Does Chase waive annual fees for military?

Yes! Chase will waive the annual fee on all its consumer cards for active-duty military members.

How do I access cash rewards on a Chase military credit card?

If you have a Chase card that earns cash back, you can access these rewards by logging into your online account and heading to the Rewards tab.

Is Chase a good bank for military?

Chase offers some really great perks for military members, including waived fees on its credit cards and bank accounts.

What are the Chase credit card military benefits?

In order to comply with the SCRA, Chase will offer certain benefits to its active-duty customers. These include waived annual fees on its credit cards.

Chase: The 10 Best Credit Cards for Military Members [2023]

Serving in the armed forces isn’t easy. Whether it’s early-morning PT, after-work formations, or never-ending deployments, being a service member means you’re always on call. It’s a lot to sacrifice — but fortunately for those who’ve chosen to join, you’re also entitled to quite a few benefits.

Yes, you probably already know about those discounted Disney tickets, and you hopefully flash your ID at the Home Depot to get your 10% off. You may have even read our article about American Express cards being the best for military members. But did you know that Chase is also an excellent option?

With a slew (and ever-increasing number) of high-end credit cards, service members can gain some pretty sweet perks while enjoying waived annual fees. Do you know what this means? Free stuff. What kind of free stuff? Hundreds of dollars in travel credits (including TSA PreCheck), free hotel nights, elite status, airline lounge memberships, and more.

Let’s take a look.

The Best Chase Credit Cards for Military Members — Overview

Card	Welcome Offer and Annual Fee	Benefits
Chase Sapphire Reserve®	Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $550	10x points on hotels, car rentals, and Chase Dining booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards 10x points on Lyft purchases through March 31, 2025 10x points on select Peloton purchases over $250 (through March 31, 2025) 5x points on airfare booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards 3x points on all other travel 3x points on dining Up to $300 travel credit Priority Pass Select membership 50% redemption bonus for travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards Top-notch travel insurance
United Club℠ Infinite Card	Earn 80,000 miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months Annual fee of $525	2 free checked bags for you and 1 companion on the same reservation Premier Access benefits Complimentary United Club membership
United Quest℠ Card	Earn 60,000 miles + 500 Premier qualifying points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months Annual fee of $250	2 free checked bags for you and 1 companion on the same reservation Priority boarding
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card	Earn 60,000 points plus a 30% off promo code after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $149	3x points on Southwest purchases 2x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners 2x points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare purchases 2x points on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming purchases 1x points on all other purchases 7,500 points each year on your cardmember anniversary $75 annual Southwest travel credit 4 Upgraded Boardings per year 25% back on inflight purchases 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points towards elite status for every $10,000 spent
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card	Earn 60,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $95	5x points on all travel booked via Chase Ultimate Rewards 5x points on Lyft (through March 31, 2025) 5x points on select Peloton purchases over $250 (through March 31, 2025) 3x points on dining, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services 2x points on all other travel worldwide $50 annual credit on hotel stays booked via Chase Ultimate Rewards 10% annual bonus points
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card	Earn 60,000 points plus a 30% off promo code after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $99	3x points on Southwest purchases 2x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners 2x points on local transit and commuting, including rideshares 2x points on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming services 6,000 anniversary points each year on your card renewal 2 EarlyBird Check-In certificates per year Earn Tier Qualifying Points for your spend 25% back on inflight purchases
British Airways Visa Signature® Card	Earn 75,000 Avios after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first 3 months. Annual fee of $95	3 Avios per $1 spent on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL 2 Avios per $1 spent on hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel. Plus earn 1 Avios per $1 spent on all other purchases 10% off British Airways flights starting in the US when you book through the website provided in your welcome materials Every calendar year you make $30,000 in purchases on your British Airways Visa card, you’ll earn a Travel Together Ticket good for two years
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card	Earn 3 Free Night Awards (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after spending $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months. Annual fee of $95	Up to 17x points at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels 3x points, up to $6,000 in purchases each year, at grocery stores, gas stations, and dining Silver Elite status 15 Elite Night Credits Spend your way ($35,000) to Gold Elite status Annual 35,000-point Free Night Award
The World of Hyatt Credit Card	Earn 30,000 points when you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months. Plus, up to 30,000 additional points by earning 2x in the first 6 months on purchases that normally earn 1x, on up to $15,000 spent. Annual fee of $95	Up to 9x points per $1 on Hyatt stays Automatic World of Hyatt Discoverist status Category 1-4 Free Night Certificate each year, plus an extra Free Night Certificate after spending $15,000 on the card in a calendar year 5 Elite Qualifying Nights each year, plus the ability to earn 2 more Elite Qualifying Nights for every $5,000 spent on the card
IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card	Earn 140,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months Annual fee of $99	Up to 26x earnings per dollar spent at IHG properties 5x points on travel, at gas stations, and restaurants 3x points on all other purchases Platinum Elite status with Diamond Elite status granted after spending $40,000 on the card each calendar year Free Hotel Night Each Card Anniversary

Which Credit Cards Waive Annual Fees for Military Members?

Fortunately for service members, most large banks will waive the annual fee for their credit cards. Not all of them will waive those fees for cards you acquired prior to joining, but they will for cards you open while on active duty.

American Express, Chase, Citi, and Capital One will all waive the annual fees for credit cards if you’re on active duty.

Unfortunately for veterans and reservists, these benefits only apply to those who are actively serving. This means that when your enlistment or commission ends, these banks will begin charging you for your cards, so keep that in mind when opening your accounts.

Chase and Citi will both waive fees for all consumer cards, while Amex goes a step further and includes small business cards among its waivers. While that would be nice for Chase cards, there are still quite a few benefits for military members on Chase’s consumer credit cards and the perks won’t cost you a dime. All in all, Chase offer some of the best military credit card options.

How Many Chase Credit Cards Can You Have?

Unlike some other banks, Chase doesn’t have a hard limit on how many credit cards you can hold — some of us at Upgraded Points even have 7 Chase cards! This is good news for all you future credit-card aficionados since you’ll be able to get and hold quite a few cards.

How To Get a Chase Credit Card

Most of Chase’s premium credit cards also require an excellent credit score and an established credit history. Generally speaking, you’ll want to have a credit score of at least 720, as well as history on your credit report.

What does this mean? Well, a lot of younger folks will check their credit score and see that they’ve got a high score, say somewhere in the mid 700s. But if their credit score is a result of not having any credit at all, that 700+ isn’t going to get you anywhere. You’ve got to establish history, whether through a starter credit card, auto loan, or being added as an authorized user to someone else’s card before your high credit score has any meaning behind it.

Even without a perfect score or a lot of history, you have options. Chase’s mid-tier cards have less stringent requirements, which means you can still see some benefits even if you’re not yet qualified for the most premium credit cards.

Just because Chase hasn’t established a specific limit on how many cards you can have doesn’t mean you’ll be able to have unlimited cards. Anecdotally, Chase will limit your cards based on your total credit line. This means that it will extend a certain amount of credit to you, and once you’ve hit that limit it will no longer approve credit cards.

Hot Tip: Chase has instituted some very specific once-per-lifetime rules on some of its cards, including the Chase Sapphire line. Be sure to read the fine print to find out if you’re eligible for a sign-up bonus when you apply.

If you’ve been denied for a card due to maxing out your total credit line, it’s possible to get approved by calling the reconsideration line at 888-270-2127 and asking them to move existing credit to your new card. This isn’t guaranteed but can work out in your favor and get you approved.

Beware, however, that Chase also uses the 5/24 rule to weed out applicants who’ve acquired too many credit cards too recently.

What Is the Chase 5/24 Rule?

The bane of many an award traveler’s existence, the Chase 5/24 rule is this: Chase will not allow you to open a new credit card if you’ve opened 5 or more credit cards within the last 24 months. This applies across a broad spectrum of cards, not just Chase, and includes pesky things like store cards and being added as an authorized user to someone else’s credit card (though that can be clarified via the reconsideration line).

So if you’re new to the points and miles community and would like to get a Chase credit card, be aware that Chase will count and track how many cards you’ve opened in the last 2 years. There is no getting around this.

When Should You Get Each Chase Credit Card?

Every bank does something different when it comes to acquiring credit cards. These rules are in response to credit card churning, which is the practice of opening credit cards for their sign-up bonuses then closing them once you’ve earned the welcome offer. This practice is highly discouraged by banks — hence Chase’s 5/24 rule, which is among one of the stricter rules.

This is something really important to consider, especially if you’ve decided you really want to start investing in points and miles. The order in which you open your credit cards is important. If your credit is just OK and you won’t qualify for any premium cards just yet but you want them later, you’ll need to make sure you leave room for them based on 5/24.

Let’s look at this from 2 different scenarios:

Scenario 1: You Already Have Great Credit

In scenario 1, you’ve got established credit and an excellent credit score. You’re really interested in having the best perks possible and aren’t afraid of high annual fees if or when you choose to leave the military (though depending on how long you stay in, you could be getting thousands of dollars worth of free credits in the meantime).

In this case, you’d probably want to aim for Chase’s premium credit cards immediately in order to receive as many benefits as possible for as long as possible. Once you’ve got those cards, you can pick what you’d like from among the mid-tier cards left available based on 5/24. You’ll do all this before attempting to acquire any other card from any other bank.

Scenario 2: You Have Good Credit But Want To Improve

In scenario 2, you have good credit but probably won’t qualify for Chase’s more expensive cards. In this case, you’ll get 1, maybe 2, of Chase’s mid-tier credit cards. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a good option as a starter card (though again, be excruciatingly aware of the once-per-lifetime language, especially with the Sapphire cards). Otherwise, one of the co-branded hotel or airline cards is a decent option, especially if you’re looking to use those free hotel certificates.

Once you’ve got a few months of charges and on-time payments under your belt, you’ll want to consider getting one of the premium Chase cards. The idea here is to build your credit and your goodwill with Chase simultaneously. You will — again — not get any other credit cards from other banks in the meantime. Chase is super strict about 5/24 and 2 entire years is a long time to wait before getting a new Chase credit card.

Whether you’ve got great or good credit, once you’ve gotten all the Chase cards you’d like to have, you can go hog-wild picking up all the other travel cards you desire — as long as you’re abiding by the other banks’ rules.

Bottom Line: How and when you apply for a Chase credit card matters. Do your research on the situation for the best chances of success.

The Best Chase Credit Cards for Military: Premium Cards

Like we’ve already said, Chase is going to waive all annual fees for its consumer credit cards as long as you’re an active-duty service member. This means that it’s premium cards, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, are going to cost you nothing out of pocket while still giving you hundreds of dollars in perks each year.

These cards are going to give you the most bang for your (non-existent) buck or are going to be the most worthy slots in your 5/24 wallet.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card

Chase Sapphire Reserve business owner — Image Credit: Chase

One of the kings of the travel credit card world, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card’s $550 annual fee is waived for military members.

So what comes with that hefty annual fee? Tons! The card is chock-full of high-end benefits to up your travel game.

Additional Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Benefits

Elite status with Avis and National and primary car rental insurance coverage
DoorDash DashPass subscription (must activate by December 31, 2023)
$5 monthly DoorDash credit
Trip and luggage insurance
No foreign transaction fees
10x points per $1 on Lyft rides (through March 2025)
10x points on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $250 (through March 31, 2025)

So to recap here, you’ll pay $0. In return, you’ll get $300 in travel credit, Priority Pass airport lounge access, free food delivery, bonus points on purchases, and no foreign transaction fees so that when you swipe your card at the Green Beans downrange, it won’t cost you anything extra.

United Club℠ Infinite Card

The United Club Lounge Heathrow Bar Mimosa — Access to the United Club lounge when flying can provide free food and alcohol. Image Credit: Greg Stone

Are you a United flyer? If not, become one, because this credit card is going to give you major perks when flying with United — and you won’t even have to be in uniform.

The best thing about the United Club Infinite card is that it’s going to give you a United Club membership, which means whenever you fly you’ll be able to enter the United Club lounge. The card normally costs $525 per year, but that fee will be waived for service members.

Additional United Club Infinite Card Benefits

United Club membership that allows you to bring in 2 companions
2 free checked bags for you and a companion
Gives you eligibility for space-available complimentary upgrades on award flights
Platinum elite status with IHG.
Complimentary upgrades on awards for companions

In case you’re wondering why exactly you should want an airport lounge membership when you’ve already got the USO, just know that United Club lounges tend to offer better food — and they include alcohol.

The free checked bags are also nice. Although many airlines will give you free checked luggage even if you aren’t traveling on orders, it’s always a possibility that they won’t, and they definitely don’t extend that courtesy to a companion. This guarantees the baggage for the both of you will be checked for free.

United Quest℠ Card

United Polaris Boeing 787 9 Dreamliner Blue lights — United’s newest credit card offers credit toward any airfare purchases — including business class! Image Credit: Chris Hassan

United’s newest credit card, the United Quest card, offers some pretty decent perks for its $250 annual fee — which, of course, will be waived for you. These include things like an annual United credit usable for airfare, inflight purchases, and more.

Additional United Quest Card Benefits

2 free checked bags for you and a companion
A TSA PreCheck/Nexus/Global Entry credit
Travel and purchase protection
25% back on United inflight purchases (includes Wi-Fi, food, and beverages)
Eligibility for space-available complimentary upgrades on award flights

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card

Flying Southwest with kids — $75 in Southwest credits each year can mean a free flight! Image Credit: Katie Seemann

Southwest is already an extremely generous airline, with 2 free checked bags for everyone and no fees for seat selection (active-duty military passengers board between groups A and B). That said, its most premium credit card, the Southwest Priority Card, is going to give you free travel credit and free reward points each year on what would otherwise be a $150 annual fee card.

Additional Southwest Priority Card Benefits

4 upgraded boardings per year, with reimbursement for A1-15 paid boarding when purchased at the counter
Earn 1,500 tier qualifying point (TQPs) towards elite status for every $10,000 in spending, up to $100,000 per year
25% back on inflight purchases, including food and Wi-Fi

Hot Tip: Don’t forget to check out the additional hotel and flight discounts you may be eligible for as a member of the military.

The Best Chase Credit Cards for Military: Mid-Tier Cards

Although Chase only has a few really high-end credit cards, it excels at mid-tier cards. These don’t feature the same premium benefits as the other Chase cards but still punch way above their weight class when it comes to perks. This includes things like free hotel nights, elite status, and flight discounts.

These cards may also be a better option for you if you’re younger and don’t have a ton of credit history or if you otherwise don’t have the excellent credit required for Chase’s more expensive cards.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

The younger brother of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is an excellent starter card for those just entering the points and miles world. It doesn’t feature tons of benefits, but it does earn Ultimate Rewards that can be used for valuable airline and hotel redemptions.

Additional Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Benefits

Travel insurance and primary rental car insurance
No foreign transaction fees
$50 hotel credit for a booking through Chase Travel

Hot Tip: You can quickly earn lots of Ultimate Rewards points once you have been approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card — check out our guide to how to get maximum value out of those points.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card

best seats on Southwest Airlines — Even Southwest’s mid-tier card offers free bonus points for flights each year. Image Credit: StockSnap via Pixabay

Another Southwest card, the Southwest Premier card really only has 1 main perk: a 6,000 point bonus on your cardmember anniversary. We value Southwest points at 1.4 cents each, making this bonus worth $84 per year. You’ll earn 2x points per dollar on all Southwest purchases, and all points earned count towards Southwest’s coveted Companion Pass.

British Airways Visa Signature® Card

37 British Airways Boeing 747 Club World Business Class Main Deck Middle Seats — The British Airways Visa card can earn you a Travel Together ticket that gets you a free companion on an award ticket in any cabin class. Image Credit: Greg Stone

Unlike other airline credit cards, the British Airways Visa card doesn’t offer free checked bags or priority boarding. Instead, it offers unique perks that help offset the actual cost of any flights you’ll be taking.

Additional British Airways Visa Card Benefits

Receive an award ticket statement credit for taxes and fees on award tickets to London — $100 for economy and premium economy or $200 for business and first class — up to 3x per year
No foreign transaction fees

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card

The Westin Turtle Bay Resort & Spa Mauritius — Elite status given by the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card can score you upgrades at tons of Marriott hotels, like the Westin Turtle Bay Resort & Spa Mauritius. Image Credit: Marriott

While American Express has most of Marriott Bonvoy’s credit cards (including its most premium option), Chase maintains the Marriott Boundless card for its members, which includes elite status and an annual free hotel night, which means you can hundreds of dollars in benefits from this single card.

The World of Hyatt Credit Card

Similar to the Marriott Boundless card, the World of Hyatt card gives its holders elite status and a free hotel night each year:

Additional World of Hyatt Card Benefits

No foreign transaction fees

IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card

IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card — IHG’s credit card gives you top-tier elite status as a cardholder. Image Credit: IHG

The IHG Premier card offers the most generous hotel elite status you’re going to find with a Chase card by giving its cardholders automatic IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status. While this status isn’t as bountiful as others, it’s still nice to have and can score you some excellent upgrades at IHG hotels.

Additional IHG Premier Card Benefits

Annual free night certificate
20% off when buying IHG One Rewards points
Global Entry/Nexus/TSA PreCheck credit
Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
No foreign transaction fees

Hot Tip: If you’re earning Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt, or IHG One Rewards points (or even all 3!), we have plenty of inspirational guides for redeeming your points at Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG properties!

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re a big traveler or not, there’s no reason not to get at least a few of these Chase cards if you’re a service member. From the World of Hyatt card to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, military members can all find something from which to benefit.

With waived annual fees for active-duty folks, you can score yourself hundreds of dollars in travel credits, elite status, airline lounge memberships, and more — and it won’t cost you a thing.