Credit Cards for Active-Duty Military

What is the three-card split?

Hold each card for the job it does. You are not trying to earn a fee back. The tiles use the current fee and bonus. Card 2 is still one Chase slot: Sapphire Reserve or Preferred, whichever signup bonus you can finish. If you start with Preferred, you can upgrade to Reserve after one year.

Card 1. Amex Platinum

Perks. Lounges and the lifestyle credits.

When you are not paying the fee, an unused credit is not a loss. One Platinum. Do not open a second one.

Card 2. Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred

Dining, travel, and Costco. Both cards are Visa. U.S. Costco warehouses take Visa and do not take American Express.

Pick the one whose signup bonus you can actually finish. Sapphire Reserve is the richer perk card when the fee is waived. Sapphire Preferred is the right card when that is the bonus you can hit.

If you start with Preferred for that reason, you can upgrade to Sapphire Reserve after one year. Chase does not publish an annual-fee waiver. Military Money Manual reported one for personal cards, which covers either Sapphire.

Card 3. Bilt Palladium

Rent or mortgage, and everyday spend.

The card agreement does not promise a waiver. The fee should be waived for a covered borrower. If it does not drop on its own, email support@card.bilt.com with orders. That is reported, not a term in the agreement.

What should you not double-count?

Count a card perk only when service does not already give it to you.

• TSA PreCheck you already get with a DoD CAC. Use the DoD ID number on the card as the Known Traveler Number. TSA's military page covers official and personal travel.
• Official-travel lodging, government hotel rates, and on-base rooms. A card's hotel credit counts on a leisure stay.
• Military and USO lounges. A civilian-terminal lounge from the card can still be worth using. A USO lounge does not replace every terminal.
• Baggage rules on official tickets, including Space-A where that applies. A card bag credit counts on a commercial ticket.

Global Entry or NEXUS can still be extra when the card offers it and you do not already have it.

What did we leave out?

• Do not default to Gold just because it is easier to justify at the full civilian price. Sapphire Preferred is not in that bucket. It is the Chase card when that is the signup bonus you can finish, and you can upgrade to Reserve after one year. Amex points, the best uses of those points, and the Gold review are the civilian versions. The Sapphire Preferred review is the other way to fill the Chase slot.
• Do not open a new Venture or Venture X for free perks. Capital One publishes a waiver only for an account opened before active duty. If you already hold one, request SCRA. Otherwise use the fee breakeven calculator and the Venture X review.
• Citi is not in the split. Its public page does not say the annual fee is waived. Military Money Manual reported relief that is finicky, often with email to MILITARYORDERS@CITI.COM.
• Bilt Blue if you do not want to ask for the Palladium waiver. Obsidian is the mid-tier card under the same reported waiver. Reviews: Palladium, Blue, Obsidian.
• Freedom Flex and Freedom Unlimited are optional everyday backups, not the three main cards.

How do active-duty members apply?

You use the same apply link as everyone else. There is no military application URL.

• Open the card with the link on this page.
• The extra step is the waiver, and it depends on when the account was opened.
• Chase, reported: select Military as income so the bank can check the MLA database. Spouses go through DEERS.
• A card opened before active duty: request SCRA and send orders. Amex and Capital One publish how.
• A card opened during active duty: MLA is often automatic. Amex checks at application.
• Bilt: if the fee does not drop on its own, email support@card.bilt.com with orders. Cardless may not check the database for you.
• Citi, if you still want it: email MILITARYORDERS@CITI.COM. Treat it as optional.

The fee block above reads each card's posted annual fee and the waiver flag. When either changes, the line changes with it.

What is the difference between SCRA and MLA?

An account is one or the other. Amex does not stack them on the same card.

SCRA

Debt you opened before active duty. You have to ask, and there is a deadline after you leave. The statute counts fees as interest. That is the law. It is not the same as an issuer saying your annual fee is waived.

MLA

Consumer credit you open while serving. The issuer usually checks a Department of Defense database when you apply. The cap is 36 percent. A credit card may exclude a reasonable participation fee from that cap, so the Act itself does not require an annual-fee waiver. Any zero fee under MLA is issuer policy or a reported practice.

Who else qualifies?

• Guard and Reserve: only while the issuer's own row says they are on active duty, or on the orders that issuer names.
• Dependents: only where that issuer says so. Amex's MLA description includes a spouse, a child, and someone the member supports by more than half. Chase's reported waiver includes spouses through DEERS.
• Veterans: not an ongoing category. No issuer here says a veteran keeps a fee waiver after relief ends. TSA tells retirees and veterans to enroll in PreCheck on their own.

What happens when you leave active duty?

• Amex gives notice, then charges the fees it had not been charging. A fee billed outside the SCRA window is still owed.
• Capital One generally declines a request when active duty ended more than a year earlier.
• A reported Chase or Bilt waiver lasts while you still qualify, and it ends when that eligibility ends.
• Plan the downgrade before the notice runs out. The glossary defines downgrade and product change. The card strategy lesson is the civilian version of which card to keep.

Where should you read next?

Chase points is what Sapphire Reserve or Preferred points are worth after you earn them. Start here is the short version of the whole system. The card directory and the card comparison tool are the civilian lists. Reviews for cards in the lists above: Platinum, Freedom Flex, Marriott Bold, Ink Business Cash.

Frequently asked questions

Do credit cards waive annual fees for active duty?

Some do, and the label matters. Amex and Capital One publish SCRA fee relief for accounts opened before active duty. Chase and Bilt do not publish a waiver. Military Money Manual reported those, and reported a during-service Amex figure that Amex itself does not name. The Military Lending Act does not require the waiver.

What is the difference between SCRA and MLA for a credit card?

SCRA is the pre-service account, and you request it. MLA is the account you open while serving, and the issuer usually checks it for you. Only SCRA's statute counts fees as interest. MLA lets a card exclude a reasonable participation fee.

Which cards should an active-duty member get?

Amex Platinum, then Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred, then Bilt Palladium. The Chase card is the one whose signup bonus you can finish. Reserve is the richer perk card when the fee is waived. If you start with Preferred, you can upgrade to Reserve after one year. Freedom Flex and Freedom Unlimited are optional backups. Do not open a new Venture or Venture X. Do not make Citi the default.

Can you apply with the regular card link?

Yes. Same link as everyone else. Then either the issuer checks MLA, or you send orders for SCRA. Bilt and Citi often need an email before the reported relief shows up.

Which perks do service members already have?

TSA PreCheck with a DoD CAC, official lodging, and military or USO lounges. Do not count those as if the card created them. A civilian lounge, a leisure hotel credit, and Global Entry or NEXUS can still be extra.