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Unfortunately, the nearly unbelievable military benefits under the SCRA and MLA laws Chase and other credit card companies extend to active duty servicemembers do not apply to military veterans and retirees.
Military vets and retirees must pay annual fees on Chase and other banks cards just like civilians. Sometimes the special military protections continue when you leave active duty, so make sure you open all the cards you can before leaving active duty.
There are still excellent travel reward and cash back credit cards available to veterans and retirees. You want to look for a credit card that offers a large welcome bonus, great recurring benefits, and great rewards for spending in travel categories.
If you have a veteran owned business, whether freelancing, rental properties, AirBnB, Uber, etc check out my best cards for veteran owned small business.
In this post:
My Top Recommended Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Learn how to apply on our partner's secure site
- Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x points on dining (includes takeout, delivery, and dine-in), select streaming services and online groceries
- 2x points on all other travel purchases
- 1x points on all other purchases
- Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel℠
- 10% anniversary points boost – each account anniversary you'll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year
- No foreign transaction fees, great for overseas OCONUS assignments, TDY, and PCS
- Primary rental car insurance coverage & trip cancellation/interruption insurance, and more.
- DashPass is complimentary which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
- Upgrade to a Chase Sapphire Reserve after 1 year (compare Reserve vs Preferred)
- $95 annual fee can be adjusted with Chase policy
- Member FDIC
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is the little brother to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card and comes with amazing Sapphire benefits.
For example, 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points could be cashed in for $600.
A better use of the points is booking travel through Chase Sapphire Preferred Travel Portal which makes 60,000 points worth roughly $600, and up to $900 with Points Boost depending on the available offer.
But the best use of Chase Ultimate Rewards points is transferring them 1:1 to partner airlines and hotel brands for potentially $2,000-$3,000+ of travel value (assuming 2-3 cents per point).
I recently received 11 cents per credit card point when transferring to All Nippon Airways (ANA) and booking 2 first class tickets from Honolulu, Hawaii to Tokyo, Japan. The big point redemption are out there!
Best cards for Military Veterans and Retirees:
American Express Platinum Card® for Veterans and Retirees
The special military protections on all American Express cards does not extend to military veterans and retirees. It's not my policy, that's just the way the law is written.
Therefore, military vets need to pay the annual fees on the American Express Platinum Card®. While this might seem high, this card can actually deliver over $2,500 of value in the first year alone, easily covering the annual fee.
The American Express Hilton Honors Aspire card offers a tremendous amount of value for the travelling military veterans for retiree. With this card you get automatic Hilton Honors Diamond Status.
You get automatically upgraded (subject to availability and after enrollment) at all Hilton brands including Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Canopy, Curio, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Tapestry Collection, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton, Tru, Homewood Suites, or Home2 Suites.
I have had the Aspire card since 2018 and love it! I have stayed at multiple Hilton properties in Bucharest, Munich, Dubai, Melbourne, Brisbane, New York, Oklahoma City, London, Edinburgh all on points!
No taxes, no fees, no room charges: totally free. And usually I'm upgraded to a better room because of the complimentary Diamond status.
Chase Freedom Flex℠
Chase Freedom Flex℠ Credit Card
Learn how to apply on our partner's secure site
- Earn $200 cash back (20,000 Ultimate Reward points) when you spend $500 in 3 months
- 5% cash back on travel purchased through the Chase Travel℠ portal
- 3% on dining at restaurants, takeout, and delivery
- 3% back on drugstore purchases
- 1% back on all other purchases
- 5% on up to $1,500 of purchases in specific bonus categories each quarter
- No annual fee
- Compare the Chase Freedom Flex vs. Chase Freedom Unlimited
The Chase Freedom Flex card offers 5% back on rotating categories and no annual fee. It also has great points earning on travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 1% on everything else.
You can transfer Chase points to your Chase Sapphire Preferred and use them for travel using the new Points Boost System!
I have had this card since I joined the military. I keep it open to age my credit history with no annual fee.
Gasoline is usually one of the categories for half the year, making this a great card to use to fill the car up. I usually put whatever the 5% category is on the Freedom Flex, then travel and dining on my Sapphire Reserve, and then everything else on my Chase Freedom Unlimited.
Chase Freedom Unlimited® Credit Card
Chase Freedom Unlimited® Credit Card
Learn how to apply on our partner's secure site
- Limited Time Offer: Earn a $250 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening
- Enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 1.5% on all other purchases.
- No minimum to redeem for cash back. You can use points to redeem for cash through an account statement credit or an electronic deposit into an eligible Chase account located in the United States!
- No annual fee
- Compare the Chase Freedom Unlimited vs Chase Freedom Flex
- Member FDIC
The Chase Freedom Unlimited is one of the backup cards I always carry in my wallet.
The card offers no annual fee. You can compare the Chase Freedom Flex vs Chase Freedom Unlimited in this article.
This is my default card when I’m back in the States. If you can get 5% back on easy categories like gas or groceries with the Chase Freedom Flex card above do that. Otherwise use this card to get 1.5% cash back on every purchase.
Let me know in the comments what your favorite card is for military veterans and retirees!
I retired in March 2019 and July 23 (roughly 4 months later) I received a letter from AMEX stating that according to CSRA law they are showing that I recently retired and are asking for documentation stating otherwise if this isn’t the case. What is NOT stated in the letter is that once I provide my DD214 and am listed as a retiree account holder that I will then be applicable to the yearly service fee… I only found that out by reading it here on this blog :(
First of all, thank you for what you’re doing to spread information to our community. I retire soon (May 2019) after 24 years of service and I was wondering if you have any data points that show how often AMEX or Chase review your status and commence charging annual fee’s?
Also, if I decide to cancel my CSR, can I transfer my UR points to my Freedom Unlimited card and then transfer back to a CSR or CSP at a later date?
Thanks again for sharing the knowledge you’ve gained.
“First of all, thank you for what you’re doing to spread information to our community. I retire soon (May 2019) after 24 years of service and I was wondering if you have any data points that show how often AMEX or Chase review your status and commence charging annual fee’s?
Also, if I decide to cancel my CSR, can I transfer my UR points to my Freedom Unlimited card and then transfer back to a CSR or CSP at a later date?
Thanks again for sharing the knowledge you’ve gained.”
I’d also like an answer to these questions if anyone knows?
Micah: before you cancel your CSR, move the UR points to your Chase Freedom Unlimited or Chase Freedom. You can move them back to CSR or CSP at a later date as you say. Great question!
David and Micah: first of all thank you both for your long years of service. Most data points indicate Chase checks your active duty status within a year of leaving active duty (retire or separate). AMEX appears to not really check your status frequently. Some Redditors indicate they have been separated for 3+ years and still have their AMEX fees waived.