The Best Credit Cards For Military Veterans

Active service members can choose from dozens of great, military-specific credit card deals. But, as a veteran, many of these same perks don’t apply. This reality can make picking the right card after you leave the military challenging. As such, we’ll use this article to provide an overview of the best credit cards for veterans.

Specifically, we’ll discuss the following:

• Defining Your Credit Card Priorities as a Veteran
• Best Credit Cards for Veterans Who Travel
• Best Credit Cards for Veteran Business Owners
• Best Cash-Back Credit Cards for Veterans
• Cards for Veterans with No or Bad Credit
• Final Thoughts

Defining Your Credit Card Priorities as a Veteran

Prior to discussing the best credit card options for veterans, we need to first address an important fact: not all veterans are the same. In other words, the reasons why a card makes sense for one veteran may not apply to another veteran. As a result, before choosing a credit card, you need to first define why you need that card. That is, what are your priorities?

While not an all-inclusive list, here are a few questions you should ask yourself before picking a particular credit card:

• How do I plan on using my card?
• What are the primary expenses that I plan on paying with my card?
• Do I have any “must-have” credit card terms (e.g. cash-back, no annual fee, etc.)?

Bottom line, too many credit card options exist to blindly choose one. After you answer the above questions, you should narrow down your choices. With that said, the following card options certainly do not represent the only credit cards for veterans, but you should be able to find a solid choice that meets all of your above priorities.

Best Credit Cards for Veterans Who Travel

The Platinum Card® from American Express

As stated above, travel credit cards generally come with far higher annual fees. But, in return, cardholders receive tremendous travel perks. At /year, the Platinum Card’s annual fees are certainly high. However, if you plan on traveling extensively, you can more than recoup these fees via associated card benefits. Plus, there is a major benefit for active duty members – American Express waives the annual fee on the Platinum Card for active duty servicemembers and military spouses.

In particular, the Platinum Card offers huge bonuses – If planned properly, this bonus alone can pay for an international trip, more than justifying the high annual fee. Additionally, this card provides annual savings on travel-related expenses, including Uber, airline fees, and Global Entry or TSA Precheck programs.

Major Benefits

For frequent travelers, the most significant benefit to the Platinum Card is the airport lounge access it provides. Cardholders can access over 1,300 lounges spanning 140 countries, to include the high-end Centurion lounges.

Airport food is expensive. Say your average airport meal costs $15 (a conservative estimate). If you find yourself in airports 20 times per year and eat for free in a lounge rather than pay for a meal, that saves you $300 right there. Add in the free beer and wine offered in these lounges, and you can recoup that high annual fee in lounge food and drink alone.

Learn more about The Platinum Card® from American Express

Best Credit Cards for Veteran Business Owners

American Express® Business Gold Card

Veteran business owners have their own unique set of needs and priorities when it comes to credit cards – typically far different than your average cardholder. The goes a long way towards supporting these needs. Of note, cardholders can Additionally, you receive 4x points for the two expense categories with the most purchases in a given month, meaning you get rewarded for where you spend most frequently.

Currently, the Business Gold Card charges a annual fee and a APR.

Major Benefits

But, this fee must be measured against what we see as the card’s primary benefit: its pay-over-time option. For small business owners, managing cash flow proves one of the most critical tasks to successful operations. Without cash, operations stop.

This pay-over-time option provides business owners a flexible payment option for purchases over $100. When a purchase qualifies for pay-over-time treatment, cardholders can pay the entire balance at the end of the month, saving on interest. But, if cash flow is an issue in a particular month, this feature allows business owners to pay off the balances on larger purchases – with interest – over time. Bottom line, while you’ll still pay interest on these purchases, this feature provides veteran business owners some outstanding flexibility when it comes to managing cash flow.

Best Cash-Back Credit Cards for Veterans

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

Some veterans prioritize cash-back rewards with their credit cards. And, for these individuals looking to maximize cash, the provides outstanding terms. For a modest annual fee(), cardholders receive 6% cash-back on groceries (up to $6,000/year), 6% back on streaming subscriptions, 3% back on gas, and 1% for all other purchases.

Major Benefits

The major benefit here is the outstanding cash-back potential. For example, say you spend the full $6,000/year on groceries (~$115/week in groceries), $1,560 ($30/week) on gas, and $3,000 in other purchases – a conservative estimate for a family. That would equate to just over $435 in annual cash back, or net cash of $340 when you factor in the annual fee – not bad for just spending like you normally would!

On top of that, new cardholders can

Cards for Veterans with No or Bad Credit

Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card

Realistically, most credit cards require decent credit scores. If you have bad credit or no credit, card approval can be extremely challenging. Fortunately, the is an option for veterans in one of these categories to A) get a credit card, and B) build their credit score.

With a secured credit card, Capital One cardholders put down a refundable security deposit, as low as $49 for a $200 initial credit line. That deposit then serves as collateral for the credit card. You can then earn your security deposit back as a statement credit when you use your card responsibly. With no annual or hidden fees, plus the ability to monitor your credit score with CreditWise from Capital One, it’s a great option to build credit.

Major Benefits

This option helps cardholders build their credit scores while still having the functionality of a normal credit card. Additionally, Capital One monitors your usage and offers upgrades in as little as six months with no additional deposit needed.

Final Thoughts

Credit cards, like all tools, shouldn’t be viewed from a one-size-fits-all perspective. Rather, veterans should first decide how they plan on using a card and what priorities they have. From this foundation, you can make an informed decision on the best credit card for your unique situation.

Maurice “Chipp” Naylon spent nine years as an infantry officer in the Marine Corps. He is currently a licensed CPA specializing in real estate development and accounting.

_{Veteran.com has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Veteran.com and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on Veteran.com are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear, but does not affect our editors’ opinions or evaluations. Veteran.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers.}

---