At the membership meeting in Memphis, there was a general discussion about the availability of veteran discounts. Specifically mentioned were Lowes and Home Depot. I offered to put an information page on this web site listing details of these discounts.
One shipmate who thought he had a list of discounts was unable to locate it, and not hearing from anyone else, I did a little research with the following results:
Lowes Policy:
“We offer an all-day, every-day 10% Military discount to all military personnel who are active, reserve, retired or disabled veterans and their immediate family members, with a valid, government-issued Military ID or VIC (Veterans Identification Card). Please visit your local Lowe’s store, provide a valid, government-issued Military ID or VIC(see below), and ask the cashier for the discount.
All other military veterans will receive the discount on the Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Veterans Day Weekends. (Customer must provide Military ID, VIC, or a DD214).”
Home Depot Policy:
“We offer a 10 percent discount, up to a $500 maximum, to all active, reserve, retired or disabled veterans and their family members with a valid military ID. All other military veterans qualify for a 10 percent discount during Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Veterans Day Weekends"
There is a discount section on the military web site http://www.military.com/ , but again these discounts seem to apply mostly to active or retired military and not just a veteran. I also recognized that my AARP or AAA Auto Club card has gotten me some of the discounts equal to those being offered active military. Finally I found a few other web sites offering discounts to veterans, but one required a membership fee of $5 per month and the others were just “click through” sites that earns a little income for redirecting web searches to retailers.
So Shipmates, if you’re retired military, there are some discounts available, but not much for those of us with less than twenty years service. And unless someone can provide me with a more specific list of discounts sources, I won't be adding a discount referral page to our site.
Bob
Note: VIC Cards are Veteran Identification Cards available from The Veterans Administration and are available to veterans with special eligibility like Service Connected Disabilities, Purple Heart or former POW. for more info on VIC
www.ussgalveston.org/blog/vic.pdf
