The Best Military Credit Cards: Low APRs, Waived Annual Fees, and More

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express (Review) is currently the best card for buying groceries. It has a generous cash back rewards program, and usually comes with a $95 annual fee (Rates & Fees). But American Express will waive that fee as part of its SCRA benefits, making this card even better.

6% is the best normal rate you’ll find for grocery store purchases, compared to other cards. And with no annual fee to pay thanks to your military benefits from Amex, the cash back you earn will be all profit.

• Amex Offers: Find significant discounts at a changing selection of merchants and websites, like (at the time of publication) TurboTax, SamsClub.com, Etsy, and many more.
• ShopRunner membership: ShopRunner provides free two-day shipping and returns at participating online retailers.
• Purchase and Balance Transfer APR: 0% for 12 months, then 14.49–25.49% Variable (for transfers made during the first 60 days)
• Annual fee: $95 (waived for SCRA-eligible members)
• Fee waivers: Certain other fees are waived for SCRA-eligible members as well, like late and returned payment fees.

The Ducks Unlimited Rewards Visa Signature® Card is a rare beast that provides 5% cash back for gas all year round. And unlike many of its rivals, there’s no limit to the amount of cash back you can earn at the 5% rate. But this is mainly just a credit card for buying gas, without much else to recommend it.

Key Features

• Free Credit Score: Check your FICO Bankcard Score 9, which will probably be based on your Equifax credit report.
• Shopping and Travel Protections: Which may include Purchase Protection, Return Protection, Trip Delay Reimbursement, and others.
• Annual fee: $0

If you want a way to earn decent cash back on every purchase, without worrying about bonus reward categories, the Citi^® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer (Review) should be on your radar.

It’s a good option to pair with a card that does have some bonus reward categories, like some of the others on this list. You’ll be able to earn more rewards in the bonus categories, while using the Double Cash to get a flat rate on everything else.

• Citi Concierge: Call for non-emergency help whenever you need it, like assistance making travel reservations.
• ShopRunner membership: Use ShopRunner to get free two-day shipping and returns at participating retailers.
• Free Credit Score: Check your FICO Bankcard Score 8 for free, based on your Equifax credit report.
• Balance Transfer APR: 0% for 18 months on Balance Transfers, then 15.49% – 25.49% (Variable) (for transfers made during the first four months)
• Annual fee: $0
• Fee waivers: There are no fees of any kind for SCRA-eligible cardholders.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Review) is a high-end travel credit card, normally meant only for frequent travelers. But Chase will waive the annual fee of any card eligible for SCRA benefits — in this case a $450 fee! So the Reserve could be quite valuable even if you don’t travel very much, especially when you consider its vast selection of benefits.

This card is all about travel spending. And you’ll need to redeem your points for travel expenses too, if you want to get the best value for them.

When redeeming through Chase Ultimate Rewards you’ll get a 50% bonus, so your points will be worth 1.5 cents each. That means you’ll be getting the equivalent of 4.5% cash back when spending on travel and redeeming in that way.

You’ll also be able to transfer your points to several airline and hotel travel partners. You could find a better deal through one of them, and we’ve seen transfers that could provide 2 cents per point or more, for the equivalent of at least 6% cash back when spending in the 3X categories.

• Point Transfer: Transfer your points at a 1:1 rate to a variety of airline and hotel loyalty programs, like United, JetBlue, and Marriott
• $300 Annual Travel Credit: A $300 travel credit every year that will be automatically applied toward a broad range of travel-related expenses charged to your card
• Complimentary Priority Pass Select membership: Provides access to over 1,200 Priority Pass airport lounges worldwide plus a selection of restaurants. The cardholder and two guests can enter for free; additional guests cost $32 each
• Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection: Provides complimentary services and benefits at participating hotels and resorts, including room upgrades, daily breakfast for two, and special gifts
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Application Fee Credit: Get a statement credit to offset the cost of applying for Global Entry ($100) or TSA PreCheck ($85), once every four years
• Elite Hotel Benefits at Relais & Châteaux: Accelerated progress toward Club 5C member status with Relais & Châteaux luxury hotel and resort properties
• Lyft Pink membership: One free year of Lyft Pink, which includes 15% off rides, relaxed cancellations, surprise offers, and priority airport pickup
• DoorDash membership: A free membership (DashPass) for a year, which provides free delivery for orders of $15 or more
• $60 annual DoorDash credit: Get $60 in DoorDash credits in 2020, and $60 in credits in 2021
• Annual fee: $550 (waived for SCRA-eligible members)
• Fee waivers: Chase will waive all fees as part of its SCRA benefits, including foreign transaction fees, late fees, etc

The Platinum Card® from American Express (Review) is another high-end travel card to consider. It has a $550 annual fee (Rates & Fees), but you won’t need to worry about that because American Express will usually waive annual fees as part of its SCRA benefits.

Unlike the Sapphire Reserve above, the Platinum card is a charge card. That means you’ll generally need to pay the statement balance in full each month (which is our normal recommendation anyway, for all cards).

This card is focused mainly around spending through the American Express Travel service, although flights booked directly through airlines are included too.

That makes it a bit more restricted than the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which isn’t limited to a single travel service. But this card provides more rewards on average, with a cash back equivalent of 5% when earning at the 5X rate and redeeming for 1 cent per point. That’s what you can get when redeeming for flights and certain gift cards, which will provide the best regular value for your points.

But you can find even better deals than that through point transfers, where we’ve seen the equivalent of over 10% cash back for certain transfers, when spending at the 5X rate.

• Point Transfer: Transfer your Membership Rewards points to a variety of airline and hotel partners, such as British Airways, Delta, Hilton, and Marriott.
• Global Lounge Collection: Complimentary access to Priority Pass, Centurion, American Express International, Delta Sky Club, Escape, Airspace, Lufthansa, and Plaza Premium Lounges.
• $200 Annual Airline Fee Credit: Good for incidental costs like checked bags and in-flight food (not flight tickets) at your selected airline.
• $200 Annual Uber Credits: $15 in statement credits for Uber rides each month, except for December which gets $35.
• $100 Annual Saks Credit: Up to $100 in statement credits each year for Saks Fifth Avenue: $50 from January through June, and $50 from July through December.
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Application Fee Credit: A statement credit for the application fee of either Global Entry ($100 every four years) or TSA PreCheck ($85 once every four and a half years).
• The Hotel Collection: A $100 hotel credit and room upgrades when available for every eligible two-night stay.
• Complimentary Elite Hotel Statuses: Hilton Honors Gold status and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status.
• Annual fee: $550 (waived for SCRA-eligible cardholders)
• Fee waivers: Certain other fees are waived for SCRA-eligible cardholders as well, like late and returned payment fees.
• Charge card: You must pay your balance in full each month.

Some cards are co-branded with certain airlines, and most of these cards are issued by American Express, Chase, and Citi.

Luckily for you, all three of these issuers will waive the annual fees of cards that are eligible for SCRA benefits. So a large swath of airline cards will have their annual fees waived, along with certain other fees depending on the issuer.

The right card for you will depend on which airline you spend the most time and money with. Check out our picks for the best airline credit card offers and you’ll probably find a match.

Let’s take a closer look at one airline card. The United MileagePlus® Club Card (Review) from Chase has a $450 annual fee, but if you’re getting it waived you might as well go big. It’s just one of several travel rewards cards designed for United Airlines enthusiasts.

A typical good redemption value would probably be around 1.5 cents per mile for United. That means you’ll be earning the equivalent of about 10.5% cash back when spending with United, and about 2.25% cash back on other purchases.

That might not seem like a whole lot for an expensive card like this, but the real value of many airline cards comes from their extra benefits.

• United Club Membership: Complimentary membership to the United Club airport lounge, with free access for you and two guests.
• Premier Access Airport Travel Services: Includes priority check-in and security screening, and boarding/baggage handling privileges.
• Complimentary Premier Upgrades on United award flights: MileagePlus Premier members can get award ticket upgrades when available.
• Free first and second checked bags: For you and one traveling companion.
• World of Hyatt Discoverist Status: A 10% point bonus, room upgrades, and other benefits at Hyatt properties.
• Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection: Hotel perks like daily breakfast for two, complimentary WiFi, and room upgrades when available.
• Hertz Gold Plus Rewards President’s Circle Elite Status: Get a 25% point bonus, upgrades, and exclusive offers at Hertz.
• Annual fee: $550 (waived for SCRA-eligible members)
• Fee waivers: Chase will waive all fees as part of its SCRA benefits, including foreign transaction fees, late fees, etc.

Just like with airline cards, many hotel credit cards are issued by American Express, Chase, and Citi. These issuers all waive the annual fees for cards that are eligible for SCRA benefits, making them good picks if you stay at hotels often.

The right hotel card for you will depend on where you like to stay. If you prefer Hilton, there’s a card for that. If you like Marriott, Hyatt, or IHG, there are co-branded cards for them too. See our picks for the best hotel credit cards to find some great cards for major hotel brands.

One option you might like would be the Hilton Honors Aspire Card. Its $450 annual fee will be waived by Amex, so you can use its rewards and benefits for free under the SCRA (as long as you avoid interest charges).

This card is very rewarding, offering plenty of Hilton Honors points when you spend with Hilton. You’ll get those additional 20X points because this card comes with automatic Hilton Honors Diamond status, which is the highest possible elite membership tier.

That means when you spend with Hilton you’ll be able to earn the equivalent of around 13.6–34% cash back, depending on how you redeem those points. This is an excellent value, especially considering that you won’t have an annual fee to pay.

That’s a lot of cash back, but you’ll also get benefits and statement credits that can be worth hundreds of dollars every year.

• Complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status: Includes a 100% bonus on Base points earned, room upgrades to suites when available, executive lounge access, a 48-hour room guarantee, and more.
• Annual Free Weekend Night Award: One free weekend night every year, and earn another free weekend night by spending $60,000 in a calendar year.
• $100 Hilton On-Property Credit: Good for every eligible stay of two nights or more, valid for incidental fees only.
• Annual $250 Hilton Resort Statement Credit: For incidental fees only.
• Annual $250 Airline Fee Statement Credit: For incidental fees only.
• Priority Pass Select Membership: Complimentary access to Priority Pass airport lounges. Excludes non-lounge experiences.
• Annual fee: $450 (waived for SCRA-eligible members)
• Fee waivers: Certain other fees are waived for SCRA-eligible cardholders as well, like late and returned payment fees.

If you’re carrying a large balance at a high interest rate, you may be able to transfer that balance to a card with a 0% intro APR. That will give you time to pay it off without accruing extra interest as you go, potentially saving you thousands of dollars.

The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card (Review) currently has the best offer you’ll find, at 0% APR for 21 months for balance transfers (from the date of the first transfer; all transfers must be completed in the first four months). There’s typically a fee of 5% for transfers, but as part of its SCRA benefits, Citi waives all fees associated with its cards — including that transfer fee.

That gives you almost two years to pay off a balance at no interest. Purchases will get 12 months at 0% APR.

After the introductory rates expire, you’ll get a regular APR of 15.24%–25.24% Variable.

Check out the runners-up below for some balance transfer cards without balance transfer fees (but their introductory periods are a bit shorter).

Citi provides a 0% APR for existing balances as part of its SCRA benefits. This means you’ll get that 0% rate for as long as you qualify for the SCRA, and that could give you even more time to pay off a balance.

However, remember that the special SCRA 0% rate will only apply to balances and cards that exist before you enter active duty. So if you transfer a balance after entering active duty it will be subject to the regular APR, even though you’ll get the fee waived (assuming the card was opened before active duty began).

That’s about all there is to the Simplicity card, especially if you just want it for balance transfers. After transferring a balance, you should aim to pay it off by the time your 0% rate ends. An easy way to do this is to divide your balance by the number of months you have to pay it. That will tell you how much to pay each month to pay it all off in time (consider dividing by one less than the number of months, to pay it off early).

• Free Credit Score: Check your FICO Score 8 whenever you’d like, based on your Equifax credit report.
• Balance Transfer APR: 0% for 21 months, then 15.24%–25.24% Variable
• Purchase APR: 0% for 12 months, then 15.24%–25.24% Variable
• Annual fee: $0
• Fee waivers: There are no fees of any kind for SCRA-eligible cardholders.

If you have fair or average credit (a FICO Score 8 of about 580–669), you may not be able to qualify for the most rewarding cards on the market. But you don’t have to go with a secured card either.

Our top pick for people with fair credit is the Capital One® QuicksilverOne® Cash Rewards Credit Card (Review). It’s advertised as being designed for average credit, unlike most cards which don’t tell you what credit level they’re made for.

You can build up your credit over time by using this card responsibly. Eventually, as your credit improves, you may get approved for better cards with more rewarding bonus categories.

It’s as simple as that. The QuicksilverOne doesn’t have a very strong rewards program, but you should expect this with cards meant for fair or average credit.

• Higher Credit Line: Access a higher credit line after making your first five monthly payments on time.
• CreditWise: Use the CreditWise tool to monitor your TransUnion credit report, and your VantageScore 3.0 based on that report.
• Annual fee: $39 (waived for SCRA-eligible members)
• Fee waivers: Capital One will waive all fees as part of its SCRA benefits, including foreign transaction fees, late fees, etc.

With bad or limited credit (a FICO Score 8 of less than about 579), you’ll have a hard time being approved for most credit cards. But some cards are designed for bad credit, including secured credit cards. A secured card requires a one-time refundable security deposit when you’re approved, which will fund the credit limit.

If you’re in this situation, we recommend using the Discover it® Secured (Review). While some secured cards seem almost like a punishment for having bad credit, this card stands out for actually having a pretty good rewards program. It’s about on par with (or perhaps better than, given your spending habits) the QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards above, which is meant for average credit.

Use this card responsibly. That means paying your bills on time, but we also recommend always paying off your statement balance in full each month. This will be good for your credit utilization and it will also prevent any interest from accruing on purchases, helping you avoid credit card debt.

Every eight months, Discover will review your account and your credit to decide whether to return your deposit and allow you to continue using the card. This is a great feature because it means you don’t have to close this account and open a new card, which isn’t as good for your credit in general.

You’ll normally get 2% back for those common purchases, but Discover’s Cashback Match will double all the rewards you earn in your first year. So you’ll be getting 4% cash back in the reward categories and 2% cash back for all other purchases.

That’s an excellent offer to find because most other secured cards don’t come with any rewards at all. Compared to them the Discover it Secured seems very generous, especially given the Cashback Match.

• Free Credit Score: Check your FICO Score 8 for free, based on your TransUnion credit report.
• No foreign transaction fee
• Annual fee: $0
• Security deposit: $200 to $2,500
• Fee waivers: Discover will waive late and overlimit fees for SCRA-eligible cards