Some of the most important men in my life are military veterans. That alone drove me to want to write this article. So they, and all military veterans can take advantage of some amazing travel deals offered. Like myself, a lot of businesses also want to honor the brave men and women who served the United States of America. In this article, I’ve compiled some resources to some amazing travel deals for military veterans!
National Parks
US Service members and their dependents can receive a free annual National Park Pass. This pass is your ticket to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites. It will cover entrance fees at national parks and national wildlife refuges, standard amenity fees and day use fees for the driver and all passengers in a personal vehicle (or up to 4 adults for places that charge per person). This is available for current members and their dependents in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. As well as all reservists and National Guard members. Holders of this pass are also eligible for a 50% discount on camping at most National Parks.
Also, If you have ANY sort of military disability, you will qualify for this as well! Even if it’s the smallest amount. According to the VA’s website, Veterans who have earned ANY sort of disability can order an access pass online. In order to obtain this pass you need the following;
- Pay a $10 processing fee
- Proof of residency
- VA disability letter, VA summary of benefits, or proof of SSDI income
Veterans Holidays
Now, out of everything I found while researching this post, Veterans Holidays has some of the best deals I have ever seen! Not even just in regards to Veterans, like some of the best deals I’ve seen in the entire travel industry. Now, any Veteran is eligible and includes places all over the world. They pride themselves on offering some of the best deals around. According to their website, “Veterans Holidays is built around the idea that our veterans deserve the best, and that’s why we offer weeklong resort stays from just $359”.
If you are a veteran looking for an inexpensive way to travel the world, this is place to book through. Make sure to check out their RR page to scroll through some of the places they offer deals. At this moment they have availabilities in Switzerland, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Portugal, The Canary Islands, Brazil, Argentina, and the Phillippines, just to name a few. Also heres the kicker, all those places would only cost you $359 USD for a week of vacationing.
Restaurants
There are almost too many restaurant deals for Veterans to even mention! Often, all you need to do is just ask. Many of these restaurants offer completely free meals to Veterans on Veteran’s Day. Below I have compiled a list of places that offer discounts to military veterans all year long. Hopefully while traveling, you make be able to take advantage of some of the discounts!
- Texas Roadhouse
- IHOP
- Applebee’s
- Outback Steakhouse
- Baskin Robbins
- Arby’s
- Chick-fil-A
- Dairy Queen
- Hooters
- Boston Market
- Ben & Jerry’s
- Buffalo Wild Wings
- Johnny Rockets- Offers a whooping 50% off discount
Cell Phone Service
Whether or not you want to admit it, but cell phones have become a necessity these days. This is especially true, when it comes to traveling. Our phones carry our airline tickets, accommodation bookings, itineraries, maps, and even personal translators. Having a reliable phone is important. But, being able to save some money on a cell phone plane is just as important. Here are a few common providers and the discounts that they offer.
AT&T offers active military, veterans and eligible family members can save 25% per line on an AT&T Unlimited & More Plan. They can also pay just $15 per month on AT&T video service and AT&T Internet.
Verizon Wireless offers active service members AND Veterans 15% off their monthly Service. This also includes home phone, internet and television packages! You can also qualify for 25% off selected accessories.
The Sprint Discount Program offers active duty military personnel, National Guard, Reserves, and veterans a 15% discount off select rate plans. Sprint also offers a Military Suspend program for service personnel who are deployed. And if you’re heading to Japan, U.S. military personnel receive special wireless benefits from SoftBank (the parent company to Sprint).
Airlines
Now there usually isn’t any posted deals, but from what I’ve read most airlines offer some sort of discount. They require you to call in order to obtain the discount. Airlines do often have substantial benefits for Active duty military and their immediate families. Here are a few of the deals that were listed for these airlines, just call to find out though. The majority of airlines will offer free bags (which can add up), but the worst they can say is no.
- United– 5% Discount
- Hawaiian Airlines– Baggage fee’s waived
- Frontier Airlines– Baggage fee’s waived
- Allegiant Air– Baggage fee’s waived
For additional information on finding the airfare, check out the article “How to Use Google Flights to Find the Cheapest Flights.”
Car Rental
Most major car rental companies offer discounts. While usually reserved for active and retired military, some companies will accept proof of service in the form of DD-214 discharge papers. Even with discounts, always make sure you are signing up for companies rewards programs. The majority of companies have them, and will often give away discounts and upgrades. You may earn enough points to get free car rentals. I’ve said this in MANY posts, but always bring your own insurance cards. The majority of car insurance plans, cover rentals. If you are covered you can save a significant amount of money, by not buying their plans. Even if they try to talk you into it, just use your own (check prior to traveling).
Avis offers veterans, active duty, National Guard, reservists, and their families the ability to enroll in Veterans Advantage. Doing so will give you a discount of up to 25% off. After signing up, simply add in the discount code (7765700) after selecting your destination.
Hertz has a similar deal to Avis. After enrolling in Veterans Advantage, they will offer you 10% off the base rate of a car rental. Veterans Advantage does have a free 30 day trial, so if you don’t like the program you can cancel for free. After glancing through some of their deals, I noticed the program also offers up to $55,000 USD in travel and accident insurance. Which may be beneficial if things go wrong while traveling!
Hotels
Choice Hotels offers a discount of 10% off to veterans. Many hotels chains offer at least something to military veterans. Many hotels offer some sort of discount, all you have to do is ask. Calling ahead will give you an idea of what you may be paying. If you book and pay online, I don’t know if they can give you a refund. Having just a reservation should give you the ability to add in a discount upon arrival. To name a few hotels;
- Intercontinential
- Marriot
- Holiday Inn
- Radisson
- Extended Stay America
- Staybridge
- La Quinta
- Hilton (Hampton Inn)
- Best Western
- Motel 6
- Red Roof
- Starwood Hotels
Resorts
Sandals offers an ADDITIONAL 10% off resort stays. Nothing says thank you, like a relaxing adults only weekend at an all-inclusive resort. Sandals also extends their gratitude to Police Officers, Firefighters, and FEMA members by including them in the additional 10% off. That’s a significant amount of money for all-inclusive resort prices!
Expedia
With Expedia veterans can sign up to verify their Military status. Successfully verified veterans are able to claim Expedia+ Gold benefits. This includes complimentary room upgrades when available, bonus booking points (earn 30% more), Gold member rates (additional 10% off), and exclusive travel offers. Normally Gold status is reserved for those who have spent more the $10,000 through Expedia, so this is an amazing deal.
A huge thank you to Corporal Erik Bangasser for the photos during his time in the United States Marine Corps.