A brief look through US Airways’ website shows that they ARE NOT flying to or from Haiti, even relief flights. So there is no way they could have charged anybody anything.

http://www2.usairways.com/en-US/aboutus/corporategiving/haiti_relief.html

“At this time, US Airways is not sending any relief flights to Haiti. We have offered our assistance to the U.S. State Department, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Air Transport Association (ATA) and Red Cross.”

I never thought of the preexisting loophole for travel insurance. I guess they aren’t (nor will they be in the future) monitored by government regulation.

I’ve used it as ID before, and a lot of people commented that they’d never seen one before. Workers like bank tellers are trained on new types of IDs, but I suppose there are a few types that they’ve rarely/never seen in person. I used if for domestic air travel, and the TSA personnel didn’t even bat an eye.

In my professional opinion, passport cards are only useful for people who live near the border and frequently drive into Canada or Mexico, or for children to use as official identification when they fly domestically. (Children aren’t required to present identification when flying domestically, but when I fly with my young son, I’ve noticed that we clear security much faster than families who do not have ID for their children.)

1) Most domestic airlines will allow you to cancel any ticket, even nonrefundable ones, for a full refund, if you call within 24 hours of booking. That’s probably your easiest fix if you make a mistake with flight times, names, etc., as long as you discover it immediately.

2) Some travel insurance policies provide a waiver for pre-existing conditions if you make full payment of the premium within 15 days of your first trip payment. They might deny your claim anyway, but having such a waiver makes your appeal that much easier.