Best Credit Cards for Military Personnel

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 if you want a low interest rate, in part 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 an intro APR of 0% for 15 months 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 USAA® Cashback Rewards Plus American Express® Card offers an introductory APR of 0% on balance transfers until February 2027. It also has a $0 annual fee and gives 5% cash back on gas and military base purchases (up to $3,000 spent per year), 2% cash back at grocery (up to $3,000 spent per year), and 1% back on all other purchases.

USAA® Cashback Rewards Plus American Express® Card has a regular APR of 16.15% - 28.15% (V) and a 5% transfer fee. 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.

Why It’s One of the Best Military Credit Cards: The PenFed Pathfinder® Rewards Visa Signature® Card is the best military credit card from PenFed 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 offers an intro purchase APR of 0% for 15 months after opening an account, as well as 0% for 15 months on balance transfers made in the first 90 days. The regular APR is 17.99% (V), and the transfer fee is 3%.

Why It’s One of the Best Military Credit Cards: The PenFed Power Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Card gives 1.5% cash back on all purchases (2% cash back for Honors Advantage Members). New cardholders who spend $1,500 in the first 90 days also get a $100 initial bonus.

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 Eagle Navigator® Credit Card offers 3 points per $1 on travel purchases (tolls, rideshares, hotels, vacation rentals, flights and more) and 2 points per $1 on everyday purchases (groceries, gas, dining, bills and more). Plus, cardholders also earn 30,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases within 90 days. The card has a $95 annual fee.

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® Cashback Rewards Plus American Express® Card offers an intro balance transfer APR of 0% until February 2027 – giving you plenty of time to pay down existing debt without interest. You will also earn 5% cash back on gas and military base purchases (up to $3,000 spent per year), 2% cash back at grocery (up to $3,000 spent per year), and 1% back on all other purchases.

There is a 5% transfer fee. Plus, a 16.15% - 28.15% (V) APR kicks in when the intro APR promotion ends. However, this card can still save you a lot of money if you pay off your balance on schedule.

Why It’s One of the Best Military Credit Cards: The Navy Federal Credit Union Visa Signature® Flagship Rewards Credit Card offers an initial bonus of 35,000 points after spending $3,500 within 90 days, worth $350. Cardholders also earn 3 points per $1 spent on travel, and 2 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.

Why It’s One of the Best Military Credit Cards: The Navy Federal Credit Union cashRewards Credit Card offers $250 as an initial bonus for spending $2,500 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 credit score.

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% cash back 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 cashRewards Plus Credit Card is the best military credit card for cash rewards on purchases. Cardholders earn 2% cash back on all purchases. It also offers an initial bonus of $250 after spending $2,500 in the first 90 days, and you won’t have to pay an annual fee.

Why It’s One of the Best Military Credit Cards: The Navy Federal Credit Union cashRewards Secured Credit Card offers 1% cash back on all purchases and does not charge an annual fee. Plus, you can get approved with limited or bad credit, as long as you qualify for Navy Federal membership.  

The card requires a security deposit of $200. It’s fully refundable, though.

Why It’s One of the Best Credit Cards for Military Families: The Security Service Power Travel Rewards World Mastercard® offers 3 points per $1 spent on gas, travel and dining, and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases. You can also get an initial bonus of 20,000 points after spending $1,200 in the first 90 days.

On top of those rewards, 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 just 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. You can earn a rewards bonus of 75,000 points for spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. That’s worth $750 when redeemed for cash, gift cards, and travel. 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 U.S. Bank Shield™ Visa® Card 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. This card offers introductory APRs of 0% for 24 months on new purchases and balance transfers. It also has a $0 annual fee.

The U.S. Bank Shield™ Visa® Card is not perfect, however. There’s a balance transfer fee of 5% (min $5), and the regular APR is 17.74% - 28.74% (V), depending on your overall creditworthiness.

Why It’s One of the Best Credit Cards for Military Families: The Citi Simplicity® 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 21 months, as well as 0% for 12 months 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 4 months, and 5% ($5 min) for each transfer after that. 

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.

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 Petal® 2 Visa® Credit Card. It accepts people with limited credit, and cardholders can earn 1 - 1.5% cash back on eligible purchases. The card has a $0 annual fee, too.