The Best Credit Cards for Military Members in 2025
Tl;dr:
Active duty military members can qualify for premium credit cards with no annual fee.
Top picks: Chase Sapphire Reserve, Amex Platinum, Hilton Aspire.
Potential value: $1,000+ per year in credits and perks—for free.
Here at LazyPoints, we don’t mind annual fees, but generally prefer cards that pay for themselves, like the Capital One Venture X ($400 worth of annual credits/points for a $395 annual fee) or IHG Premier (a free hotel stay for a ~$100 fee). But what if you could get all those benefits without having to pay the fee? If you’re an active duty military member–or married to one–that might be an option! You could get $1,000+ in annual value with a card or two, all for free.
Why military service is a credit card superpower
To protect servicemembers from onerous financial obligations, Congress passed two laws: the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) and the Military Lending Act (MLA). The SCRA applies to credit and debt incurred before service, while the MLA applies to debt incurred during service. Among the benefits provided by these laws is a limit on interest (for a summary, check out this handout from the Consumer Financial Protection Agency).
The law may not be crystal clear about how this applies to credit card annual fees, but whether out of risk-averse compliance or out of appreciation for our military, some banks waive annual fees on their credit card products under one or both of these programs–sometimes even on their ultra-premium products.
American Express and Chase are the most generous in this respect, waiving fees on all their personal cards, whether you sign up pre-service or while on active duty. It can be a bit of a mixed bag with other banks. Capital One, Citi, Bank of America, and Barclays typically waive fees under SCRA, but your mileage may vary under MLA. US Bank and Wells Fargo may not always waive fees under either program. Always check with your bank prior to applying for a card if you are relying on a fee waiver.
Also note that these benefits end when you leave active duty, so be sure to keep track of when your annual fee would be due, and cancel before getting charged if you don’t value a card’s perks enough to pay full price for it.
Top premium cards for military members
For those who have the credit score and income to qualify, there are several ultra-premium cards that can unlock hundreds of dollars in premium benefits–all free for active duty military. These prime cards include the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Amex Platinum, Hilton Aspire, Delta Reserve, and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant.
Chase Sapphire Reserve
My #1 recommendation is the Chase Sapphire Reserve. While the other cards offer higher upside and better luxury offerings, nothing can compete with the Reserve’s simplicity, especially as a starter card. The $300 travel credit is essentially money in your pocket–it doesn’t need to be spent anywhere in particular or broken out into smaller monthly credits. The Priority Pass alone is a $469 value. Sapphire lounges are now winning the lounge wars, so it may be a better option than the Amex Platinum unless your specific travel habits take you by more Amex-exclusive lounges than Chase ones. And, vitally, the Reserve earns points faster than its competitors thanks to its triple points on dining and travel, and they are much easier to redeem for good value thanks to its 50% bonus when redeeming for travel through Chase and transfer partnership with Hyatt.
Amex Platinum
After that, your mileage may vary. The Amex Platinum is the most well-rounded option to upgrade your travel experience, with a vast airport lounge network, elite status with Hilton and Marriott, and lucrative (if tricky to redeem) statement credits, including $240 toward entertainment, $200 in Uber Cash, and $200 toward airline incidental fees. But it only earns a single point per dollar on most purchases, which can be borderline criminal in some cases (e.g. dining). The Amex Platinum is a card to have, not a card to use. But you can always pair it with an Amex Gold and get several hundred dollars in additional credits, plus 4x points on dining and groceries.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant is another well-rounded option, offering both elite status with Marriott and lounge access via Priority Pass while flying. Most people will get solid value from the free night and $300 dining credit. However, it only earns Marriott points, and not at a particularly impressive rate.
Hilton Aspire
The Hilton Aspire is my personal favorite. Although it doesn’t offer airport lounge benefits (which you might get with another card anyway), it offers top-tier Diamond status with Hilton. Its free night benefit can be redeemed at most Hilton properties, including luxury hotels that can run north of $1,000 per night. If you get a second card or have a spouse with one, you could get a full weekend at some of the best hotels in the world. The $200 semi-annual resort credit is also sneakily useful, with many resorts available to book at around $200 per night. The $50 flight credit each quarter is also valuable and easy to use, while the 7x earning rate on dining, flights, and rental cars is very respectable.
Amex Delta Reserve
Finally, the Delta Reserve offers hundreds of dollars in credits, valuable whether you fly Delta or not. But if you do, you’ll get (limited) access to both Delta and Amex lounges, placement on the upgrade list, and a companion certificate each year. United and AA also offer cards with statement credits and lounge access, but don’t offer upgrade possibilities. See more about those cards below.
Here is a summary of the credits, benefits, and earning rates for each of these cards:
| Card | Fee (Waived) | Credits | Lounge Access | Elite Status | Earning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Reserve | $300 travel | Sapphire, Priority Pass, Maple Leaf* | Avis Preferred Plus, National Emerald Club | 3x dining, travel | |
| Amex Platinum | $240 digital entertainment, $200 Uber, $200 airline incidental, $155 Walmart+, $100 Sak’s, $199 Clear | Amex Centurion, Priority Pass, Plaza Premium, Delta*, Lufthansa* | Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, Avis Preferred, Hertz Gold Plus, National Emerald Club | 5x on flights | |
| Hilton Aspire | Free night, $400 Hilton Resort, $200 flight, $199 Clear | n/a | Hilton Diamond, National Emerald Club Executive | 14x Hilton, 7x flights, rental cars, dining | |
| Delta Reserve | $200 Delta Stays, $240 Resy, $120 rideshare, companion certificate | Delta*, Amex Centurion* | Upgrade list on Delta | 3x on Delta | |
| Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant | $300 dining, free night | Priority Pass | Marriott Platinum | 6x Marriott, 3x dining, 3x flights |
Honorable mention:
Delta Amex Platinum: $150 hotel credit, $120 in rideshare credits, checked bags, upgrades
United Club: United Club access, $150 in rideshare credits, priority services
United Quest: $200 United travel credit, $100 in rideshare credits, 10k points discount on award travel
AA Executive Club: Admiral’s Club access, $120 Lyft credits, $120 Grubhub credits, $120 Avis/Budget credit, priority services
Amex Gold: $120 Uber Cash, $120 dining credit, $100 Resy credit, $84 Dunkin credit
What if I don’t qualify for a premium card?
Many mid-tier credit cards come with statement credits toward hotel stays.
Don’t worry–many mid-tier cards also offer great value! The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers solid earnings and a redemption bonus along with a $50 annual hotel credit when booking through Chase. The USAA Eagle Navigator has simple (albeit less valuable) rewards, and 10,000 points ($100) toward travel each year. The Citi Strata Premier, meanwhile, offers bonus points on a ton of useful categories (3x on dining, groceries, gas, flights, and hotels) and a $100 hotel credit on $500+ stays booked via Citi. Finally, the Delta Amex Gold comes with a $100 hotel credit, discounts on Skymiles redemptions, and perks like free baggage and priority boarding when flying Delta.
Conclusion
If you’re on active duty, thank you for your service! If it makes sense for your financial situation, consider taking advantage of the opportunity to earn hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars in purchase credits and travel perks by signing up for a credit card with a military fee waiver. Some of these even ranked as among our top credit cards, being essentially free to hold even with the annual fee. Just be sure to hold out for a top-tier bonus–follow our weekly roundup to see which cards currently have those offers.
Considering a Chase Sapphire? Apply via our referral link here.
Rent a new place every time you PCS? Consider getting a Bilt Mastercard to earn points on your rent with no fees.
Just getting started with credit cards? Check out our short Points Basics guide.