AMEX Waives Annual Fees for All Active Duty Military Members – 2020 Update

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Military PictureAmerican Express has a wonderful benefit associated with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA): They waive the annual fee on every single one of their credit cards for all active duty military personnel and their spouses!  While this is true for every Amex card, it is an especially valuable perk on the exclusive The Platinum Card® from American Express.

We wrote about this several years ago, when we discovered it to be one of the best perks in all of travel rewards. Since then, some other issuers have jumped on board to offer waived fees on top travel cards to active duty military members, too. That’s great–and certainly benefits service members even more! But we have to give a special nod to Amex for being pioneers in offering this benefit, going above and beyond what SCRA requires. AND we think the deal on the Amex Platinum card is the overall best available to active duty military. Yes, the Amex program is still going strong in 2020, so this remains a great option for active duty service members and their spouses.

SCRA Background

In 2003, the US Congress passed the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), which Military.com describes as follows: “The SCRA provides a wide range of protections for individuals entering, called to active duty in the military, or deployed servicemembers. It is intended to postpone or suspend certain civil obligations to enable service members to devote full attention to duty and relieve stress on the family members of those deployed servicemembers.”

Many of these protections are aimed at credit card interest rates and fees, and as part of the response, American Express also took the additional (and impressive) step of eliminating all annual fees on their credit cards for active duty military members.

I would highly suggest that military members use this incredible perk to open some top-tier credit cards that might otherwise be out of reach because of high annual fees, namely The Platinum Card® from American Express. And it’s always good to have a complementary card for regular spending, which is where the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express might come into play for those with spouses.

Platinum Card Benefits

Platinum CardNormally, The Platinum Card® from American Express is truly an exclusive card because it has a $550 annual fee that is (for everyone else) not waived. However, this is an opportunity for military members to have the most exclusive card around for $0 in annual fees.  There are many benefits, but some of our favorites include:

  • The Membership Rewards points you earn transfer to a number of partners including Delta, Jetblue and our personal favorite British Airways (see our article on maximizing British Airways Avios).
  • $200 each calendar year completely free airport reimbursement for items including baggage fees, change fees, in-flight food and drinks, airport lounge passes, and seat assignment fees.
  • $200 worth of Uber credits each year! You’ll get $15 for US rides each month, plus a $20 bonus in December. That brings the total possible savings to $200!
  • Fee credit (every four years) for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓™ which help you speed through security.
  • Complimentary access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection
  • Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite and Hilton Gold Status automatically
  • You also earn 5x points for all flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel (Starting 1/1/2021:  earn 5x points on up to $500,000 of these purchases annually)

This card has a welcome offer of 75,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend $5,000 in the first 6 months your account is open. Terms apply.

Blue Cash Preferred Benefits

Blue Cash PreferredI highly recommend taking advantage of the Platinum card first, but if you have a spouse it’s a good idea to add the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express to your portfolio. Its grocery rewards are unmatched, and you’ll get to bypass the $95 annual fee.

Here are some benefits (terms apply):

 

  • Earn $250 back after you spend $1,000 in the first three months.
  • Six percent cash back at US supermarkets (up to $6,000). Many reports online show that commissaries are reported as “supermarkets” and thus receive 6% cash back. Pro tip: not only can you use this on groceries, but since most stores sell gift cards these days it’s a good card to buy gift cards for additional savings at other stores or restaurants.
  • Three percent back at US gas stations and on .
  • Earn six percent back on select US streaming services
  • Earn three percent back on ground transit (like bus, train, ferry)

This is a great card for your everyday grocery and gas spending, which tends to be a big portion of a monthly budget. You’re getting a great deal on this card without an annual fee.

Getting the Fees Waived

In order to have American Express apply your active duty military eligibility to waive the annual fees you need to call them (the number on the back of your card or 1-800-253-1720) and inform them you are serving on active duty and you’d like to request that they designate your account in accordance with the SCRA.

It is conceivable that the phone representative will not have heard of this program, in which case you should ask to speak to a supervisor.  You will have to answer a handful of questions about your personal military situation and once American Express verifies this information (many report 4-8 weeks as the normal processing time) you will receive a ‘secure message’ on your account login stating you’ve been approved and all your fees will be waived.

Firsthand Experience with this Amex Benefit

My friend Derek is an active duty Army major and he opened The Platinum Card® from American Express and I wanted to report his firsthand experience getting the fees waived. He initially called right after he received the card, and they told him he needed to wait until the $450 charge posted to his account before they could initiate the process. (This was back when the fee was $450 instead of the $550 it is today).

When the annual fee did hit his account, he called and the initial American Express representative he spoke with knew exactly what he was referring to, and she asked him some very basic questions (officer or enlisted?  year of commission or enlisted?); the entire call took less than 5 minutes.  They told him it would take 45-60 days to process (they have to verify with their DoD database) and the $450 would credit to his account.  He did have to pay the $450 out of pocket and was reimbursed for it within 2 months, so the net cost was $0 for this and all future years.

This perk has only gotten even more valuable over time, as the annual fee is now $550!

Update 2:  Another Army officer I’m working with opened this card and this was his experience:  “Amex handled my request within 2 days. Never even charged me outright- worked seamlessly.”

Learn more about The Platinum Card® from American Express below

Learn more about the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express below

Important Note: If you’re a military member and want to maximize these benefits, be sure to check out all of the AMEX deals on our credit cards page.

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Comments

    • It really is, right? Since I’ve been working on travel rewards I’ve been more and more impressed with American Express. The Small Business Saturday is a wonderful promotion and they also have occasional promotions through Amazon.com and others.

      This is a really nice thing they are doing for our military men and women and I wanted to get the word out!

      Reply

  2. Brad,

    This is a really thoughtful post.

    Just a quick add-on. Don’t forget the Mercedes-Benz platinum card which offers 50,000 membership reward points.

    I see no reason why our service members shouldn’t go big when faced with such incentives.

    Alexi

    Reply

    • Thanks Alexi — when I learned about this I knew I had to put up a post about it. I know it won’t be useful for most of my readers, but hopefully some service members find out about it and take advantage of these amazing cards! I’m really impressed with American Express, since they are the only ones doing this.

      Good point about the Mercedes-Benz platinum as well; I’ve also heard something about the Delta Reserve card, but I don’t know much about it really other than that it has a huge annual fee…

      Reply

      • Yep! Can do mulitple within the AMEX family. Additionally, you are also able to get Chase Sapphire Rewards or Preferred cards fee free through the MLA.

        Reply

  3. Hi,

    Thanks for the info! And it worked! I’m active duty Army and called the phone number on the back of my new Amex Platinum. The lady was so nice, thanked me for my service and told me that they were going to start the inquiry process. Also, she let me know that if I wanted to add my spouse to the account (I did!) that his fee would be waived as well! The conversation was maybe 5 minutes as you mentioned. What a great deal for such a great card!

    Reply

    • That is such fantastic news Jen — glad this article helped you out so much!! With the list of benefits the Platinum offers, that is such a great one to have as an active duty military member.

      Reply

  4. I am active duty in the Air Force. After reading the article, I applied for the card and received it in the mail. I activated it and just called. The woman on the phone indicated she was unaware of any such policy to waive the fee; further, that Delta charges the fee and Iwould need to speak with them. I am not giving up yet, but am frustrated!

    Reply

    • Update 1: I called back, the AMEX customer service representative that answered this time was extremely apologetic and after some quick questions, the fee was waived. Thanks!!!

      Reply

  5. I’ve had the Delta Gold card for a few years now. The rewards are great and the service and benefits it provides are better than any of my other credit cards. The few times I have had issues Amex or Delta has bent over backward to help me out as a valued guest as they say. I’m an Army Reservist but I travel a lot for my regular job so the miles add up.

    I found out about this around the same time my card was up for renewal so I decided to give it a whirl, waived fees are an added benefit. I guess my experience was a little different than some of the others who posted in regards to this. I asked about it to the rep who answered and they had no idea about the program. As stated in your article I was not surprised and brought up that I read about it online and it supports SCRA which benefits military personnel. The rep asked if I read that on the AMEX website and replied with something to the effect of ” not everything online is true”. She put me on hold and informed me that the yearly fee would not be waived but she would enter my information into the system, then she asked me the standard questions you mentioned.

    I say this not to complain so much as to just mention that you may need to push a little if met with skepticism. I have not had any response or posting to my account yet but I can comment later on my results.

    I do want to pose one question to anyone with other experiences here. Mostly I was wondering if you can apply this to multiple credit cards. While I have the Delta Gold now, I would much rather have the Delta Reserve card which has many great perks however I don’t want to have to close my Delta Gold card if I don’t have to.

    I wrote a lot but most of all I want to thank you Brad for posting this. This is great information that is not disseminated nearly enough. Keep up the good work!

    Reply

    • I am in the National Guard and was told that my fee would not be waived. Was wondering if you had gotten any other information on it? Thanks!

      Reply

      • Hi Mandy, the short answer to your question is yes NG and Reserve are eligible. If you get someone who says you are not either politely end the conversation and call back to someone else or let them know that you are and you’d like to go through the qualification process. If you dont have an existing card you will have to first apply for a card, then after you are approved you can go through the SCRA portion.

        The biggest thing is, the representatives are very cautious to never say that your fees will be waived. I’m sure they are coached to never promise anything and that is understandable.

        For a little more background…just like anywhere you go there is a confusion between Active Duty and Active Status/Active Service. SCRA applies to anyone on Active Status/Active Service, meaning anyone Active Duty, Reserves or National Guard not in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) or Inactive Guard/Inactive Status.
        The problem is when representative ask “are you on Active Duty?” your answer would be no, however what they should be asking is “Are you on active status for Active Duty, Reserves or National Guard?” or something to that effect.

        When the SCRA questions start they ask you to list your periods of active duty they mean what is you PEBD (Pay Entry Basic Date), the date you joined. and when they ask for the end date unless you have reached your ETS I would say you are currently still active. If you dont remember your exact PEBD you can estimate because they will cross reference you with whatever DOD database they track military members in…you could also look on top of your LES.

        Key takeaway, yes Reserve and NG are eligible, just be persistent and knowledgeable.

        Reply

        • Hello,
          I’m an Army reserve. I’m on Active Status (training a weekend once a month and between 2 to 4 weeks once a year). I have an American Express credit card with an annual fee of $195. When I called them and requested the fee waiver they asked me to provide orders showing I’m on active duty. I sent them my latest order and explained that I am on Active Status, but so far it did not help. They rejected my application saying that I either need to have orders for a period longer than 30 days, or need to be on the DOD list of Active Duty (which I have no idea what it means). I even provided them with my DOD ID, but no luck with that either.
          Any idea what else I can do to get the fee waiver?
          Thank you!
          Ryan

          Reply

          • Ryan, File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): http://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/ . Title 10 Section 101 (d)(1) is clear that your annual training is included in the definition for “Active Duty,” and therefore makes you eligible for SCRA benefits. I’m dealing with this right now with American Express. I submitted my AT orders along with a description of the dispute history. Hope to have a resolution soon.

          • Unfortunately I’ve been fighting this fight for 2 years now. the first year they waived the fee no problem, I did have a short period of active duty so I guess thats why it was waived with no issue.

            Since then I have tried several different angles and they have not waived the fee at all. They are always noncommittal when providing information or advice for SCRA. GMN if this works for you and you can provide information on how you handled it then I would greatly appreciate it. I guess Reserve and NG are not considered service members to most.

            Unless its free I would likely give up the Platinum card as I don’t enjoy the perks as much as I did a few years back.

          • If you are National guard or Reserve you are NOT “active duty”. Active Duty is being a soldier /airmen/sailor 24/7. Not just a weekend a month and 2-4 weeks a year. So you are NOT active. This is for Ryan R. and the person who replied to him.

    • **Update** So I received the waived fee after about a month. I called in and explained to the agent what I wanted to do, apply for the Delta Reserve card while still keeping the Delta Gold, and have the waived fee on both. The agent informed me that I would be able to upgrade my card at no charge, essentially keeping all my info the same just getting all the benefits of the Delta Reserve. All it took was a simple credit check and within minutes my card was changed over. I was even able to use my Gold card until the Reserve card came in the mail. Very nice feature and I love the card!

      So hopefully this addresses 2 questions, 1. Yes those in the Reserves do qualify for the waived fees. 2. If you have an existing AMEX you can choose to upgrade your card so you dont have to close an account. Simply request the SCRA first, then once that goes through upgrade the card.

      I would be interested in finding out what happens when we separate as Mike has asked. hopefully someone knows the answer.

      Reply

    • They also waive the fee for spouses, I got my wife the reserve card tied to my account. They waived her fee as well and the dollars she spend goes to my skymiles account. I also recently got the Platnimun card from AMEX in order to get the bonuses from Delta. The new card’s fee was also waived. I’ve called AMEX each time within a week and have never seen the annual fee on my statements.

      Reply

      • That’s awesome! We’re about to sign up for Delta Platinum AMEX under my husbands Active Duty status. How did you get to get one for your wife as well? Think we can be signed up at the same time together?

        Reply

        • Hi Kaitlin, I’ve also confirmed with Amex that spouse’s fees are waived when you’re active duty. It’s like an already AMAZING perk becomes even more incredible. You should be fine to apply at the same time. The Delta card is certainly a good option if you’ve already gotten the Platinum.

          Reply

    • i just found out about this and i also just retired but i called about getting my fees waived for my active years and the lady i spoke with was very nice and took my info to see if she could still waive the fees retro actively which would be great since i have had 2 AMEX cards for the past 5 years and just upgraded one to a platinum card, i will report back what happens and hopefully be able to answer your question as to what happens when you seperate.

      Reply

      • Great Travis, glad this helped and I’d love to hear the final report! Thank you very much for your time and help making things better here 🙂 This data point will be extremely helpful for other military members

        Reply

  7. So I have question. I am trying to apply for Platinum and customer service guys are saying that SCRA might only apply to the customer who were using AMEX before the law pass. They said I need to apply first and call customer service to know if i am eligible or not. Is there any way that i can get waiver 100% sure or not? I am active-duty army since 2013.

    Reply

    • Peter,
      I’m not 100% sure I have a perfect answer for you and I don’t want to risk you losing the annual fee on my word. I can tell you for sure that a bunch of active duty members I’ve spoken with have had their annual fee waived after they applied for an Amex card. If the customer service rep gives you an issue either ask for a manager or hang up and call back again.
      I have done a lot of research on this and I’ve never heard of that “who were using AMEX before the law pass” stuff. That has never been mentioned before…

      Reply

    • Peter, since my post last year I actually had a lot of trouble with the Platinum card. I have the Delta Reserve Amex, which I was a customer before finding out about this, and I had no problems getting the fees waived. For the Platinum card they have a totally different group of people that handle SCRA members.

      That being said it is also my experience through calling many times that reps on the phone will just make things up if they dont know the answer. You should either escalate to a manager or hang up as Brad suggests. For some reason I have been unable to get them to waive my fees for the Platinum Amex since having the card. One other caveat is that I am in the Reserves. They said it doesnt apply to people in the Reserves. Which is disappointing because I have had no problems with the Delta Reserve Amex.

      Long story short…they will not give you a definite answer so you arent able to come back and say “agent so n so said I could have the SCRA benefits” you need to apply for the card, then after you are approved you can apply for the SCRA benefits. I know its scary bc the card is so much but if you travel a lot I almost think the card is worth it for the companion pass, airline credits and a few other perks…which is why I havent canceled even though I dont have SCRA benefits on that card.

      Hope that helps.
      Derek

      Reply

  9. I am an Active Duty Officer in the Air Force. After receiving my card, I just called the number on the back of the Platinum card and spoke with a nice gentleman named Zachery. He told me the $450 charge would post and I would need to pay the fee since the process can take up to 90 days to complete, but assured me the account would be credited for $450 afterwards. I then asked if I could add my spouse to the account and he told me there would be a $175 fee that would also be reimbursed after my military service was verified. He asked me to approximate when I started Active Duty and when my orders ended etc… Nothing too complicated. I will give you guys an update if something goes south!

    Reply

    • Great stuff Robert — definitely keep us updated! I know of many active duty military members who have taken advantage of this so I know it’ll work, but it’s still nice to hear verification from another source 🙂

      Reply

      • I did the same process when I first got my Delta Reserve card around 5 years ago. The annual fee is posted, but then it gets taken off, shouldn;t be a problem. I have since separated from Active Duty and am now active Reservist. I just received a notice saying in need to re-verify my military service. It will be interesting to see how easy it is to get the fee waived being in the reserves.

        Reply

        • Hey Luke — thanks for commenting! Any chance you can come back and let us know what happened when you re-verified? That would be really helpful for sure…

          Reply

  12. Just stumbled upon this article (and website), and hope to learn more from it as I go! I know someone previously commented about NG/Reservists, but I’m not finding anything that states Reservists/NG will get those benefits unless they are activated … perhaps I’m looking in the wrong place? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

    Reply

  15. You say to have your spouse apply for the blue cash preferred card. Will the annual fee be waived for them if they are civilian and I am an added user and active military? Or did you mean to have the active duty member apply for the card and have the civilian spouse as the additional member

    Reply

    • Hey there, what I mean is that both active duty and spouse’s of active duty are given the waived fee (per calls I’ve made to Amex to verify). So even if the spouse applied and the card was in their name, and the active duty person isn’t an authorized user, the fee should be waived. Hopefully someone will chime in if they get a different data point here, but it’s what I was told by Amex. Definitely check with them too when/before you apply.

      Reply

  16. Here is the definitive test for if SCRA applies for reservists/NG. Per SCRA applies when a member is on orders for at least 30 days. At this point the member is eligible for SCRA. By law (SCRA), doesn’t apply for tradiitonal resrveists (1 weekend a month, 2 weeks a year). The member may be “Active Status” reseverist/NG but they are not on Active Duty.

    Now I have heard of traditional reservists getting the agents to count AT orders to waive the fee. Your mileage may vary with this and be ready to cancel/close card if they won’t take it.

    Reply

    • I’m not sure why everyone is mentioning SCRA when by law they don’t require that AMEX waive membership fees. It’s an additional benefit per company policy, at their discretion. NG and Reserve Soldiers need to stop freeloading and pushing their luck, or AMEX could very well just stop waiving fees all together.

      Reply

      • Really- freeloading? I am just coming off another deployment; have been in the RC 31.5 years, with multiple deployments. But hey, I guess that’s freeloading these days.

        If you think the military can function at its current OPTEMPO without the RC, you obviously don’t know as much about it as you think. The Guard and Reserves are just as entitled to this benefit as the Active Duty.

        Reply

      • Its sad to see this thread take such a petty turn. I just left the reserves after 13 years due to increasing work responsibilities and wanting to be with family more, I couldnt keep up with what being a Reserve soldier required. Thats multiple deployments and years of training I have given the Army to be minimized as a freeloader is a bit insulting. I applaud anyone who can keep up with the demanding life of a citizen soldier. Its unfortunate that the active side, the government and most companies don’t recognize this sacrifice.

        Eric, thank you for your service. Dave, thanks for your service too, but you’ve got a warped idea of reality.

        Reply

  17. I’m already on active duty since 2005, I never had American Express, so if I open a new accout will the fee be waived for me? Because some banks disqualify soldier who are on active duty already and apply for a card after the fact, is AMEX the same?

    Reply

    • Hi Tom, if you are active duty, you should be good to go based on our experience and feedback we’ve gotten. Best of luck, and enjoy those premium benefits!

      Reply

  18. Data point here: I’m active duty Navy, and applied for platinum on about 10OCT, and called as soon as I received the card. The $550 fee posted on 25OCT, and was credited back this past weekend. All-in, it was about three weeks from phone call to fee removal. The fee for additional card holders never posted.

    Question about multiple cards – if I’m understanding correctly, I can get every card in the AMEX portfolio and have the fee waived? Do I need to call for every new card, or does the fact that I’ve already been verified for the platinum cover me for the rest?

    Reply

    • Hey Austin, that’s great news! To your questions: we have seen data points that this works for any Amex credit card. However, I’m not sure if they have to re-verify you for each one. If you try it, let us know what the process is like for the others!

      Reply

      • Some of mine were waived automatically as they realized I had one with a waiver, but at some point, they had to have me go online and verify a second time… I have 5 cards…

        Reply

  19. I am so glad I saw this post. I am an active military spouse I was debating between Amex Platinum and Chase. I wanted Amex since I have been an amex card holder for years. I know they waive interest a while back when my husband was deployed and I had to purchased and expensive AC unit. I did not realized it’s waived for annual fees. I have to call them for my surpass card.

    My questions is, I want to add my husband who is the one on active duty, would they waive the $175.00 fee? Also, I know its says on the article active duty and spouse but base on the other comments it’s mostly husbands and active duty as a card holder and added authorized user are their spouses. I wonder if I will encounter some problems.

    Reply

    • Hi Kate, I think you’ll get the maximum benefits if both you and your spouse get the card separately, and then you would want to be an authorized user on his, too. We’ve seen data points of that working and Amex waiving the annual fees in those cases.

      Reply

      • I called them and I was told by the amex person that she is not sure if they can waive my fees since I am the primary card holder and a spouse. I added my husband as additional card holder and I am waiting for a response. I was told it will take 30-45 days. I know some gotten a response in a week. If this will not work for us, I can get my husband to open an account and add me as a additional card holder. I handle all finances in our household so it would be easier if I am the card holder in all things creditcard and other expenses.

        Thank you for your response.

        Reply

  20. Hello everyone. I’m active duty Navy and have heard of this from others, but two data points that haven’t been answered are keeping me from applying. As I am retirement eligible (but don’t plan on retiring any time soon), has anyone heard of the benefits stopping after retirement? Logic would suggest that if AMEX never asks to re-verify your duty status after the initial application, then I don’t have to worry about it. [I will take the defined lack of responses to this question as the answer, unless someone wants to volunteer their experience]

    The second point is whether or not a balance transfer counts as making the $5,000 purchase within the first 3 months for the bonus points. Has anyone tried this? I’m not about to make an unplanned $5,000 purchase just to get the points.

    Thanks for all of your insights.

    Reply

    • Hey Gabriel, I can’t answer #1, though maybe some others will chime in. It’s a great question so maybe I can research it too :). For #2, balance transfers will not count, unfortunately!

      Reply

    • Did you already get the card? It will lose it free-ness sometime after you retire, but hey, even a year of it is worth it!!

      Reply

  21. I have a question in regards to the AMEX platinum card. Once retired from the service after completing 20 years and having the card for over say, 10 years. Would someone still be eligible to recieve the waived fee as a retiree on top of being a loyal customer?

    Reply

    • My understanding is they cut it off at some review point. They actually have access to military records somehow which is how they are able to verify we are in the military. Just hope you can keep it for a year or so. Maybe they check on the card’s anniversary…

      Reply

  22. I am UK Active Service member serving with the US in Georgia. Can I benefit from this scheme whilst in the US and can I transfer the card to the UK when I go back?

    Reply

  23. I saw many comments that asked about personnel that have retired but no responses. Are those of us that have retired eligible for this waived fee promotion?

    Reply

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