Military Spouse Credit Cards - VA Financial (2024)

FAQs

Do military spouses get credit card fees waived? ›

Key takeaways. Active duty military members, their spouses and dependents are eligible to have the annual fee waived for many credit cards, including The Platinum Card® from American Express.

Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Chase waives all annual fees on their personal credit cards for active duty military servicemembers and spouses.

There is no military spouse pay or stipend, but the military offers a number of benefits to help service members and their families. Your first stop after the wedding should be the nearest military ID card issuing facility to enroll in DEERS, the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System.

If you're active-duty military, American Express waives the fee. Two federal laws provide protections to active-duty military when borrowing money: The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) applies to credit accounts and loans opened before military service.

Annual Fee — Value of $325

American Express won't charge the annual fee for eligible active-duty military members, but also for their spouse, children, and qualifying dependents. We'll talk more about eligibility shortly, but those family members and dependents who may also qualify.

The spouse of a servicemember is exempt from income taxation. by a state when he or she: (1) Currently resides in a state different than the state of domicile; (2) Resides in the state solely in order to live with the servicemember; (3) The servicemember is present in the state in compliance with military orders.

During the period of active duty, SCRA caps interest rates on any service member's credit card, mortgage or certain other loans at 6% per year. In addition, SCRA protects a service member debtor and his or her spouse from eviction, and from foreclosure and/or forced sale of a home.

the $550 annual fee is completely waived down to $0! How do I get the Chase Sapphire Reserve fee waiver for military? If you open the card while your are on active duty, the fee waiver will be automatically applied when Chase checks your Social Security number against the Military Lending Act database.

One thing you should know is that not all military discounts are for military spouses, but many of them are. This can get a bit confusing. And sometimes this depends on who is giving you the discount on that day.

Remarriage can alter a former spouse's eligibility for SBP benefits. Generally, under Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) rules, remarriage before age 55 results in the loss of SBP benefits. However, there are notable exceptions, such as the “10-Year Rule” and provisions under the “Former Spouse Equity Act.”

What is the 10 year rule in military divorce? ›

More details are included below, however, as far as most cases are concerned, the ten year rule simply means that if the military spouse served for 10 years or more, and the marriage lasted ten years or more, Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) can enforce and pay the non-service member spouse their entitled ...

All three criteria must be met for you to have access to the same benefits as your military spouse: Must have been married for at least 20 years. Spouse must have served in the military for at least 20 years. 20 years of the marriage must overlap 20 years of the spouse's military service.

However, if you open a card after joining the military and are eligible for MLA benefits, these also apply to your spouse and certain dependents, meaning your spouse can have annual fees, late fees and returned payment fees waived. Keep in mind your spouse will need to have an excellent credit score for approval.

You'll want to have at least a 690 credit score before applying for the card. So, you may need to work on building your credit score before applying for the card. And even still, excellent credit is not always a guarantee of approval.

No additional fees and Interest — Value Varies

Capital One waives all fees for eligible military members and caps interest rates on credit cards at 4% (rates & fees).

Answer: The MLA applies to active duty servicemembers (including those on active Guard or active Reserve duty), spouses, and certain dependents. It limits the interest rates that may be charged on many types of consumer loans to no more than 36% and provides other important protections.

And if you are part of a joint credit card account, both of you will be liable. You would also be liable if you co-signed the account for them. However, if you are merely an authorized user on your spouse's credit card, you will not be held liable for their debt.