only to see everything updated on the same day he received the package. So he just waited faithfully (1st mistake).

Round 1
He called the National Passport Agency at 877-487-2778, and while they couldn't connect him to the South Carolina Passport Agency that processed his passport, they suggested he just submit a DS-86 "Statement of Non-Receipt" form to them which would cancel the current passport and re-issue him a new one. Sounds simple enough.

But my father didn't love this idea, because he thought there was a slim chance the actual passport would show up late and didn't want it cancelled. After all, he just received Global Entry access on that passport and didn't want to have to re-do the application for a new passport number. [UPDATE: For Global Entry, a new passport # can be updated online in about 10 seconds.]

So he waited another day before taking action. (2nd mistake).

But then Tuesday came and went, and now it was now obvious that there was a problem. The US Post Office claimed they never even received the package from the Passport Agency. By now, it was Wednesday August 14th and we had our trip to Israel coming up on September 3rd - less than 3 weeks away!!!

Luckily, he had a lot of free time to focus on fixing this issue. Wednesday (August 14) morning, he filled out just the DS-86 form and mailed it in (3rd mistake). The US post office was charging $25 to send the envelope "Express" to arrive by Friday August 16. He opted for regular certified mail for just $3.56 which would get there Friday or Saturday, but more likely Saturday (August 17).

Now nothing to do but wait, right?

Round 2
Being super anal Out of general curiosity, my father again called the US Passport Hotline when he returned home later that afternoon. Constantly double and triple checking things makes my father feel better in these situations. But he sure was lucky that he did!

The first representative he got was very unhelpful. They say it's hard to extrapolate too much from a voice on the phone, but it was very easy to assume that the representative was a complete... not highly educated. He kept telling my father that the package was sent out on August 2nd and that it was just late.

He hung up and called back (1st smart thing my father did).

The second representative was more helpful. She recognized that the tracking number was for a shipping label being printed, not an actual package being delivered. My father thought that since the Post Office never received the package, there was a chance the passport was still at the Agency somewhere. Perhaps if he could just speak with someone to confirm that, we could shortcut this process.

Fortunately, the representative agreed and sent an "Urgent Email" to the South Carolina Passport Agency that processed his passport with a request that someone there call my father back. She also strongly suggested that he take down the name and number of the person who called him back. She really seemed to want to help my father. In fact, she put a note that he needed his passport back by August 21st to make sure people took urgent action.

While we weren't leaving for Israel until Wednesday September 3rd, we were leaving for Colorado on Thursday August 22nd and returning Saturday August 31st. The next day (September 1st) was a Sunday, and September 2nd was Labor Day. So if the passport didn't arrive by Wednesday August 21st, he wouldn't even be home to see if his passport arrived until the 31st, just 2 non-business days before our Israel flight.

Luckily within an hour (by about 12:30PM), someone did call him back. After my father explained the situation and his theories on what may have happened, the SC customer service agent said there was a chance that the missing passport was misplaced somewhere in their offices and that she would ask her supervisor when they returned from lunch.

However, she also informed my father that he needed to have sent (a) 2 new passport photos and (b) a copy of his upcoming international travel plans along with his DS-86 form. The National representative never mentioned anything about including photos, but DUH! Of course they'd need photos! So now, the submitted DS-86 form in the mail (Phase 1) was useless. Thank goodness he didn't spend $25 to send it Express.

She then gave my father a few options.

1. Fill out a new DS-86 form (and include passport photos). Then send the package via FedEx/UPS overnight to the SC Agency for them to start on a replacement passport and have it mailed back. 
2. Call the National hotline and schedule an emergency appointment at the NYC Passport Agency to request a replacement on site.

My father, now armed with a strong distaste for the mailing process, elected for Option #2. However, my father still held out hope that his missing passport was somewhere in their office. The SC agent said she would call him back when people returned from lunch, but my father took down her name and number anyway.

Now nothing to do but wait, right?

Round 3
Immediately after hanging up with the SC agent, he called the National Hotline again (877-487-2778) to schedule an appointment at the Manhattan location through the automated system. First available appointment date: August 27th.

So my father hung up and called back but this time got a live representative on the phone. He explained that his travel plans were complicated (Denver trip immediately prior to his international trip) and that he needed an earlier appointment. This new agent told my father there was availability for emergency appointments on Wednesday August 21st, but only for those people traveling within 2 weeks.

"My trip is for September 3rd. That's less than 2 weeks before August 21st."

"Yes, but for me to schedule your appointment now, your travel needs to be less than 2 weeks from today, which would mean by August 29th."

"Well, I'm actually traveling to Denver next week and leaving for Israel from there." (slight fib)

"I'm sorry, but the international flight needs to be within 2 weeks."

By now my father was getting really frustrated, but sometimes that leads to clever ideas. He remembered that (a) flights could be cancelled within 24 hours of booking for 100% refund and (b) he had a big stash of British Airway Avios miles that he could use to book short haul flights using just 4,500 miles.

"OK, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to book a flight to Canada  for next week right now while we're on the phone... There. Done. Now I have international travel in 1 week. My flight confirmation number is [redacted] and I'm flying from New York to Montreal at 8AM on August 21st. Can you schedule my appointment now?"

"Um...uh...OK. Let me transfer you to the appointment scheduler."

After getting transferred to the next representative, my father had an appointment for Wednesday August 21st at 1PM in the Manhattan Passport Agency. Of course, this would be too late to make his 8AM flight to Montreal, but that'd be OK.

"So you will need to bring with you a form DS-11..."

"Wait a minute, I'm not applying for a new passport. Don't I just need the DS-86 for a replacement for my non-receipt passport?"

"If that's what the agent told you, sir."

But then my father anally proactively asked, "So at the NYC agency, they'll be able to issue me a replacement passport without charging me right? After all, my passport went missing on your end. Or am I going to have to apply for an entirely new passport and pay the full fee? Also, will they issue me the passport right there or will they mail it back to me?"

"They will determine that at your appointment, sir."

This frustrating conversation went on like this for a few more minutes. My father kept asking clarifying questions, and the National Passport agent refused to confirm anything that the NYC Agency would or would not do. Everything was, "If that's what the other agent told you, sir."

Skeptical but satisfied, my father just re-confirmed the appointment and hung up. He scored an emergency appointment using some clever miles/point tricks. He was pretty proud of himself.

Now nothing to do but wait, right?

TO BE CONTINUED....