Capital One Military 2025 | 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 and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel
• Earn 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.
• Complimentary access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and the Partner Lounge Network
• Receive up to a $120 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
• $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
• 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 Offer	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 the first 3 months of account opening, plus receive a one- time $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year – that’s equal to $1,000 in travel	Transfer to airline partners	$95

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

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

• $695 annual fee. See more details about military protections for you and your spouse 
• Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible 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 through American Express Travel using 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+, Hulu, Peacock, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
• $200 Uber Cash: Platinum Card® Members can get $15 in Uber Cash each month, plus a bonus $20 in December after adding their Card to their Uber account. Use your Uber Cash on rides and orders in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction. Enrollment required.
• $200 Airline Fee Credit: Up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year in baggage fees and more at 1 qualifying airline. Enrollment required.
• $199 CLEAR® Plus Credit: CLEAR® Plus helps to get you to your gate faster at 50+ airports nationwide and get up to $199 back per calendar year on your Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Card. CLEARLanes are available at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues.
• This is a MAJOR time saver–$120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA PreCheck® official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card®! Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
• With American Express Global Lounge Collection®, enjoy access to over 1,400 airport lounges globally, including The Centurion® Lounge, Unlimited Delta Sky Club® Access when flying an eligible Delta flight, EscapeLounges, Lufthansa Lounges when flying Lufthansa Group, Plaza Premium, Priority Pass™ Select Lounges, & Additional Global Lounge Collection Partner Lounges subject to visit limitations. Lounges may have their own rules, like additional access rules and guest fees, and for Priority Pass Select, you need to enroll and there are unlimited airport lounge visits for Card Members. With Delta Sky Club Access, Card Members will receive 10 Visits to the Delta Sky Club to be used from February 1 until January 31 of the next calendar year and can unlock Unlimited Delta Sky Club Access by spending $75,000 in eligible purchases on their Card in a calendar year. To find a lounge, visit the membership section in the American Express® App or visit http://www.americanexpress.com/findalounge#/loungefinder.
• $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
• Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
• No foreign transaction fees
• Enrollment is required for select benefits
• 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.