Veteran Benefits
Veteran ID Card & Commissary, Exchange & MWR Access
Your service earned you more than health care. Since 2020, veterans with any service-connected rating - plus Purple Heart recipients, former POWs, and Medal of Honor recipients - can shop tax-free at military commissaries and exchanges and use base recreation. The key that unlocks the door in person is the free Veteran Health Identification Card, and online shopping is open even more widely.
Who this is for
You may have earned a benefit you have never used: the right to shop tax-free at military commissaries and exchanges and enjoy base recreation. Since 2020 it is open to every veteran with a service-connected rating - and the card that unlocks it is free.
In plain language
What Veteran ID Card & Commissary, Exchange & MWR Access covers
- In-person commissary, exchange, and MWR access on base
- The Veteran Health ID Card (VHIC) that proves eligibility
- Online exchange shopping and American Forces Travel
- How caregivers and different groups qualify
Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)Official video - U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs
5 things most veterans aren't aware of
These apply to nearly every VA claim - and they change how much you get and when.
Your filing date sets your back pay
Benefits are generally paid back to the day you file - not the day you are approved. Filing an intent to file today can protect months, even years, of retroactive pay.
One condition can trigger others (secondary claims)
A service-connected condition that causes another - like sleep apnea from PTSD, or a bad knee from a bad hip - can be rated on its own. Each secondary condition adds to your rating.
A medical nexus is what wins the claim
The VA needs a documented link between your condition and your service. A clear nexus opinion is often the difference between an approval and a denial.
Accredited help is free to file an initial claim
By law, an accredited agent cannot charge a fee to prepare and file your original claim. If someone asks for money up front to file, that is a red flag.
A denial is not the end of the road
You have three appeal lanes - Higher-Level Review, a Supplemental Claim with new evidence, and the Board of Veterans Appeals. Many denials are overturned on review.
Any 0-100%
Every service-connected rating now earns commissary and exchange access
Free VHIC
The Veteran Health ID Card is the credential for in-person base access
Since 2020
In-person privileges opened under the 2018 Equal Access Act
The full picture
Everything you need to know
Nothing hidden behind a click, and nothing you have to go looking for on another website. Here is the whole story in plain language - the facts and the figures first - so you can decide what fits your situation.
Key facts & current figures
- Since January 1, 2020, veterans with any service-connected rating (0-100%), Purple Heart recipients, former POWs, and Medal of Honor recipients can shop in person at military commissaries and exchanges and use base MWR recreation. (Purple Heart and Disabled Veterans Equal Access Act of 2018)
- The credential for in-person base access is the Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC), which must display your status - "SERVICE CONNECTED," "PURPLE HEART," or "FORMER POW."
- Primary family caregivers enrolled in the VA's PCAFC program also qualify, using their VA eligibility letter plus a REAL ID or other government photo ID.
- Online exchange shopping (ShopMyExchange, NEX, MCX, CGX) and American Forces Travel are open to all honorably discharged veterans and do not require a VHIC - you verify once at VetVerify.org.
- A small transaction fee applies to credit and signature-debit purchases at commissaries for patrons eligible only under the 2018 Act; confirm current rules on va.gov.
General figures, current as of December 2025 and reviewed each year. Your exact amount depends on your situation - always confirm on va.gov.
What you get - commissary, exchange, and MWR
- Commissaries sell groceries at cost with no sales tax; exchanges sell everything from clothing to electronics tax-free, often below retail.
- MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) facilities can include golf, bowling, gyms, outdoor-recreation gear rental, and lodging.
- A small user fee is added to credit and signature-debit purchases at commissaries for patrons eligible only under the 2018 Act; cash, EBT, and PIN-debit generally avoid it.
Who is eligible for in-person access
- Veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 0% to 100%, Purple Heart recipients, former prisoners of war, and Medal of Honor recipients.
- Primary family caregivers enrolled in the VA Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC).
- Retirees and 100%/MOH veterans who hold a DoD ID card already have access and do not rely on the VHIC.
The Veteran Health ID Card (VHIC)
- The VHIC is free. You must be enrolled in VA health care; then apply at va.gov/records/get-veteran-id-cards or in person at a VA medical center with a government photo ID.
- Your card must display your eligibility status line - for example "SERVICE CONNECTED" - or the base will not honor it for shopping access.
- If a 0% veteran cannot get a VHIC because of income-based enrollment rules, DoD may temporarily accept VA Form H623A with a REAL ID or passport.
Shopping online - open to more veterans
- Online military exchange stores (ShopMyExchange/AAFES, NEX, MCX, CGX) and American Forces Travel are open to all honorably discharged veterans, not just service-connected ones.
- You verify your status once at VetVerify.org - no VHIC or base visit required.
- This is often the easiest way for a homebound or rural veteran to enjoy the discount without traveling to an installation.
Know which card is which
The cards in your wallet, and what each one actually does
Most households end up carrying three or four of these, and they look enough alike that the wrong one gets slid across the counter. That is not a small mistake. Hand a clinic your Veteran Health ID card instead of your CHAMPVA card and the claim will not pay, because the first card is not insurance at all. Here is every card, drawn the way it really looks, with every field on it named - and then plainly which one to present, and when.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Veteran Health Identification Card
Name
Your name here
SERVICE CONNECTED
Issued by the Veterans Health Administration. Free.
What is printed on it
- Photo
- A current color headshot of you
- Name
- Your full name
- Branch emblem
- The emblem of your last branch of service
- Eligibility line
- SERVICE CONNECTED, PURPLE HEART or FORMER POW - only if it applies to you
- Member ID
- Your DoD-assigned identifier (the EDIPI) - this is how the VA pulls your record
- Plan ID
- The health plan number assigned to the VA itself, not to you
- Expiration date
- You may reapply within one year of that date
- Braille
- The letters VA, raised, for low-vision veterans
There is no Social Security number and no date of birth on this card, and the magnetic stripe and barcode carry no personal information at all. That is by design.
What it does
- Checks you in for an appointment at any VA medical center
- With the eligibility line showing, gets you through the gate to the commissary, the exchange and MWR facilities
- Works as proof of service for a civilian veteran discount
What it will never do
- It is not an insurance card. It will not pay for a single dollar of care outside the VA
- A surviving spouse or a dependent child will never have one - this card is for the veteran only
How you get it: You must be enrolled in VA health care first. Request it at va.gov/records/get-veteran-id-cards or walk into your VA medical center with a government photo ID.
Lost or expired: va.gov/records/get-veteran-id-cards, or ask at your VA medical center.
CHAMPVA
CHAMPVA identification card
Name
Your name here
Member No. 000-00-0000
Issued by the VHA Office of Integrated Veteran Care - the office that used to be called the Office of Community Care.
What is printed on it
- Name
- The covered spouse, surviving spouse or child - one card per person
- Member Number
- This is that person’s Social Security number, printed right on the front of the card
- Effective date
- The date the coverage started
Because the member number is a Social Security number, treat this card the way you treat your Social Security card. Do not photograph it, do not text it, and do not leave it loose in a wallet you set down.
What it does
- Proves your coverage to a civilian doctor, hospital, lab or pharmacy - they bill it directly
- Unlocks Meds by Mail for free maintenance prescriptions once your Other Health Insurance form is on file
- Is the card that makes you eligible to buy into a VADIP dental plan
What it will never do
- It will not get you treated inside a VA hospital as a patient - CHAMPVA buys you civilian care
- It is not Medicare, and in most cases it pays second, behind whatever other health insurance you carry
How you get it: It comes in the mail with your welcome letter after your VA Form 10-10d is approved. Allow up to six weeks after the approval letter.
Lost card, or your other insurance changed: call 800-733-8387.
Medicare Health Insurance
Medicare card
Name
Your name here
1EG4-TE5-MK73
Issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Red, white and blue.
What is printed on it
- Name
- Your name as Social Security has it
- Medicare Number
- Eleven characters of letters and numbers, shown like 1EG4-TE5-MK73. The dashes are only there to help you read it - never type them on a form
- HOSPITAL (PART A)
- The date your hospital coverage starts
- MEDICAL (PART B)
- The date your doctor coverage starts, or blank if you declined Part B
That number has not been your Social Security number since 2019. It also never uses the letters S, L, O, I, B or Z - so anything that looks like the letter O is really a zero, and anything that looks like a 1 next to a letter is really the number one.
What it does
- This is the card a civilian provider bills first, before CHAMPVA sees the claim
- Keeping Part B is what keeps CHAMPVA and civilian coverage working together cleanly
What it will never do
- It does nothing inside the VA. The VA does not bill Medicare for your VA care
- It is not proof of veteran or survivor status for any VA program
How you get it: It arrives about three months before your 65th birthday if you already draw Social Security, or after you enroll yourself.
Lost card or forgotten number: sign in at Medicare.gov, read it off a Medicare Summary Notice, or call 1-800-MEDICARE.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Veteran ID Card
Name
Your name here
Digital card - lives in your VA.gov account
Issued by the VA. Digital only since September 2022 - there is no plastic version anymore.
What is printed on it
- Photo
- A headshot you upload yourself
- Name
- Your full name
- Branch
- Your branch of service
- Card number
- An identifier for the card itself - it is not tied to any benefit
This is the card people most often confuse with the VHIC, and the difference matters. It proves you served. That is the whole job.
What it does
- Proves your service for a restaurant, hotel or store discount so you are not carrying your DD214 around
- Any honorably or generally discharged veteran can get one, enrolled in VA health care or not
What it will never do
- It will not prove eligibility for any federal benefit
- It will not get you onto a base, into a commissary or into an exchange
- It is not accepted as airport identification, and it will not check you in at a VA hospital
How you get it: Apply at va.gov/records/get-veteran-id-cards/vic. It lands in your VA.gov account, not your mailbox.
If you already hold a VHIC you do not need this card at all - the VHIC does the same job for discounts.
Which card do I hand over?
Four counters, four answers. Read the left column, hand over what is in the middle.
Checking in for an appointment at a VA medical center
Your VHIC
Nothing else checks you in. If yours has expired, they can still see you - but reapply, because the front desk will ask every visit.
Sitting in a civilian doctor or dentist office on CHAMPVA
Your CHAMPVA card AND your Medicare card
The office needs both, because Medicare pays first and CHAMPVA pays behind it. Handing over only one is the most common reason a CHAMPVA claim stalls.
At the gate of a base, or the commissary or exchange register
Your VHIC with the eligibility line, or a DoD ID card
The card has to actually show SERVICE CONNECTED, PURPLE HEART or FORMER POW. The first time through, stop at the Visitor Control Center to get registered.
Asking for a veteran discount at a store or restaurant
Whichever you already carry
A VHIC, a Veteran ID Card, a DoD ID, or a state driver license with the veteran designation all work. Do not hand over your DD214.
When the office says they do not take it
Read these four lines to the billing clerk
Most front desks have simply never keyed a CHAMPVA claim before, so they say no. They are not refusing you - they cannot find the payer. Hand them this and the conversation usually ends there.
- Verify my eligibility
- Payer ID VAHAC, or call 888-820-1756
- Send the medical claim to
- Payer ID 84146
- Send the dental claim to
- Payer ID 84147
- Get preauthorization
- 833-930-0816
A provider does not have to be in any network to bill CHAMPVA. They only have to be licensed and willing to send the claim.
Three traps worth naming
Nobody will call you for these numbers
Medicare will never phone and ask you to read your Medicare number aloud, and neither will the VA. If someone does, hang up.
Keep your other insurance on file
CHAMPVA pays second in most cases. If the office of Integrated Veteran Care does not have your current other-insurance information, claims get denied or held - not because you lost coverage, but because the file is stale. Update it whenever a plan changes.
Your 1095-B is not mailed anymore
As of 2026 CHAMPVA no longer mails IRS Form 1095-B automatically. If your state return or your records need proof of minimum essential coverage, you have to request it.
Not sure which card you are holding, or which one you are owed? Tell me who is in the household and what arrived in the mail, and I will tell you exactly which cards should be in that wallet.
Your complete benefit picture
Tax-free shopping
Groceries at cost with no sales tax at the commissary, and clothing and electronics tax-free at the exchange - plus base golf, bowling, and recreation. Any veteran with a service-connected rating can use it in person, and online exchange shopping is open to every honorably discharged veteran. Confirm current rules on va.gov.
Two ways to move forward — both free
Not sure if this applies to you?
Ask our free assistant a few plain questions and get an honest read on what you and your family may qualify for, at no cost. It takes just a few minutes, and there is no sign-up and no obligation of any kind. You will get a clear, plain-language picture of where you stand and what might be worth filing. And if you would rather talk to a real person, an accredited agent is only a message away.
Have a question? Get free information
Ask a question, learn what you may be owed, or find out where you stand. Confidential, free, and no obligation to go any further.
Ready to hire us? Register
Decided you want us to work your claim? Registering is free — we match you with an accredited advocate and get you started. We cannot begin until you sign VA Form 21-22a, and fees, if any, are always disclosed up front.
In person vs. online
Two doors open - and one needs no card at all
In person on a base you need the free Veteran Health ID Card showing your status line, plus a one-time stop at the Visitor Control Center for a background check.
Online, the exchange websites and American Forces Travel are open to every honorably discharged veteran - you verify once at VetVerify.org, with no card and no base visit.
Get the card first
The VHIC is a health-care card, so enroll in VA health care, then request it at va.gov/records/get-veteran-id-cards or your VA medical center.
Caregivers count too
A primary family caregiver enrolled in PCAFC qualifies using their VA eligibility letter and a REAL ID.
A clear path forward
Your step-by-step action plan
No rush and no pressure - but a little order helps. Applying is always free.
FIG. 01 - Gather your paperwork
First
Enroll and get your VHIC
Make sure you are enrolled in VA health care, then request the Veteran Health ID Card and check that it shows your eligibility line.
FIG. 02 - Fill out the form
On base
Register at the gate
The first time you visit an installation, stop at the Visitor Control Center for a background check and to set up recurring access.
FIG. 03 - File the claim
Online
Verify once
Set up an account and verify your veteran status at VetVerify.org to shop the exchange sites and American Forces Travel from home.
FIG. 04 - After you file
If 100%/MOH
Ask about a DoD ID
Veterans rated 100% or Medal of Honor recipients may qualify for a full military ID with broader privileges - ask at a DoD RAPIDS office.
Who to call & where to go
These are free, official VA lines. Have your Social Security number handy when you call.
MyVA411 - Main VA Line
Not sure who to call? Start here. One number for anything VA - they route you to the right office.
Rather have us handle it?
No phone tag, no hold music. Call our office and a real, VA-accredited person walks you through it - start to finish.
702-992-4883Not sure where to start?
First, get your Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC) - you must be enrolled in VA health care, then request the card at va.gov/records/get-veteran-id-cards or at your VA medical center (bring a government photo ID). When it arrives, check that it shows your eligibility line. The first time you visit a base, stop at the Visitor Control Center for a background check and to register for recurring access. For online shopping, no VHIC is needed - verify once at VetVerify.org and then shop the exchange websites and American Forces Travel.
More benefits for veterans
These often go hand in hand - tap any card to learn more.
Free information — get a free benefit review
Tell us how to reach you and an accredited team member will help you understand this benefit and claim everything you have earned. No cost, no obligation.
Ready to hire us? Register with us
For veterans who’ve decided they want us on their claim — registering is free too, and it does not make you our client or obligate you to anything. Here is exactly how it works:
- You register. This simply starts the conversation — you are not our client yet, and you owe us nothing.
- You sign and return VA Form 21-22a. It appoints us as your accredited representative and gives us access to your VA file.
- Once we have your signed 21-22a and access to your case, we verify everything is in order.
It involves the registration form and signing VA Form 21-22a — by law we can’t accept your claim, work on it, or contact the VA for you until that power of attorney is signed. You decide whether to move forward.
Official VA links
Answers, in plain language
Common questions about Veteran ID Card & Commissary, Exchange & MWR Access
What is Veteran ID Card & Commissary, Exchange & MWR Access?
Your service earned you more than health care. Since 2020, veterans with any service-connected rating - plus Purple Heart recipients, former POWs, and Medal of Honor recipients - can shop tax-free at military commissaries and exchanges and use base recreation. The key that unlocks the door in person is the free Veteran Health Identification Card, and online shopping is open even more widely.
Who qualifies for Veteran ID Card & Commissary, Exchange & MWR Access?
Veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 0% to 100%, Purple Heart recipients, former prisoners of war, and Medal of Honor recipients. Primary family caregivers enrolled in the VA Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC). Retirees and 100%/MOH veterans who hold a DoD ID card already have access and do not rely on the VHIC.
How do I apply for Veteran ID Card & Commissary, Exchange & MWR Access?
First, get your Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC) - you must be enrolled in VA health care, then request the card at va.gov/records/get-veteran-id-cards or at your VA medical center (bring a government photo ID). When it arrives, check that it shows your eligibility line. The first time you visit a base, stop at the Visitor Control Center for a background check and to register for recurring access. For online shopping, no VHIC is needed - verify once at VetVerify.org and then shop the exchange websites and American Forces Travel.
What does it cost to get help with Veteran ID Card & Commissary, Exchange & MWR Access, and are you VA-accredited?
Two honest points. First, the VHIC is a health-care card - if you have not enrolled in VA health care yet, that is the step that unlocks it, and enrolling is worthwhile on its own. Second, if you are rated 100% or are a Medal of Honor recipient, you may qualify for a full DoD (military) ID card, which gives broader base privileges than the VHIC - ask at a DoD ID (RAPIDS) office. Everyone else should not overlook the online exchange and American Forces Travel discounts, which are open without ever setting foot on a base. It is free to talk with us, and no one may charge you to file a first-time VA claim. The Aging Veteran is led by Albert L.
