16,272 grads of the Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course already know why
The Platinum Card® from American Express is my #1 recommended card
Military Money Manual has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the cards that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Thank you for supporting my independent, veteran owned site.
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.
- 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 $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
In this post:
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 | For a limited time, earn 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 in your first cardholder year – that's equal to $1,000 in travel | 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® Card
Learn how to apply on our partner's secure site
- Get up to $1,050 in Chase Travel℠ value. Earn 60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. That's worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel purchases within your first year.
- 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 on all other travel purchases
- 1x on all other purchases
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Travel℠ . Example- 60,000 points would be worth $750 toward travel.
- No foreign transaction fees, great for overseas OCONUS assignments, TDY, and PCS
- Primary rental car insurance coverage & trip cancellation/interruption insurance, and more.
- DashPass access is complimentary which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- Upgrade to a Chase Sapphire Reserve after 1 year (compare Reserve vs Preferred)
- $95 annual fee waived for military and spouses with Chase Military Lending Act
- Member FDIC
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.
- 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 $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
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
- $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: Explore your local area with $15 in Uber Cash for US rides each month, plus a bonus $20 in December. That can be up to $200 in annual Uber savings! Download the Uber app and add your Platinum Card® to your Uber account to get started. Available to Basic Card Member only. Effective 11/8/2024, an Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit.
- $200 Airline Fee Credit: Up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year in baggage fees and more at 1 qualifying airline
- $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.
- Complimentary access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection® lets you visit more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting. You can love the lounge life with more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market. As of 03/2023.
- $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
- 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.
Does anyone know if my civilian spouse can have fees waived if they open a Capital One card before I enter active duty?
My gut says no, because if the line of credit is opened before the military spouse is a “covered borrower,” then SCRA will apply, not MLA.
SCRA applies only to active duty military, not spouses. MLA or Military Lending Act applies specifically to spouses but Capital One seems to not interpret the law the same as Chase and Amex.
I have the Capital One Venture One card that I had before I went into active duty.
Can I upgrade to the Venture X card? And if I can, will it still be considered under the same account and will I be able to have the annual fee waived?
Is the Venture annual fee currently waived with SCRA? I think if you upgrade it will be annual fee waived and considered the same account but I’m not sure. Can you earn the 100k points with $10k spend on the Venture X if you upgrade?
ya need to update this page.
New Cap1 card dropped today which is a screaming good deal, esp given the $300 in travel credits for purchases through their portal, dropping the AF to $95 – well worth paying for the benefits. Honestly, AMEX and Chase are going to need to respond to this, it’s gonna siphon off a lot of business.
AMEX does not waive the AF for business cards, to the best of my knowledge hasn’t done so for several years.
Global Entry includes TSA Pre, so it’s irrelevant that you can use your DOD CAC for Pre; folks should just get GE and be covered, even if/when they get out.
All good points, thanks, new Capital One Venture X card review is up.