Military servicemembers and military spouses get one benefit that totally changes the travel rewards credit card playing field for them: you don’t need to pay annual fees on most credit cards!
Thanks to two federal laws Congress passed, many credit card companies waive the annual fees on their premium travel cards exclusively for military servicemembers and their spouses.
Learn how to apply for your Platinum Card® from American Express or the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) and the Military Lending Act of 2017 (MLA) are both generously interpreted by American Express and Chase, the two biggest players in the credit card arena. Other credit cards waive the annual fees for military.
Amex waives the annual fees on ALL of their credit and charge cards for military servicemembers and their spouses with their interpretation of the MLA.
If you open the account after active duty start date, while on active duty, Amex will apply MLA benefits and waive the annual fees. If you open the account before active duty, Amex will apply SCRA benefits to your account and waive the annual fees.
Chase waives all personal credit card annual fees for military Servicemembers and spouses due to MLA. If you open the account before active duty, you may get your fees waived under Chase SCRA. More details on Chase's military policy here.
Two different laws, same result for you. If you (a servicemember on at least 30 day active duty orders or the spouse of a SM) open any personal (not business) Chase card after 20 Sep 2017, you pay nothing in annual fees, even on the ultra-lux Chase Sapphire Reserve.
In this post:
American Express SCRA and MLA
If a military servicemember on at least 30 day active duty orders or their spouse opens any American Express business or personal, charge card or credit card, you will receive no annual fees.
If you open the account while on active duty, your Social Security Number will be checked against the MLA database. If it's a positive match, as it should be for any military servicemember or spouse, then your fees will be automatically waived. More details on how to check your account if your in the Amex MLA program here.
This works on all personal Amex cards including Hilton Honors Aspire, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, Delta Reserve, and Amex Gold card.
Since you don’t pay any annual fees, this really enhances the value you can receive from the most premium travel reward cards. It also really simplifies the decision whether to keep cards open or close them. You don’t need to assess if you are getting more than the value of the annual fee from the card because you aren’t paying an annual fee!
Some of the ridiculously awesome examples of where MLA and SCRA puts money in your pocket:
Chase Sapphire Reserve has a $300 annual travel statement credit. That’s $300 towards any travel related purchase (Uber ride, airplane ticket, hotel stay, ferry, train, tolls, etc).
Since you don’t pay the $550 annual fee, that’s $300 annually for your travels! Even if you don’t like to travel for personal reasons, if you ever travel for official business (TDY/TAD) you can use your personal card on personal expenses like food.
How to Get the Amex SCRA Benefits
You only need to do this if you open the account before active duty. If you open the card after active duty start date, your social security number will be automatically checked against the MLA database and your fees will be waived. This process below is not required.
To get the AMEX SCRA benefits, open an American Express card (the AMEX Platinum is my top recommend card) and then simply follow the 3 steps outlined in this post.
You can see in the image below it's 3 mouse clicks and then filling out a few details on your military service so AMEX can confirm you are in fact on active duty orders.
How to Get the Chase MLA Benefits
Chase has a great system set up where military MLA benefits are automatically applied when you open the account. Start the process by selecting “Military” income when you apply for the card.
Chase will then compare your Social Security Number against the DOD (for active duty) or DEERS database (for non-military spouses) to confirm your eligibility for MLA benefits. More details on how this process works in this post.
You should receive a letter in the mail explaining your MLA benefits. My wife's and my letter both arrived before the cards even did. Here's what my Chase MLA letter looked like:
I recommend starting with the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Next Steps
Continue your education of military travel reward benefits with Lesson 4: Flexibility!
Or if you're a real go-getter, you can see every lesson in the course here.
If you're ready to open your annual fee waived travel rewards card, check out this month's best credit card offers for military personnel.