Best Credit Cards for Military Personnel

Why It’s One of the Best Military Credit Cards: The PenFed Pathfinder® Rewards Visa Signature® Card is the best military credit card for travel rewards because it offers 50,000 points for spending $3,000 in the first 90 days. Cardholders also earn 3 points / $1 spent on travel (4 points for Honors Advantage Members) and 1.5 points / $1 on all other purchases, along with opportunities to earn extra statement credits.

Finally, PenFed Pathfinder has a $95 annual fee, but it is waived for Honors Advantage Members.

Why It’s One of the Best Military Credit Cards: The PenFed Gold Visa® Card is one of the best military-affiliated credit cards to consider for a low interest rate because it offers a regular APR of 17.99% (V) and does not charge an annual fee.

In addition to its relatively low regular APR, the PenFed Gold Visa card provides an intro purchase APR of 0% for 15 months after opening an account, as well as 0% for 15 months intro APR on balance transfers made in the first 90 days. This card requires good credit or better for approval.

Why It’s One of the Best Military Credit Cards: The PenFed Power Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Card offers an introductory APR of 0% for 12 months on balance transfers.

The PenFed Power Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Card also gives 1.5% cash back on all purchases (2% cash back for Honors Advantage Members). And new cardholders who spend $1,500 in the first 90 days get an initial bonus of $100 statement credit.

PenFed Power Cash Rewards has a regular APR of 17.99% (V) and a transfer fee of 3%. But it can still help you save a lot of money, particularly if you pay your bill in full every month the regular APR is in effect. This will allow you to avoid interest charges. PenFed Power Cash Rewards has a $0 annual fee.

Why It’s One of the Best Military Credit Cards: The PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card is the best military credit card for gas rewards. It offers 5 points per $1 spent on gas and electric vehicle charging stations, 3 points per $1 at supermarkets and restaurants, 3 points per $1 on cable, satellite and other pay television/radio/streaming services, as well as 1 point per $1 on all other purchases. Plus, new cardholders can get an initial bonus of 15,000 points for spending $1,500 in the first 3 months.

PenFed Platinum Rewards has a $0 annual fee and requires good credit or better for approval.
 

Why It’s One of the Best Military Credit Cards: The USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card offers an introductory balance transfer APR of 0% for 15 months, along with a $0 annual fee. It could therefore help military families save a lot of money on finance charges while paying off existing debt, even though it charges a 5% balance transfer fee.

Still, it’s best to be debt-free – or close to it – by the time the regular interest rate takes effect. The USAA Rate Advantage Credit Card’s regular APR ranges from 12.15% to 27.15% variable, depending on your overall creditworthiness. The resulting interest charges could easily eat into your initial savings if you’re not careful.
 

Why It’s One of the Best Military Credit Cards: This card is from a military-focused issuer and gives 1.5% cash back on purchases. It doesn't charge either an annual fee or a foreign transaction fee. So using it is a simple way for military families to save money whenever they spend money, regardless of what they buy.

Why It’s One of the Best Military Credit Cards: The USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card offers an initial bonus of 2,500 points after your first purchase. That will quickly save you $25. This card also gives 3 points per $1 spent on dining, 2 points per $1 spent on gas and groceries, and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

In addition, the USAA® Rewards™ American Express® Card offers an introductory balance transfer APR of 0% for 15 months, along with a $0 annual fee. On the other hand, it has a regular APR of 15.15% - 31.15% (V) and a 5% balance transfer fee. No credit card is perfect, after all.



 

The best credit card for military personnel is the Navy Federal Credit Union Visa Signature® Flagship Rewards Credit Card because it offers a great deal of rewards on purchases. It gives an initial bonus of 35,000 points after spending $3,500 within 90 days. Cardholders also earn 3 points / $1 spent on travel purchases and 2 points / $1 spent on everything else.

There is a $49 annual fee, but it’s worth paying if you can take advantage of the bonus rewards and other perks. For example, cardholders are eligible for a statement credit of up to $100 to cover the cost of applying for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry.

Why It’s One of the Best Military Credit Cards: The Navy Federal Credit Union cashRewards Credit Card is the best military credit card for cash back rewards because it offers $300 for spending $3,000 in the first 90 days. Cardholders also earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases. On top of that, the Navy Federal Credit Union cashRewards Credit Card has a $0 annual fee, and you can get approved with a good score or better.

Why It’s One of the Best Military Credit Cards: The Navy Federal Credit Union More Rewards American Express® Credit Card is the best military credit card for rewards with no annual fee. It offers 30,000 points – worth $200 cash back – for spending $3,000 in the first 90 days. Cardholders also earn ongoing rewards at a rate of 1 - 3 points per $1 spent on purchases.

You can get approved with good credit or better.
 

Why It’s One of the Best Military Credit Cards: This card requires a $200 minimum deposit, it does not charge an annual fee and offers 1 point per $1 spent on all purchases. Military families who qualify for Navy Federal Credit Union membership can therefore use this card to cost-effectively build credit.

Why It’s One of the Best Military Credit Cards: The Navy Federal Credit Union GO REWARDS® Credit Card rewards you with 3 points per $1 spent at restaurants, 2 points per $1 on gas, and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases. You can also earn an initial bonus of N/A, and you won’t have to pay an annual fee.

Why It’s One of the Best Credit Cards for Military Families: The Security Service Power Travel Rewards World Mastercard® offers introductory interest rates of 0% for 6 months on purchases and 0% for 6 months on balance transfers. It also has a $0 annual fee and a balance transfer fee of 2% (max $200).

The card is available to applicants with good credit or better, but the credit union itself has some restrictive membership requirements. If you don’t live, work, worship or go to school in Texas, Colorado or Utah, and you don’t have a family member who belongs to the credit union, you’ll need to be part of a specific military branch/unit or a Department of Defense employee and stationed in Texas, Colorado, or Utah.

Why It’s One of the Best Military Credit Cards: The Security Service Power Cash Back World Mastercard® offers $100 after spending $500 in the first 90 days and gives 1.5 cash back on all purchases. It also has a $0 annual fee. 

The Security Service Power Cash Back World Mastercard® requires excellent credit for approval. Members of the military and Department of Defense employees who are stationed in Texas, Colorado, or Utah can join the Security Service Federal Credit Union. Relatives of family members and people who live, work, worship, attend school or volunteer in Texas, Colorado or Utah can join, too. 

Why It’s One of the Best Credit Cards for Military Families: Whether you’re in the military or a civilian, you can get a ton of value from the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card if you like to travel and dine out. If you spend $4,000 within 3 months of opening an account, you’ll get a rewards bonus of 60,000 points, worth $750 in travel through Chase. Couple that with ongoing rewards of 1 - 5 points per $1 spent and a $0 foreign transaction fee, and you’ve got yourself a winning combination.

Chase Sapphire Preferred charges a $95 annual fee, which is easily worth paying if you can earn the initial bonus. You also need good credit for approval.

Why It’s One of the Best Credit Cards for Military Families: The Wells Fargo Reflect card is an elite 0% APR credit card offer, available to both the general public and members of the military community with good credit or better. Wells Fargo Reflect offers introductory APRs of 0% for 21 months from account opening on new purchases and 0% for 21 months from account opening on qualifying balance transfers. The card also has a $0 annual fee.

Wells Fargo Reflect is not perfect, however. There’s a balance transfer fee of 5% (min $5), and the regular APR is 18.24% - 29.99% Variable, depending on your overall creditworthiness.

Why It’s One of the Best Credit Cards for Military Families: Very few credit cards for people with limited or no credit are meant specifically for the military community. However, everyone can benefit from Chase Freedom Rise℠. It accepts people with limited credit, and cardholders can earn 1.5% cash back on eligible purchases. The card has a $0 annual fee, too.

Why It’s One of the Best Credit Cards for Military Families: The U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card is one of the best low interest credit cards available to the general public and members of the military community alike. It offers intro APRs of 0% for 18 billing cycles, as well as 0% for 18 billing cycles on new purchases. It also has a $0 annual fee, along with a balance transfer fee of 3% intro fee ($5 min) for each transfer in first 60 days, after that 5% ($5 min) for each transfer*. 

You do need good credit or better to get approved, though. And it’s best not to carry a balance from month to month after the low intro rate expires, as a pretty high regular APR takes effect at that point.