The Best Credit Cards for Military Families

Advertiser Disclosure

Last updated on August 23rd, 2023

Being in the military – or being immediate family of active military personnel – is stressful. Thankfully, there are also perks for military families. These perks include some of the best credit cards available today. Here are our picks for the best credit cards for military families of 2020:

The Best Credit Cards for Military Families of 2020

Here are our top picks for military credit cards of 2020:

Best for Rewards

USAA® Cashback Rewards Plus American Express® Card

Everyday rewards are quickly overtaking travel perks in the credit card industry – and few cards offer better cash back rewards for military families than the Cashback Rewards Plus Amex Card. The card earns a massive 5% back on gas station and military base purchases and 2% back on groceries. Sure, these cash back rewards are limited to the first $3,000 spent each year, but with no annual fee and a great low APR, this is a rewards card that belongs in any savvy shopper’s wallet.

Navy Federal GO REWARDS® Credit Card

Navy Federal also offers an impressive rewards card – the GO REWARDS Visa. The card earns 3X points on dining, 2X on gas, and a single point per $1 everywhere else. Even better, the no-annual-fee card also boasts an APR significantly lower than almost any other card on the market today (for those with excellent credit). However, even those with good credit can expect a highly competitive interest rate – and a great rewards card.

Best for Low Rate

Navy Federal Visa® Platinum

The Navy Federal Platinum Visa has one of the lowest APRs available today – period. For those with exceptional credit, the 5.99% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers is very hard to pass up. The addition of 0% intro APR for 12 months on balance transfers is another feather in this card’s cap.

USAA Rate Advantage Visa Platinum® Card

Equally impressive is the low rate that comes with the USAA Rate Advantage Platinum Visa. While the USAA low-rate card does not offer any 0% introductory periods, the base 6.9% APR on purchases and balance transfers is still impressive enough to make this card a no-brainer.

Honorable Mentions

Want some more card options to consider? Here are two cards that just missed out on our top spots:

Best Military Credit Card for Bad Credit / No Credit

Establishing a positive credit history can be difficult. With the stressors that come from military life, however, it can seem even more challenging. Fortunately, there are plenty of excellent secured credit cards designed especially for U.S. service personnel and their families.

Navy Federal nRewards® Secured Credit Card

The Navy Federal nRewards® Secured Credit Card is one such card. The card features no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees, and a flat rate of 1X nRewards points per dollar on every purchase. Other secured cards feature the exact same specs as the nRewards secured (the Discover It Secured, for example). Still, that card lacks the Visa network’s global purchasing power – the largest payment network in the world.

The nRewards Secured Visa also benefits from the much broader membership requirements versus other military credit unions, such as Security Service FCU, All In CU, and others. Military personnel (and their families) anywhere in the world can join Navy Federal – as well as veterans and select Department of Defense employees and contractors.

Other Secured Options to Consider

Featured photo by BookBabe / Pixabay

Editorial Disclosure – The opinions expressed on BestCards.com's reviews, articles, and all other content on or relating to the website are solely those of the content’s author(s). These opinions do not reflect those of any card issuer or financial institution, and editorial content on our site has not been reviewed or approved by these entities unless noted otherwise. Further, BestCards.com lists credit card offers that are frequently updated with information believed to be accurate to the best of our team's knowledge. However, please review the information provided directly by the credit card issuer or related financial institution for full details.

About: Cory Santos
Cory Santos

Cory is the senior credit card editor at BestCards, specializing in everything credit card-related. He’s worked extensively with credit cards and other personal finance topics, including nearly five years at BestCards. Cory’s extensive knowledge is an essential part of the BestCards experience, helping readers to live their best financial lives with up-to-date insights and comprehensive coverage of all facets of the credit card space, including market trends, rewards guides, credit advice, and comprehensive credit card reviews.

Advertiser Disclosure

BestCards is an independent, Florida-based credit card comparison platform. Many of the card offers that appear on this site are from companies from which BestCards receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). BestCards does not include all card companies or all card offers available in the marketplace.