Exchange shopping for service-connected veterans

The exchange is the department store on base: the PX for Army posts, the BX for Air Force bases, the NEX and MCX for the Navy and Marine Corps. It sells clothing, electronics, appliances and fuel, with no sales tax, and for this group there is no surcharge or card fee at the exchange.

Two different exchange benefits

There are two, and they are easy to mix up.

• Online exchange shopping has been open to every honorably discharged veteran since 2017. No rating is needed. It covers the exchange websites only.
• In-person exchange shopping opened in January 2020 to veterans with a service-connected rating, along with the commissary and recreation facilities. A 0% rating qualifies.

If you have a rating, you have both.

Overseas

Access at installations in other countries is not guaranteed. It depends on the agreement between the United States and the host country, and the Department of Defense says so plainly. The store on the ground is the authority.

What you need

The same two things as the commissary: installation access from the visitor center, and proof of the service-connected rating at the register. Getting on base to shop covers both.

Related

• Commissary shopping
• Recreation, camping and lodging
• Back to A 0% VA rating still counts.