Chase’s military-specific Credit Cards
I received a follow up email from Chase about the 10 best military credit cards – it came from Alexis Martin, from Chase Communications and Public Affairs. It goes as follows:
Hi,
Congratulations on the launch of your site. I’m reaching out about your “10 Best Credit Cards for Military Members” article from Monday with some information on our Chase Military products, that I thought you might find helpful.
Chase Military products, The MILITARY STAR® Rewards MasterCard®, the Air Force Club Membership MasterCard®, the Army MWR MasterCard®, the Navy MWR MasterCard®, and the Marine Corps MasterCard®, all offer valuable cash back rewards for our Military servicemembers, so they can earn at home and while they are away. Chase Military Cardmembers are never charged an annual fee or foreign transaction fees.
Additionally, all Chase Military products offer Blue Star Deployment Benefits to assist families when a loved one is deployed. It’s a complimentary benefit for being a Chase Military Credit Cardmember. Program benefits include 100% refund of interest and fees incurred during military deployment and continued use of the card by authorized users during deployment.
Chase also features a dedicated Chase Military Service Team for account and product questions. The team is staffed by trained experts who are knowledgeable about financial matters related to military life. Some team members are even veterans of the Armed Forces. The dedicated customer service hotline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling 1-877-469-0110. Overseas: 1-318-340-3308 (collect). TDD: 1-800-582-0542.
If you have any other questions on Chase Military products, or would like to speak to a Chase representative, please let me know.
Thanks!
Alexis
Alexis A. Martin || Communication and Public Affairs || JPMorgan Chase & Co. || alexis.a.martin@chase.com || Office: 302.282.4911 || 201 N. Walnut St., DE1-1037, Wilmington, DE 19801
I checked out some of their offerings, and they’re ok. You have the 4 main service cards for Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marines, which offer 2% cash back on all service-related merchants, MWR, exchanges and commissaries, and 1% back on everything else, all without annual or foreign exchange fees. There is also a Military Star card, which in addition offers 2% back at the online Exchange, and 2% everywhere for the first 60 days. You can see a sample below:
They also all offer Blue Star Deployment Benefits, as below:
If you’re going on deployment, because of the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act, all credit cards qualify for these benefits, so I’m not sure it adds anything, but it’s nice to have some military-specific cards. Does anyone have any experience with these cards?
I’ve been overseas for a while. I haeve to say that getting the Military Star MasterCard (Chase) was the best decision I made. Not only do you get 2% back for on-base purchases, but you also get 10% off at the food court (and almost all food establishments, excluding sit down places), but 5 cents off per gallon of gas, etc. Plus, you get awesome extra savings off of clearance and other random items at the BX.
I used my SPG or CSP for everything else, including off base when I don’t get some sort of discount. But combine the discounts and 2% cash back. This card is the clear winner if you shop on base a lot.
@A – This is good to know, I’m going to have to look a little deeper at the Military Star card. The problem is, when I clicked on the link on their webpage, it took me to the Exchange website, which provided no info on the card. Thanks for the reply!
I suppose this is a good card for junior ranks on a tight budget, but at my age/rank I am more interested in the travel perks!
@Mike – I agree with you! When I was just starting out, the only card I had was the Capital One No Hassle Rewards (who remembers that one?), but now I need a spreadsheet to keep them all straight. I need to generate enough points for 3 people to travel, so this just won’t cut it for me. I think these cards are perfect if you’re on base all the time in the barracks though.
I’m so glad Alexis included her e-mail in the note that she sent you. I’m going to follow up with her because I’ve been put through the wringer trying to claim the “blue star” benefits on another Chase product I have… something that took me a ten-minute phone call with AMEX has turned into a month-long affair with Chase. In theory, Chase has a great response system set up, but it’s much less effective based on my experience in practice.
Can you transfer the points to UR like the Freedom?