Posted on Apr 26, 2014
How much do we really make? What are our other extra perks?
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Beside what you see on your LES and besides the obvious medical benefits. (I had a visit last year in the Cardiac ICU for 3 days that floated around $80,000 alone. (For this survey, exclude medical)
I know it's hard to put a number on it, but have you considered all the other perks? Here's a short list. Please add what you can think of.
1. Military discounts at stores/restaurants. Footlocker gives 20%. That's huge!
2. Tax free at the PX
3. No baggage fees on airlines (huge)
4. Frequent upgrade to 1st class free of charge (huge)
5. R&R (easily 3 grand)
6. Free tickets to professional sporting events.
7. Military resorts (Shades of Green)
I know it's hard to put a number on it, but have you considered all the other perks? Here's a short list. Please add what you can think of.
1. Military discounts at stores/restaurants. Footlocker gives 20%. That's huge!
2. Tax free at the PX
3. No baggage fees on airlines (huge)
4. Frequent upgrade to 1st class free of charge (huge)
5. R&R (easily 3 grand)
6. Free tickets to professional sporting events.
7. Military resorts (Shades of Green)
Posted in these groups: 
Military Pay
Benefits
Military Pay Benefits
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 10
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Had a repairmen come out yesterday because the air conditioner in my home stopped working. Turned out he was former Army. After fixing the problem, I pulled out my check book and asked him how much - he said, "don't worry about". So, I gave him a coin.
I've found things like this to happen often - where military takes care of each other. Beyond all the normal pay perks/college tuition/etc., my favorite perk is being part of a community of really solid people.
I've found things like this to happen often - where military takes care of each other. Beyond all the normal pay perks/college tuition/etc., my favorite perk is being part of a community of really solid people.
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If you stay in long enough for a retirement that is a huge amount each month/year in benefits.
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MAJ (Join to see)
Health Insurance, Life Insurance, BAH, BAS, Dental, military discounts almost everywhere we seek goods. Some of these we actually pay for but at lower rates than civilian counterparts.
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The amount will actually vary depending on your circumstances and situation. Married Soldiers/Soldiers with dependents get more benefits annually (BAH, Separate Rations) than unmarried Soldiers or those w/o dependents.
Single Soldiers have the opportunity to have more fun (Thanks to the BOSS program, and can usually score free tix to many events IF they take advantage of them).
All Soldiers can get great educational benefits - even after the service if they retire or are combat injured.
AAFES/PX benefits are usually not the greatest or don't compare to other shopping (online usually) options, and selection is not the best either, but the Commissary is definitely cheaper than the local Wally-World. Additionally, most online shopping is tax free if the store you're buying from doesn't have a brick & mortar presence in the state you're shipping to.
Should you ever need them, Medical benefits are great for Soldiers and their families, but Family Dental SUCKS.
Life insurance of $400K is a little low on a Soldier, and barely useful on family members ($100,000 for the loss of your spouse is a joke. Get extra insurance!). I have an extra $800K on my life just so that my wife won't have to work for at least 5-6 years if something bad happened. Once you retire, SGLI becomes VGLI, and I have yet to decide if I want to consider it as I've heard mixed reviews.
Getting upgraded to first class is more and more difficult with airlines overbooking and filling their planes to capacity on almost every flight. Additionally, flight attendants are less likely to give upgrades now that the OIF and OEF are pretty much over and 9/11 is so far back in history that many of them weren't even flying at the time.
I've found it's actually easier to not tell them your a Soldier and to just use frequent flyer miles.
What I have found is that I can use the first class airport lounges at Delta and U.S. Air and score free drinks (in some cases) there by showing my military ID - they're still quite willing to do that.
With terrorism still a very real threat, and since I don't like to advertise I'm a Soldier to the general public, I never travel in uniform unless I'm required to.
I do ask at most places if they have a military discount, and take advantage of that if they do.
Overall, discounts, benefits, and value vary, but I'd say most Soldiers can get up to $5K/year if they're single, and up to about $10K-$20K if they're married/have dependents.
Single Soldiers have the opportunity to have more fun (Thanks to the BOSS program, and can usually score free tix to many events IF they take advantage of them).
All Soldiers can get great educational benefits - even after the service if they retire or are combat injured.
AAFES/PX benefits are usually not the greatest or don't compare to other shopping (online usually) options, and selection is not the best either, but the Commissary is definitely cheaper than the local Wally-World. Additionally, most online shopping is tax free if the store you're buying from doesn't have a brick & mortar presence in the state you're shipping to.
Should you ever need them, Medical benefits are great for Soldiers and their families, but Family Dental SUCKS.
Life insurance of $400K is a little low on a Soldier, and barely useful on family members ($100,000 for the loss of your spouse is a joke. Get extra insurance!). I have an extra $800K on my life just so that my wife won't have to work for at least 5-6 years if something bad happened. Once you retire, SGLI becomes VGLI, and I have yet to decide if I want to consider it as I've heard mixed reviews.
Getting upgraded to first class is more and more difficult with airlines overbooking and filling their planes to capacity on almost every flight. Additionally, flight attendants are less likely to give upgrades now that the OIF and OEF are pretty much over and 9/11 is so far back in history that many of them weren't even flying at the time.
I've found it's actually easier to not tell them your a Soldier and to just use frequent flyer miles.
What I have found is that I can use the first class airport lounges at Delta and U.S. Air and score free drinks (in some cases) there by showing my military ID - they're still quite willing to do that.
With terrorism still a very real threat, and since I don't like to advertise I'm a Soldier to the general public, I never travel in uniform unless I'm required to.
I do ask at most places if they have a military discount, and take advantage of that if they do.
Overall, discounts, benefits, and value vary, but I'd say most Soldiers can get up to $5K/year if they're single, and up to about $10K-$20K if they're married/have dependents.
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