Commissary shopping with a service-connected rating

The commissary is the military grocery store. Since January 2020, veterans with a service-connected rating have been able to shop there, and a 0% rating counts.

Who qualifies

• Veterans with a service-connected disability rating, at any percentage, with an honorable discharge. The Department of Defense's own fact sheet spells it out as ratings "from 0%-90%"; veterans rated 100% already had these privileges through their DoD ID card.
• Purple Heart recipients, former prisoners of war, and primary family caregivers under VA's comprehensive caregiver program qualify on separate grounds.

The eligibility is the rating, not the payment. A veteran rated 0% with no monthly compensation qualifies the same as one rated 70%. The privilege is yours alone: it does not extend to family members and cannot be passed on.

What it actually saves

Commissary prices are set at cost, and a surcharge is added at the register to pay for the buildings. Congress sets it, and it is currently 5% of the purchase. A veteran shopping under the expanded privileges who pays by card also pays a card fee that active-duty and retired shoppers do not: the commissary agency currently lists 1.43% for credit and signature debit cards and 0.36% for PIN debit, and says the rates are adjusted from time to time. MILITARY STAR and SNAP cards carry no fee. Everything is printed on the receipt.

So the saving is real but not the sticker price. On a $200 cart the surcharge is $10 and a credit-card fee is under $3. The same cart is still usually cheaper than off base, and the gap is widest on meat, produce and name-brand staples. The exchange and the recreation facilities add no surcharge or card fee for this group.

What you need

1. Access to the installation itself. That is a separate step at the visitor center, covered in Getting on base to shop.
2. Proof of the service-connected rating at the store: a Veteran Health Identification Card that shows it, or your VA benefit summary letter with a REAL ID licence. Getting your VA benefit letter shows where the letter comes from.

Related

• Exchange shopping uses the same eligibility and the same pass.
• Recreation, camping and lodging is the third part of the same law.
• Back to A 0% VA rating still counts.