Troops, families use credit card relief at commissaries amid shutdown

Service members and their families are taking advantage of a new 90-day, zero-interest offer on the Military Star card when used at military grocery stores, officials said.

The offer was announced Oct. 6 to provide financial relief during the government shutdown. There was an immediate spike in the number of families using their Military Star card at commissaries, said Lee Kelley, principal director in the office of military community and family policy, during a family forum Tuesday at the annual meeting of the Association of the United States Army.

When eligible customers use their Military Star card at the commissary through Oct. 31, there is no interest charged and no payments required for three months. The offer applies to commissary purchases made between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31. Existing and new Military Star card holders can take advantage of the offer.

In the eight days after the offer was announced Oct. 6, commissary sales using the Military Star card were up by 13.9%, compared to the same period in the prior year, said Julie Mitchell, spokesman for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which manages the credit card.

Here’s how it works

The Military Star card can be used at any of the military exchanges, their online stores and commissaries, as well as morale, welfare and recreation activities and other retail locations and eateries on base.

Troops and families who use the credit card to make other purchases in addition to commissary purchases will still benefit from the offer. According to AAFES, the payment a customer makes on the credit card bill is applied first to the part of the balance with the highest interest rate.

Regardless of whether a customer makes a new purchase at a location besides the commissary, or has a balance from those purchases elsewhere, their minimum payment and any additional payment would be applied first to those purchases with the higher interest rate, not the commissary purchase, for 90 days.

For example, if the customer has a $200 previous balance on their credit card, and then makes a $100 purchase at the commissary before Oct. 31, a payment toward their credit card will be applied to the previous $200 balance.

The current interest rate for the Military Star card is 14.24%. According to a Bankrate.com study, the average retail credit card charges 30.14% in 2025. All Military Star card holders get the same interest rate, regardless of rank or credit score.

Once the 90 days is up, no back interest will be charged, but customers will pay interest on any remaining balances going forward.

Those eligible for the Military Star card are active duty, Guard and Reserve personnel, retirees and their families and survivors, as well as Purple Heart recipients, disabled veterans and certain others.