Capital One Military 2023 | Capital One Credit Cards MLA + SCRA

Unfortunately for active duty military servicemember and spouses, Capital One DOES NOT waive annual fees if you open your account while on active duty service.

Capital One will only waive credit card annual fees if the account was opened before active duty service started under the SCRA rules.

Chase and American Express waive all annual fees on their personal cards for active duty military and military spouses, such as The Platinum Card^® from American Express and the Chase Sapphire Reserve^® Card.

If you opened your Capital One credit cards before entering active duty, for instance when you were on Reserve status or in the Guard, you can apply for SCRA benefits during your active duty service, and then get your fees waived.

Even without easy MLA annual fee waivers, Capital One offers some excellent travel rewards cards that stand on their own. I recently opened a Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and I think it's worth the annual fee.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Card
Learn how to apply at our partner's secure site

• Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
• $300 annual travel credit for hotels, airfare, rental cars, and other travel booked through Capital One Travel portal
• 10,000 bonus miles every account anniversary (at least $100 of travel)
• 10 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. 5 Miles per dollar on flights booked through Capital One Travel
• Earn 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.
• Unlimited complimentary access for you and two guests to 1,300+ lounges, including Capital One Lounges and our Partner Lounge Network
• Receive up to a $100 credit for either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry
• Up to 4 free authorized users (with Capital One Lounge access)
• $395 annual fee, terms apply
• No foreign transaction fees, good for OCONUS military families or TDY servicemembers
• Elevate your stay at luxury hotels and resorts from the Premier Collection with a $100 experience credit, daily breakfast for 2 and complimentary WiFi on every booking, plus other premium benefits like room upgrades, early check-in and late checkout when available
• Read the full Capital One Venture X Rewards card review
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Card – learn how to apply

Top 4 Capital One Credit Cards

The best 4 Capital One Credit Cards for military servicemembers are:

Best Capital One Cards	Review	Welcome Bonus	Best Benefits	Annual Fee
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card	Capital One Venture X Review	75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months	$300 annual travel credit	$395
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card	Learn How to Apply	75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening	Transfer to airline partners	$95
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card	Learn How to Apply	$200 when you spend $500 in first 3 months	1.5% cash back all purchases	$0

Capital One Venture X Rewards Card

Let's compare the Capital One Venture X vs. the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card.

	Chase Sapphire Preferred	Capital One Venture X
Airfare	Up to 5x points	2x points
Everything else	1x	2x
Rewards Program	Very flexible	Very Flexible
Transfer to airline partners	1 UR points = 1 miles	1 Venture mile = 1 airline mile

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is currently offering a HUGE welcome bonus. The Chase Sapphire Preferred annual fee is waived for military. The CSP card can also be upgraded to the Chase Sapphire Reserve after 1 year.

Chase waives the CSP's $95 annual fee under their Chase Military policy.

If you are a US military Reservist or National Guard servicemember, you could open a Capital One Venture X card before a period of active duty orders and then get the annual fee waived under Capital Ones SCRA policy.

Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards

• Learn how to apply for this card HERE
• $200 Cash Back after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
• 1.5% cash back on all purchases including gas, BX, PX, NEX, AAFES, and Shoppette
• No limit to how much you can earn, points never expire, no rotating categories
• No annual fee
• No foreign transaction fees (rare for no annual fee cards)

The Capital One Quicksilver is an easy comparison to the Chase Freedom Unlimited. Both cards offer 1.5% cash back on all purchases.

However, the Quicksilver has no foreign transaction fees. This is rare on no annual fee cash back cards. The Chase Freedom Flex℠ Credit Card and Chase Freedom Unlimited DO have a foreign transaction fee.

If you're stationed OCONUS or travel overseas often, I highly recommend the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Amex Platinum for the travel benefits. For every day spending, a 1.5% cash back card can make a lot of sense, especially with no foreign transaction fees.

You could use your Platinum card for airfare purchases (5x AMEX points), your Sapphire Reserve for restaurants (3x Chase points) and your Quicksilver for everything else (1.5x cash back).

If your credit cards reward strategy involves transferring your Chase Freedom Unlimited or Freedom Flex Ultimate Reward points to your Chase Sapphire Reserve (full CSR military review here), then the CFU might make more sense, but only if you're using it stateside.

The Platinum Card^® from American Express
Learn how to apply on our partner's secure site

• Annual fee of $695* See more details about military protections for you and your spouse 
• Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Earn 5x points on airfare booked directly with airline or on amextravel.com up to $500,000 per calendar year
• Earn 5x points on prepaid hotels at amextravel.com
• $200 Annual Hotel Credit: Get $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts^® or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card^®. Note that The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
• $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month when you pay for eligible purchases with the Platinum Card^® at your choice of one or more of the following providers: Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Peacock, Audible, SiriusXM, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
• $200 Uber Cash: Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on Uber Eats and rides
• $200 Airline Fee Credit: Up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year in baggage fees and more at 1 qualifying airline
• $189 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Breeze through security with CLEAR® Plus at 45+ airports nationwide and get up to $189 back per calendar year on your membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Platinum Card®.
• $300 Equinox Credit: Get up to $300 back each year on an Equinox+ subscription, or any Equinox club memberships when you pay with your Platinum Card. Enrollment required. Membership subject to auto-renewal.
• $155 Walmart+ Credit: Cover the cost of a $12.95 monthly Walmart+ membership with a statement credit after you pay for Walmart+ each month with your Platinum Card. Cost includes $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax.
• Up to $100 annual Saks Fifth Avenue credit, enrollment required
• Access 40+ Centurion Lounges and 1,200+ Priority Pass airport lounge for free
• No foreign transaction fees
• The Platinum Card^® from American Express – learn how to apply
• Read my full review of the Amex Platinum card for military, terms apply

Capital One SCRA Policy

Capital One is not nearly as generous with their military policy as American Express or Chase. Amex waives all annual fees for their personal cards under SCRA and MLA. Chase waives all personal credit card annual fees under their Military Lending Act or MLA policy.

If you want to learn how to maximize your MLA and SCRA benefits, sign up for my free, 5 day Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course. All it takes is your email address and I will send you everything I know about flying first class for free, free hotel upgrades, and free stays at five star hotels.

I've been doing this for over 10 years and never paid an annual fee on an MLA or SCRA covered credit card. Sign up today and join over 5000 of your fellow military servicemembers who are maximizing their no annual fee credit cards. It goes way beyond just the Amex Platinum!

For full details on Capital One's SCRA policy, read their Frequently Asked Questions. The fastest way of applying for Capital One SCRA benefits is through their online SCRA benefits request form.

Capital One will run your information against the DOD DMDC SCRA database or the Military Lending Act Database. If you are on short active duty orders, usually less than 30 days, you might not be in the database. In that case Capital One will ask for a copy of your orders to apply the SCRA benefits.