Regardless of the "right" wording, are you equivocating? Sounds like
you can't fly in the USA unless you get a plastic license.

Not quite, it sounds like you can no longer fly if your certificate
is issued by the FAA.

Ok, I see your point. You are right. So this American, who has a FAA
issued pilot certificate, could no longer legally fly in the USA at
some point if I did not get the new plastic certificate. I did not
look at the wording in a legal sense.

BTW, I did get a new plastic certificate a while back to get rid of
the SSN number. That may have cost zero but I may be wrong on that.

Plus they make the certificate numbers way too small.

Ron Lee