Best Banks and Credit Unions for Military Members
Military service members and veterans are an elite group; according to the U.S. census Bureau, there are 16.2 million veterans in the U.S., making up about 6% of the total adult population. Members of the military have specialized needs when it comes to money management. Choosing a bank or credit union that recognizes that and offers products and services that meet your needs is important, whether you’re stationed at home, deployed overseas or approaching retirement.
To help you find the right financial institution, Money researched leading banks and credit unions and evaluated their rates, fees and support options for military families. Based on their offerings, fees and customer service, here are our choices for the best banks for military members and veterans for 2024:
- Navy Federal Credit Union – Best Overall
- USAA – Best for CDs
- Armed Forces Bank – Best for Checking
- PenFed – Best for Savings
- Security Service Federal Credit Union – Best for Added Perks
- Capital One – Best for Deployment Benefits
- Chase – Best for Fee Waivers
Navy Federal offers products and services designed to benefit military service members and civilians working with the U.S. Department of Defense. Membership discounts offered to Active Duty members include no monthly maintenance fee, ATM rebates and early access to military pay. Additionally, Navy Federal has specials for those attending service academies and offers tools for those transitioning from active duty to civilian life. Through the Navy Federal Credit Union, military service members, veterans and their families can take advantage of banking products with low fees and minimum deposit requirements and competitive rates. Other perks offered through Navy Federal Credit Union include discounts on trust and will services, home and auto insurance and special Visa credit card offers.
However, some of the best perks are available through the Free Active Duty Checking account, which has no monthly maintenance fees and offers up to $20 in ATM fee reimbursement. Active Duty Personnel, Reservists and Retired Armed Services Personnel qualify.
- Early military pay for Active Duty members with direct deposit
- Discounts with a variety of partners for financial services
- Resources aimed at helping service members through transitions
- Must meet membership requirements
- Savings yields are lower than some other financial institutions
- Best perks and discounts offered to Active Duty members
USAA offers CD terms ranging from 30 days to seven years. Many of the rates, especially in the one- to three-year range, are significantly above the national average. For military members looking to build a CD ladder emergency fund, USAA can be a good choice. USAA also offers a wide range of other banking products and services. A member-owned institution, you must be U.S. military member, veteran, pre-commissioned officer or the spouses or child of military members to qualify. However, once approved to join, military members can access CD accounts and earn higher-than-average APYs with a minimum deposit of just $1,000.
In addition to CDs, USAA offers various banking products and services, including checking and savings accounts, loans and credit cards. Membership also provides access to discounts on auto and home insurance and low-cost life and health insurance policies. Membership also comes with discounted Universal Studios and Disney tickets for fun family excursions. However, not everyone is eligible for membership, and USAA doesn't offer money market accounts.
- Above-average CD rates for many terms
- Relatively low CD deposit requirement
- Wide ATM network with more than 100,000 fee-free machines
- Early pay with direct deposit
- Limited membership eligibility
- Shorter-term CDs have low APYs
- Does not offer money market accounts
Armed Forces Bank offers its Access Freedom Checking account with no monthly service charge and minimum balance requirements. It also provides early pay for military direct deposits and doesn’t charge for money orders. This checking account also offers access to over 38,000 surcharge-free ATMs across the U.S. Although it’s called Armed Forces Bank, civilians nationwide can also open accounts with this institution.
The checking account choices offer different perks depending on your goals. For example, an investment checking account provides interest and unlimited ATM fee waivers. However, you need $100 as an initial deposit. Or, you can use the Access Freedom Checking, which doesn’t have account maintenance fees and offers free money orders, and comes with a lower initial deposit. Armed Forces Bank offers banking products, such as loans and CDs, in addition to checking accounts. The APYs on CDs and the money market account are above-average, but its savings accounts have lower rates than most.
- Early military pay with direct deposit
- Small opening deposit required
- No-fee money orders
- Fewer ATMs than some other networks
- Limited reimbursement for out-of-network ATMs
- Low APY on savings accounts
Even though it’s a credit union, membership to PenFed — or the Pentagon Federal Credit Union — is national and open to anyone, and it only requires a minimum $5 share account deposit. Military service members can still find benefits, including savings products like Premium Online Savings and Money Market Certificates. These accounts offer yields above the national average. The Premium account has no monthly fees and features an initial deposit of just $5.
With PenFed's Premium Online Savings account, you can earn an APY that is over six times than the national average rate for savings accounts. You can open an account entirely online, and PenFed has a powerful mobile app you can use to manage your account. However, PenFed has limited branch locations, and its savings account has some drawbacks. It doesn't include a debit card, for example, so you can't withdraw cash from an ATM, nor does it accept cash deposits.
- Above-average yields on the Premium Online Savings account
- Wide field of membership for the credit union
- Low initial deposit
- Limited branch locations
- No money market accounts
- Doesn't accept cash deposits for its Premium account
Security Service Federal Credit Union offers several perks associated with certain accounts, such as phone protection, telehealth, credit monitoring and roadside assistance. Additionally, you can receive a TurboTax discount and access to financial education tools. Security Service Federal Credit Union also features a variety of banking products and access to investment services. The credit union focuses on people who live or do business in Texas, Colorado and Utah. Additionally, members of specific military branches or Department of Defense employees might be able to access the benefits of membership, which include a wide variety of perks based on the account you open.
Members receive the option to skip loan payments during certain times, as well as discounts on TurboTax Online. If you have the Power Protected Checking account, you can access several valuable perks, such as phone protection, zero copay telehealth, roadside assistance and discounts for restaurants and gas. This account has a $9 monthly fee, but you can waive it by maintaining an average daily balance of $50,000. Other products and perks include CDs with higher-than-average yields and insurance savings.
- Access to perks like phone protection, roadside assistance and discounts
- Above-average yields for CDs
- Shared branching and more than 30,000 fee-free ATMs
- No fee reimbursement for ATMs
- Must have a high balance to waive monthly maintenance fees
- Must meet field of membership requirements
For military members working for a bank, Capital One offers deployment benefits that can be especially helpful for reservists. Capital One offers on-leave job security and pays 100% for up to eight weeks of leave for military training. Sometimes, there’s an opportunity for a pay differential and benefits continue while you’re deployed.
Capital One offers a variety of banking products, including checking and savings accounts for adults and kids. The whole family can access accounts with no monthly fees. However, some of the accounts have low yields compared to some other banks. With over 70,000 fee-free ATMs nationwide, finding access to a machine that won’t cost money is relatively easy. While Capital One won’t reimburse fees for other banks’ fees when using out-of-network ATMs, the bank won’t charge its own fees when you don’t use an ATM in the network.
- Pay for time spent on leave for military training
- Military spouse support
- Access to a large fee-free ATM network
- No fee reimbursement for out-of-network ATMs
- APY on some accounts is low compared to other banks
Chase waives many of its fees for military service members and veterans. These include out-of-network ATM and maintenance fees. Additionally, there aren’t Chase fees on incoming or outgoing wire transfers, and there’s no charge for money orders. The bank offers special waivers for military members and veterans, especially with Premier Plus Checking account access. The fee is normally $25 per month. Those with a valid military ID can waive the fee and access perks like waivers for the first four non-Chase ATM fees each statement period, as well as access to free money orders and cashier’s checks. Even with waived fees, though, fees charged by other banks for out-of-network ATMs and wire transfers won’t be reimbursed.
Active Duty personnel can receive additional benefits when their military base pay is directly deposited into their Chase account. This includes no Chase fees for out-of-network ATMs and no Chase fees for foreign exchange adjustments on ATM withdrawals and debit card transactions. Chase offers a variety of checking and savings accounts, as well as loans and credit cards. Even though some of the yields on Chase products aren’t as high as at other banks and credit unions, they’re still above the national average in some cases.
- Fee waiver for Chase Premier Plus Checking
- No Chase fees charged at non-Chase ATMs for certain military members
- No fees for counter checks
- Some waivers require direct deposit of military base pay
- Interest yield for some accounts is low compared to other banks
How we chose the Best Banks of 2024-2025
To determine our list of Best Banks for 2023-2024, Money staff evaluated 273 of the largest retail banks, credit unions, regional and state banks, ranked by assets, and 20 of the most popular online banks. We then compared opening balance requirements, interest paid, fees and features to determine our top picks.
We researched leading financial institutions to identify the best banks for military members and their families in 2024. We compared banks and credit unions and evaluated their account options, eligibility requirements, rates, fees and deployment benefits. We placed particular emphasis on banks offering accounts designed to benefit military families, such as fee waivers or early military pay.
You can read our full methodology here.