10 Best Military Discounts at Major Retail Stores

One thing you've probably learned as an active service member or veteran is that it never hurts to ask. By that, I mean it never hurts to check if a store, restaurant, airline, or any other company that takes your money might also take your military ID for a nice discount. You would be surprised how many retail stores actually do, but just don't advertise it year-round. Of course, when you want to get the best discounts, you don't want to find out if you qualify after you've done your shopping. Here are some of the best military discounts at major retail stores that you can get year-round, from apparel and shoes to major auto purchases to even some of the best everyday tactical essentials. Plan your shopping accordingly!

Home Depot advertises a 10 percent discount for all military personnel and their immediate families on Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, and the 4th of July. What you're less likely to be aware of is that they also offer this 10 percent year-round, for active duty personnel, reservists, retired, or disabled veterans and their families. If you're a non-retired veteran, you can also call around, as only some Home Depots offer military discounts year-round to all veterans and active personnel, so it's worth finding participating locations. With this discount, you can save up to $500 annually on all your home purchases—an especially good deal if you're undergoing any major home renovations or projects.

The Nike store offers discounted merchandise to active, veteran, retired, and reservist members of all the major military branches. In fact, these special offers are available to eligible military members with a valid military ID at the Nike store, Nike.com, and even Converse and Hurley stores. The only exclusions are Nike company/employee stores. You can get discounted rates on shoes and apparel, and easily verify your eligibility online. These special offers are only available in the United States, but if you're abroad, you may still be eligible to order online, and families and dependents can also make use of these discounted rates. Easily one of the top online stores that offer military discounts.

It's generally a good bet to ask about a military discount at any kind of sporting goods or sports apparel store, as these tend to cater in part to military members. You would, however, be doing yourself a disservice if you wrote off other markets, because, in fact, you can receive discounted products at major retail stores in many markets. Torrid, for example, offers 10 percent to military members both in-store, or by placing an order through a personal shopper, on most of their plus-size apparel. While the general associations between high fashion and the military aren't strong, anyone actually associated with the military knows that it's not all uniforms, all the time.

Foot Locker

Foot Locker's military discount is a little bit complicated, but well worth finding out if you qualify for, as it gets you 20 percent off most purchases (occasionally excluding items like clearance and promotions) at Foot Locker, Ladies' Foot Locker, and even Kids' Foot Locker. This 20 percent is available to all active duty military personnel and retirees, as well as spouses and dependents of anyone receiving military benefits. Veterans and reservists may qualify for Foot Locker's Veteran's Advantage Card, which also gets you a full 20 percent off their online stores, rather than on in-store purchases. Active duty members and retirees might want to make use of both options, but veterans and others can save just as much by doing their shopping online, so it's worth looking into. You can sign up to be a Veteran's Advantage member here.

The best military discounts at major retail stores tend to be the low-hassle ones. With that in mind, Michael's general 15 percent off policy for any military personnel with a valid ID is a nice one. There are generally very few exclusions, if any, including sale items and clearance items, which tend to be excluded from major discounts and sales at most stores. It's offered to all active duty military personnel, retirees, and their immediate families (with a valid military ID, of course). All you have to do is show your ID to the sales clerk when you check out (no long process or need to sign up for anything), and get your 15 percent right there.

Ford

While most military personnel, active, retired, or otherwise, know that some stores offer between 10-20 percent discounts, it's less commonly known that many major auto retailers also offer special discounts and incentives for the military. Ford, for example, offers a flat $500 cash bonus for the purchase or lease of any new Ford or Lincoln vehicle. This offer is available to active military personnel and reservists, veterans separated within the last six months (180 days), retirees, spouses, and other direct household members (immediate family, dependents). The offer is only good for new, recent models, but is a very nice bonus for eligible personnel who are in the market for a new car or truck.

The website id.me makes it easy for military members to shop online and qualify for a wide range of special offers and military discounts at major retail stores. It's essentially an identity-verification site that works with these retailers to get you discounted prices on participating stores' merchandise, including Ray-Ban sunglasses. Through id.me, you can get 15 percent off as a military member or first responder, as well as free overnight shipping for qualifying products. Plus, once you're signed up with id.me, you can browse many other brands and services through their "shop" feature, so you don't have to go navigating the tedious military discount pages of every different online store.

With a valid military ID or veteran status listed on a government ID card (e.g. driver's license), you can get 10 percent off just about everything in the store. While it is an in-store-only offer, military members and their families qualify at every store in the United States. That means any active duty or reservist personnel, retirees, or veterans, as well as any of those qualifying members' immediate families and dependents can take advantage of this 10 percent off every purchase, as well as occasional special offers, especially around major holidays like the 4th of July, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Labor Day.

If you're in the market for new electronics, your military ID or association can probably save you quite a lot. Lenovo, for example, offers a 10 percent discount on your entire online purchase of computers and laptops for active duty members and their families, retirees and veterans, and any eligible members' dependents and immediate families. This is another company that provides its offers through id.me, which makes the process pretty easy. In fact, you can do a lot of your shopping in one go with this service, without having to sign up for new member cards or programs all the time. Just sign up once, get your discounts, and get your merchandise.

Another great deal run through id.me comes from Saucony. The company offers 20 percent off your first apparel purchase, as well as 10 percent off most of their merchandise after that. Although these offers are for online purchases, you also get automatic free shipping. For high-quality running and athletic shoes like Saucony, that's not something you want to pass up (Full disclosure: I haven't bought any other running shoes in at least a decade. They're quality.) It's not just shoes either, of course—your discount also applies to sports apparel and running accessories, like running and hiking caps, gloves, and even backpacks. Looking through their items, you may even feel like you're purchasing one of the many cool things you can buy at a military surplus store.