Americans planning international travel in 2012 will have to pay a little more to obtain a passport if they don’t have one already.

According to a report from MSNBC, passport fees are increasing across the board. The passport application fee will rise 27 percent, from $55 to $70. First time applicants are also subject to a $25 “execution fee” on top of that.

The increases won’t only affect first-timers, however. Frequent travelers will be bummed to learn that it will now cost a whopping $82 to add extra pages to their passports. That service used to be provided free of charge.

The price hikes come as the U.S. State Department looks for ways to fully cover its consular services, according to the report.

While the charges will be a little hard to swallow, countless reasons remain as to why every American should own a passport. Frugal travelers can off-set the expenditure by tracking down cheap flights with CheapOair.

CC Flickr photo credit: bark