Did you know?

You are probably overpaying on your phone bill

Most carriers have a military or veteran rate. Almost nobody is told to ask for it. And if you are under orders, federal law lets you walk away from the contract entirely.

← Back to vsgsolutions.org FCC Lifeline — up to $9.25/mo off
How I built this page. I am not affiliated with, sponsored by, or paid by any company named here. Nobody pays me to list them. Carrier promotions, eligibility rules and prices change constantly, so I do not print percentages or plan prices on this page — they go stale and a stale number gets you told no at the counter. I print the two things that will still be true next year: the federal programs and rights you can hold a company to, and the exact questions to ask. Links checked September 2026.
Your right, not a discount

If you get orders, you can cancel

This is the biggest money on this page, and it is law — not a promotion a company can withdraw.

Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), 50 U.S.C. 3956, you may end a contract with no early termination fee if you receive orders to relocate for 90 days or more to a place the service cannot reach, or a PCS order followed by a stop movement order of 30 days or more or indefinite.

  • Covers cell phone service, internet access, multichannel video (TV), gym memberships and home security
  • Give the provider written or electronic notice plus a copy of your orders — that is what triggers it
  • Advance payments you already made must be refunded within 60 days
  • Leased or financed equipment goes back within 10 days
  • You keep your phone number if you re-subscribe within 90 days of the relocation ending
Read this part carefully. This one is for servicemembers under qualifying orders — active duty, Guard and Reserve called up. It is not a general veteran benefit. If you are already out, the rest of this page is your lane.
★ Orders in hand? Nobody can charge you to leave.
Biggest money for a veteran

Lifeline — a federal discount on phone or internet

Worth more than any percentage a carrier will offer you, and almost nobody in the veteran community has heard of it.

Lifeline is an FCC program. It takes up to $9.25 a month off phone service, broadband, or a bundle — up to $34.25 a month if you live on Tribal lands.

You may qualify if any one of these is true:

  • You receive a VA Veterans Pension or Survivors Pension — that alone is a qualifying program
  • You receive SNAP, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or Federal Public Housing Assistance
  • You are in certain Tribal assistance programs
  • Your household income is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines
One Lifeline benefit per household. Start at fcc.gov/lifeline-consumers.
★ Pension check? Go look at Lifeline today.
Ask, every time

Ask twice — as a veteran, and as a member

There is no reliable published list of who does not offer a military rate, and companies add and drop these offers constantly.

So do not let anyone — including me — tell you a company has nothing for you. Ask the provider yourself, then ask again through any organization you belong to: VFW, American Legion, USAA, AARP. Those member rates are a separate lane and a plain "do you have a military discount" will not always surface them. The worst answer you can get is no.

Where the big providers publish their military pages:

Compare the final bill, not the size of the discount. Twenty percent off an expensive plan can still cost you more every month than a cheap plan with no discount at all. Price out the total for the number of lines your Family actually needs.
★ Ask as a veteran. Then ask as a member.
The step that gets the money

Signing up is not the same as verifying

The discount does not attach because you said you served. It attaches when the company verifies you. This is where people lose it.

  • Verizon verifies military status through ID.me. Verizon states that once verified, eligible members generally keep the military discount for life, though it may ask you to re-verify. Verify once, stop worrying.
  • AT&T requires its online verification form or signing up in an AT&T store, and states the credit can take up to three billing cycles to show on your bill. Two full-price bills is normal. Do not assume it failed and quit chasing it.
  • T-Mobile requires the account holder to verify military status within 45 days and to keep a valid military line on the account. Miss that window and the price goes back up, per line, every month. A Family with four lines loses real money on a deadline nobody told them about.
Family eligibility is not the same at every carrier. Some extend it only to Gold Star Families. Others cover spouses and household members. Ask your own carrier who in your house it covers.
★ Verify, then check the next two bills.
Changed recently

Two you may have old information on

  • UScellular. UScellular sold its wireless operations to T-Mobile on 1 August 2025. The former parent company was renamed Array Digital Infrastructure, Inc. and kept the towers. Your service is not gone — the UScellular brand and uscellular.com are still operating, now under T-Mobile. Whether the old UScellular military discount survived the sale is not something I can confirm. Ask UScellular directly, and price it against T-Mobile's own military plan before you renew.
  • Consumer Cellular. No general military discount is advertised, but Consumer Cellular names AARP, USAA and the American Legion among its membership partners. Do not assume AARP is the only route in. Ask through whichever organization you belong to, and ask what the member rate actually is — the terms are not published anywhere I can point you to.
★ Old lists go stale. Call and confirm.
If they promise and do not deliver

Free help, and where to complain

A carrier that promises a military rate and then will not apply it is not the end of the road.

  • CFPB Office of Servicemember Affairs — serves servicemembers, veterans and military Families with no time limit on eligibility. It is also where you file a complaint when a company promises a military rate and then refuses to honor it. consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/educator-tools/servicemembers
  • Military OneSource free financial counseling, 800-342-9647. Read the limit before you dial: after separation or retirement it is available only until 365 days past your discharge or retirement date. Past that window, Military OneSource sends you to VA. It is a Department of Defense program, not a lifetime veteran benefit. militaryonesource.mil
If you are past 365 days out, use CFPB. That one does not expire on you.
★ A no from a carrier is not the last word.
Related: Read It, Fix It: Financial Freedom Basics · The SCRA: Money Protections Most People Never Claim · Veteran Discounts That Check Out