Active duty military personnel are entitled to many credit card benefits, thanks to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) and Military Lending Act (MLA). In this article, we’ll explore some of the top credit card benefits for active-duty military personnel and their families that can provide the most value.
1. Waived Annual Fees
If you are an active duty military personnel, you may already know this: many of the credit card issuers like American Express, Chase, Citi, Bank of America, and US Bank would waive annual fees for you. Some banks, like Chase, automatically apply MLA benefits when they can verify eligibility through the DOD database. Other issuers, like Citi, may require you to submit a copy of your orders and a certificate from the MLA Database.
One bank that’s slightly different is Capital One. While they also waive annual fees for your credit cards, these credit cards have to be opened before you became active duty. I have recently encouraged my brother-in-law to open up the Capital One Venture X Card, as he is about to join the military in a few months. Once he’s Active Duty, he’ll be able to enjoy this premium travel rewards card and its amazing perks while having the $395 annual fee waived.
2. Fee Waivers Also Apply to Dependents of Active Duty Personnel
Yes, spouses of active-duty personnel can have credit card fee waivers applied to their accounts as well. This includes premium credit cards with exclusive benefits and rewards, which typically carry significant annual fees. For example, the annual fee for the American Express Platinum Card has recently been increased to a whopping $895! Luckily, it’s waived for military personnel and their dependents.
If you didn’t know this before and had annual fees charged to your accounts, you can also call the credit card issuer and they’ll likely waive the annual fee retroactively and apply the credit to your account.
3. Fee Waivers for Authorized Users too (You’re welcome, Mom!)
Here’s a lesser-known benefit: active-duty personnel and their spouses can add authorized users, even those not affiliated with the military, and the annual fees for these authorized user cards are also waived.
Take the American Express Platinum Card for example. Adding an Amex Platinum authorized user grants them many of the primary cardholder’s travel benefits, such as lounge access, elite hotel and car rental status, and a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit. Currently it costs $195 for each authorized user card, but luckily for you and your authorized user, that fee will be waived. Your mom can thank you later for the elite hotel status or lounge access, while using the luxury metal card as an authorized user.
4. Annual Fees Waived For Multiple Cards
Credit card issuers make this benefit seamless. Once your first card with a provider like American Express, Chase, or Citi has its annual fee waived, any additional cards you open with them will also have their fees waived automatically, without needing to contact the issuer or submit further paperwork.
5. Waived Foreign Transaction Fees
When deployed or with a copy of OCONUS PCS Orders, some banks will eliminate the foreign currency transaction fee on credit cards (and/or debit cards) (usually 1-2% of purchase price). Banks’ policies may vary so please contact your bank to learn more.
6. Interest Rate Caps
The average credit card interest rate (APR) is approximately 20.03% as of early October 2025, varying based on creditworthiness and card type. Military members have protections that can lower credit card interest rates through the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) and Military Lending Act (MLA). The SCRA caps interest on pre-service debts at 6%, while the MLA caps interest on many active-duty loans at 36%.
Some issuers offer additional benefits that go above and beyond those required by law. Capital One and Chase offer a low APR with an interest cap of 4% on eligible balances during active duty and one year afterward. Since each issuer may handle military benefits differently, it’s always best to reach out directly with any questions or if you’re looking for specific details.
If any of these benefits surprised you, look into them further—you might save significantly by taking advantage of these offerings!
Course to Paradise 