Pay Tricare Dental Plan with Credit Card

This post goes over how to switch your Tricare Dental Bill over to your credit card so you can get credit card rewards points instead of having the payment deducted straight from your paycheck.

First lets briefly go over what the Tricare Dental Plan is about:

• As an active duty military member, the military gives me free dental coverage that includes basically everything I would need to get done
• For your Family/Dependents, you can purchase the Tricare Dental Program for a minimal monthly fee (Single-$11.39/month,  Entire Family-$29.62/month). See table below for full details.

This provides free yearly checkups, and discounts on all dental procedures (see costs here)

The payments are normally automatically deducted from your LES. 

Here are the steps to switching it over to your credit card
Step 1 - Visit the United Concordia Website and log in here - LINK
Step 2 - Click on "More" then "My Preferences"
Step 3 - Click on "Manage my Billing Preferences"
Step 4 - A new window should open up (see pic below). You may have to enable "pop up boxes"

Step 5 - Click the payment tab. Then on the bottom right you should see a box that says "add". Click the "add" Box
Step 6 - Click on the tab "Payment Method List"
Step 7 - Click on the add button under the credit card section
Step 8 - Enter in all your credit card info
Step 9 - Go to the "Recurrent Payment List" tab
Step 10 - Click Add. Select the credit card you just entered. Change setting to "ongoing" or until a certain date
Step 11 - Done

Example
Family Plan would be $29.62/month = $355year. You put this on your USAA's 2.5% cash back credit card and that's an extra $9 bucks a year. Not much but it takes like 3-5 minutes to set up. I'm going to be in the military at least 7 more years so that's an extra $60 in credit card reward points for logging in and changing my information. 

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Truck Rental - Military Discount (Budget, Penske, U-Haul, etc)

When Military Personnel have to make a PCS (Permanent Change of Station) they have two main options for moving all their household goods to their new location.

1. Have the government do it. They will hire a commercial contractor to pack and move everything. This is the stress free method. They do this at completely no cost to the military member as long as they stay within their "authorized weight limit" (example E-6=11,000 lbs or 0-3=14,500 lbs)
2. Do it your self. The 'Personally Procured Move Program' allows military members to do it themselves. They can receive 95-100% of the Government Contracted Cost (GCC). This is usually the 'financially savy' or 'no one touches my stuff but me' method

Because Military members often like to do it themselves I thought it would be a good idea to compare all the moving truck rental companies and compare their Military Discounts. 

 

Budget Truck Rental has a Military Discount of 20%. Use the 

promotional code "20DIS"

**Make a Reservation Today at Budget Truck**

Penske has a Military Discount of 20%. 

They automatically give you a 10% discount for 

booking online and an additional 10% by showing 

your Military/Veteran ID. If you are an AAA member 

however you can get 12% off which comes to 22% off. 

Other options that have competitive rates and often will price match

• U-Haul
• They do not have an official military discount. They give a one month free storage unit to military. You can call their them at 800-468-4285 be asked to be transferred to their sales department. Their sales department will often give you lower rates or a 10% discount. This is not considered a military discount however. (Click Here to read our full article on U-Haul's Military Discount)

If you are making a Permanent Change of Station anytime soon, consider getting multiple quotes from the companies above. If you prefer one company over another check and see if they will price match a lower price. If you have personal experience with a recent do it yourself move, tell us about it below in the comments section.

Members of the US Military save 20% when renting from Budget Truck

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Sea World Military Discount 2018

Military members can visit Sea World for free!

Waves of Honor is again renewed for 2018

Tickets to Sea World can cost up to $92 per person. With this military offer you can save up to $360!

Common Questions:

1.) I'm I eligible?

• Most likely! If you are Active duty, Activated Reservist, Drilling Reservist or National Guard you qualify!! Also you can bring in 3 direct dependents for FREE. If you are serving oversees, your family can still attend without you for free. 

2.) What parks can I attend beside Sea World?

• Adventure Island (Orlando, San Antonio, San Diego)
• Busch Gardens (Tampa and Williamsburg)
• Water Country USA (Williamsbug)
• Sesame Place (Longhorn, PA)
• Aquatica San Diego (M-F only)

3.) What do I need to bring?

• You need to bring a valid military ID. If you are bringing dependents over age 10, they need to bring their valid military dependent ID's also. If they are younger then 10 they just need to be accompanied by an adult.

4.) Are there discounts for Veterans?

• Occasionally! Last year, Veterans got a 30% discount. That offer has not been extended this year, if it comes around I will update this post

How Do I sign up? (9 Easy Steps)

1.) You can do it all online! To get your tickets, first visit Waves of Honor to sign up

2.) Click on the Location you would like to Visit. Then click on the "TroopID" icon to sign in. If you don't have a TroopID account you will need to make one. 

3.) After logging on with "Troop ID", it will take you to the ticket page. Use the arrow to select 1 Active Duty Admission and choose from 1-3 FREE Dependent Complimentary Admissions. Click "Add to Cart" for both

4.) Click the yellow "Continue" button. It will take you to a page where you can buy extra's like meal or private passes. If you aren't interested in that just click the yellow "continue" button again

5.) This will take you to the "Cart" page. Enter in your email address and then click the green "Continue to Payment" button

6.) Then enter your billing information

7.) Review all your information

8.)  Enter in any Dependents and their information 

     

9.) You can then print your tickets or just use your smart phone as your tickets. DONE!!!

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Warehouse Military Discounts (BJ's, Costco, Sam's Club)

Lets take a closer look at the 3 Major Warehouse Stores and their Military Discounts! All three stores offer their military discount for active, reserve and retired military personnel and their families. 

BJ'S - Military Members qualify for a discounted membership (30% off)

Military membership is $35 (regularly $50)

They will also send you a $10 Coupon in the mail.

The offer is valid to both active and retired military personnel. In addition you get a Free Second Card and additional users can be added for $25 each. Note: Military Members must present a valid Military ID at time of enrollment at the club. This $15 discount is valid for renewals also.

COSTCO - Costco is unique because instead of presenting your ID card at the store to get the discount, they have partnered up with "SheerId" to verify Military Status. This is all done online. Here's how to sign up:

1. Visit costco.sheerid.com to start the online registration process
2. Enter in your military status (active, retired, veteran) and contact information (name, email, birthday)
3. Next you will have to upload proof of military identification. Some examples include Form DD 214, VA ID, Deployment orders or any other official military documentation.
4. After they verify your military status they will send you an email with instructions on how to complete the rest of online registration. This includes paying the $55 membership fee online. 
5. Costco will then send you your activation card in the mail. Take this activation card into Costco and they will complete the signup process and give you your official membership card with your picture ID.
6. Along with the activation card, they will also send you coupons for free products and other great savings valued at more than $50. When I signed up a couple years ago some of coupon items included Rotisserie Chicken, Spring Drinking Water Bottles, and 48pk AA Batteries

RECAP: Membership costs $55 but with the membership they send you coupons valued around $50 bringing the overall cost of membership for military members to $5!!

SamsClub - Offers a free $15 Gift Card with a 1-year membership. All you need is a valid ID. Membersip is $45. Visit our Military Discount - Sam's Club for more details

The nice thing about Sam's Club Military Discount is that is is good for renewals also. Costco's military discount on the other hand is only good for NEW members.

BREAKDOWN
-BJ's ($35 with $10 Coupon) = $25 Total Cost

-Costco ($55 with $50 in coupons) = $5 Total Cost

-Sam's Club ($45 with a $15 GiftCard) = $30 Total Cost

In conclusion, Costco is definitely the cheapest cost when factoring in the coupons they send you. BJ's and Sam's Club are better deals in the long run however because they give the military discount every year. 

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Honda's $500 Military Discount

We recently bought a new Honda Odyssey. With two kids (10 months + 2 years) it was time to upgrade from our 2001 Honda Civic.

There were several discounts I got on the car, but the one I want to focus on here is the $500 military discount. 

Honda's $500 Military Discount is only eligable on new cars that are within the last two years (2015 and 2016 models). 

In order to get the discount there are a couple of requirements

1. You must use their financing. This is not the end of the world given that they normally have pretty good offers. When I bought the minivan two months ago, it had a 5 year 0.9% APR rate which I was happy with. 
2. You must be Active Military or Retired Military. So basically this is eligible for everyone! (including spouses of current military or retired military)

Best Strategy

I was able to get our minivan at a great deal. Here are a couple of suggestions

• Call multiple dealerships in multiple cities. For example, Fresno (CA) and Seattle (WA) are on average 8% higher then the national average. It may be worth driving 40 miles in order to save $1500. Here is a list of the 10 cheapest and most expensive cities to buy a car in
• Once you have a price from one dealership, ask the next dealership if they will BEAT the price. Dont just say they offered me "20k" will you match it, SAY they offered me "20k" I need you to beat it by $500 for it to be worth my time. Be specific with them. If they beat it ask the next dealership or the original one to beat it by $200, etc. I contacted/negotiated with 7 different dealerships.
• TrueCar is okay, but Costco pricing is even better. Costco will often have specific incentitives like an extra $1000 off. 
• HOWEVER, Dont settle for the TrueCar or Costco estimate, I got an additional $1400 off the Costco pricing and $2400 off the TrueCar estimate by asking for additional money off. 
• When using TrueCars estimate, don't include your $500 Military Discount or Graduation bonuses in the cost because you are just cheating yourself. 
• I don't recommend telling them about the Military Discount or Graduation Discount until the last second when you have already come up with a final price. At that time then say "Okay and i'm Active Duty Military so that will be an extra $500 off". They don't lose any money on the military discount but if you tell them about it at the beginning they will try and use it to their advantage saying they are giving you $500 off when they really aren't doing anything
• 99% of the crap they say are lies. After this recent experience I am convinced Car Salesman are one of the most dishonest professions out there. They all say they exact same crap. "We'll throw in tinted windows and nitrogen in your tires. We are the only dealship that will do that". What they don't tell you is that comes pre--installed on every new minivan. Evey dealership has that in 100% of their cars. When you try and negotiate with them and say the other dealership gave you a better deal, they say crap like we'll thats what they said now..but when you get there they will tack on $1000 of dollars of extra fees. Not true. Salesman just love to lie.
• When you negotiate talk about "price out the door". Thats the price you want to be comparing between all the dealerships. All cars have Title/Tax/License fees. Taxes can be a ton, depending on what state you live in. I live in Texas so the tax is 6.25% which his riduculously high. 
• I made a google spreadsheat so I could keep track of all the different offers and update it when they gave me a lower price
• If you call them on the phone to get a quote, give them your email and ask them to email you their total quote out the door. Don't fall for their trick of saying you have to come into their store to get a quote. Just another sales tactic. 
• If looking specifically for a Honda - use this webpage (http://tellmethebest.com/honda.html) for what your goal should be to get the car for (the list includes - Odyssey, Accura, and CRV models)

There are alot of other companies that offer military discoutnts (Here are a few examples)

Crystler - $500 off (link)

Ford - $750 off (link)

GM - discount varies (link)

Hyundai - $500 off (link)

Toyota - $500 off (link)

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Allegiant Airlines Military Discounts

Allegiant Airlines recently announced multiple military discounts for active duty, national guard, reserves, veterans and their families including:

• 3 checked baggage fees waived (under 100 lbs)
• Oversized checked baggage fee waived
• Carry on baggage fee waived
• Free boarding pass printing
• Free seat selection
• Free pet in cabin
• Free priority boarding (Active duty, reserve and national guard only, no dependents)
• Change in reservation or cancellation fee waived (due to a change in orders, not available to dependents)

As always, the discounts are contingent upon a valid military ID. Dependents do not have to be traveling with military member and the discounts can be used even for leave. 

Here's what they're saving you:

• Checked bags = $54-150
• Oversized baggage fee = $50-75
• Carry on = $10-75
• Boarding pass = $5
• Seat selection = $0-80
• Pets in cabin = $100
• Priority access = $4-12
• Cancellation fees = $75

TOTAL SAVINGS = $298- 572

Thank you to Allegiant for the great military discounts!

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Military Discount - 2016 Microsoft Office for $9.95

Did you know that Military can download 
2016 Microsoft Office Professional Plus for $9.95! 

This is a steal of a deal. Normally it costs $399...yikes. You can use the download link on two computers also, which makes the final price like $5 per computer. 

Here are 8 easy steps for the Military Discount 

on Microsoft Office

1) Click here to visit Microsoft Hub
***Use your home computer/laptop (not your military laptop or military work computer)***

2) Enter your military email address 

For example: @mail.mil, us.army.mil, navy.mil or usmc.mil

*Your email must be in the following format John.Doe@navy.mil, Jane.Doe@usmc.mil, etc

If you are a veteran and don't have a military email,
 then you can still get a one year subscription for a discounted price ($62)
 at the Microsoft Store for Military

3) Enter the program codes below:
(Updated November 19, 2016)

If that doesn't work than try NOT entering any code. Some people have had success entering NO code. 

Army
enter the code 44C0707F11

Air Force
New code for 2017 Air Force members - 4A82EF7B8F
If you are AIR FORCE....click the blue link that says you do not know the program code and it will send you an email with what you need. I tried with the code first, then without the code... and that is what worked for me.

Navy
This code should work for Navy - 44C0707F11
or 22FCF442D2 or 18DCD3115E
Read our new post specifically for Navy Members - Click Here
For Non-NGEN USMC users: use program code 44C0707F11
For NGEN USMC users: use program code or 18DCD3115E
The code 67F2F2491D also has been reported to be successful as well. 

*Remember try entering your email address without any code FIRST

4) They will then send you an email that contains a link to download the software

 GREAT TIP from comments below - "Make sure to use your work .mil address and then forward the confirmation email to your personal PC. I have done it for both my Mac and Windows 8.1"

5) Click on the link inside the email
GREAT TIP from comments below - "Make sure to use your work .mil address and then forward the confirmation email to your personal PC. I have done it for both my Mac and Windows 8.1"

6) It will bring you to the page below

7) Proceed with the checkout and click install

8) YOU'RE DONE!!! (takes about 5 minutes)

CLICK HERE or click the Picture Below to take you to 
the $9.95 download page or  

Please comment below your Military branch and if it worked for you. If it didn't work for you give us more details then just "the code didn't work". Tell us your branch, status, email address, and details like you didn't get the email, or it wouldn't accept my military address, etc. and we will try and help. 

If you are a veteran and don't have a military email then you can still get a discounted 1 year price ($62) at the Microsoft Store for Military. Right now they are giving an extra 10% off

The military also provides McAfee or Norton Antivirus software free of charge , visit our page Military Free Antivirus Software (McAfee - Norton) to learn how to download it. 

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Free Tickets for Military Members!

If you haven't heard about VETTIX yet than you've been missing out. To date I've gotten free NFL football tickets, MLB tickets, NBA Tickets, Michael Buble tickets, Air Force Football tickets, comedy show tickets, Cirque du Soleil and many others.

Right now I've noticed they have alot of free sports events!

Some of the examples of tickets offered:

• Pro Sports (NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB)
• Operas and Plays
• Concerts
• Seasonal Activities (Haunted Halloween Houses or Polar Express)
• College Football, Basketball tickets, etc

HOW DO I SIGN UP????

Click on this link >> Vettix.  After clicking on the link, you'll be brought to a screen like this:

Once here: 

1.)Select your current status in the Military

2.)Scroll to the bottom and Select your Branch

3.)Enter your military associated email address (.mil or .gov, etc)

4.)Click submit. 

They will send you an email with instructions on how to verify your account. That's it!

I recently received tickets from them to a college football game. They sent me the tickets priority mail. The tickets were free of charge but they do charge a shipping fee which was like $10 for 4 tickets.

Here are some Pictures from the game. Thanks Vettix!

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Military Discounts - Free Admission to Zoo's

Summers almost over. Have you visited the Zoo yet? Zoos love giving Military Discounts. We have put together a list of 30 Zoos and their respective Military Discount. Some of them are FREE (i.e. Bronx, Houston, Pittsburgh, San Diego). And many others offer up to $6 off admission.

Check out the 2017 list below!

Here is the list of Zoos that offer Military Discounts: (Free Admissions in Bold)

• Atlanta Zoo
• $4 off general admission
• Bronx Zoo
• 1 Free Ticket and 50% off for three additional family members

Financial Secrets for Military Members

During my time during active duty i've tried to take advantage of all of the financial perks of being in the military. Here are my three favorite benefits:

1.) Credit cards

• Most credit card companies waive annual fee's for military members. I think all military members should have the following three credit cards as a must:
1. American Express Platinum
• $600 sign up bonus. Free $200 in annual Uber credits. Free $200 airline credit
• Sign up here
2. American Express Hilton Aspire
• 100,000 point sign up bonus. Free annual night. Free $250 airline credit
• Sign up here
3. Chase Sapphire Reserve
• 50,000k sign up bonus (worth $750 in travel). Free annual $300 travel credit
• Sign up here

2.) Investments 

• You can contribute to BOTH the Roth IRA and the Roth TSP. Both of these allow your money to grow tax free so that you can keep all your money when you retire. 
• Roth IRA - up to $5500 every year - I would recommend opening account with Vanguard and if you are looking to keep things simple just investing in the S&P500. 
• Roth TSP - up to $18,500 every year
• To manage your finances I like Personal Capital. They are similar to Mint but better. 
• Right now they have a cool promotion going on where if you sign up and link one investment account they will give you a free $20 amazon gift card.
• Sign up HERE

3.) Other Sweet Deals (3 examples)

• Saving 10% at Home Depot/Lowes
• Getting Microsoft Office for $9
• Discounts to Disneyland