Veterans Benefits

I wanted to start a conversation on VA benefits. (And discount programs)

First, I’d like to share a link to a relatively new (2022) program granting free access to all National Parks. (Cool Video in the link)

http://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/veterans-and-gold-star-families-free-access.htm

My story. I served in the USMC 81-85 active duty and then 2 years reserve. Up to this point in my life I never really thought about or used any VA benefit programs. At a high level I was aware of some of them (education/home loans) but never really looked into it. That changed when my wife passed away and I learned about and took advantage of free burial services at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. I will be joining her there at some point in the future. What an Honor!

Also recently discovered I am eligible for free lifetime health care. There are many, many reasons why you may qualify. For me, I was stationed at Camp LeJeune North Carolina in 83-84. This is huge as I plan to retire before I can take Medicare.

I know we have a bunch of Vets here on IDO. I’d be curious of other benefits I may not be aware of? What’s your story? Hope we can all learn something. We earned them, let’s use them!

I’m reading that there are more proposed Vet Benefit’s in the legislative pipeline. Feel free to post here if/when they become active.

-J.

If you have a 100% Service related disablility or are paid out at 100% service related disability you get two free vehicle registrations, a free drivers license, and pay no sales tax on any motor vehicle purchases in MN. You need your letter to receive the tax free and no fee reg, not just the card.

I’m not a vet, but have many family members who are, including my FIL. I’ve been told often how great Tricare is. He also takes advantage of the discounted meals and tickets that are many places. For the golfers PXG has an awesome discount on clubs for Vets. Most bases also have lodging available for next to free that my in-laws utilize often, as not only is it cheap but bases are often in some of the most desirable locations. Also, your county should have a Veteran Services office that can help with a HUGE array of things, and is a very underutilized service (have a Vet-friend who works there). And finally I’d say Thank You for your service, please take advantage of these things, as you have EARNED them by writing a blank check to your country years ago.

I just wanted to say thank you for your service. My dad was buried at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in 2022. It was unlike any funeral I’d ever been to. Mom will join him when she passes.

Jon

No help with you question about additional benefits but I did want to say ” THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE ” as well as to any other veterans here. My dad served in the Army for 22 Years and I grew up a military Brat. I once thought about going into the military but my father said if I did I would not have to worry about ending up injured in a war, He would make it happen himself I have nothing but respect for all those who serve.

BigWerm wrote:

Also, your county should have a Veteran Services office that can help with a HUGE array of things, and is a very underutilized service

This is now on my to-do list

Found out last hair cut that Great Clips has a Vets discount!

-J.

This isn’t exactly what you’re asking about, but my wife was in the Air Force for 8+ years. She always asks about a military discount. We do Vegas more than we should and have MGM Rewards player’s card with a military discount attached. She gets 10% off anything we buy on any MGM property.

picklerick wrote:

This isn’t exactly what you’re asking about,

No, this IS what I’m asking about !!

Thanks and Keep them coming.

-J.

When we were sending down vets to the County office for their disability letter we got a call. They said it was great to see so many new faces that had never stopped by and to keep it up. Maybe that’s just our rural county, but I bet you can go to any county vets office and they will be glad to have a cup of coffee and share some info with you.

My company has no official Veterans Discount policy if you will. However if any vet asks me about one I will always give them something off there bill. Thanks for your service Jon! I did not serve but my old man was a Marine.

When I lived on Maui, we would go up to the National Park at Haleakala… it was $25 per person.. we always took the visitors up. One time, the guard in the shack mentioned, it’s free to Veterans.. I told him I was a Veteran, he ran my SS and printed me a National Parks FREE PASS on the spot.. and get this, its free for the Veteran and ANYONE he has in his vehicle ! Saved me $100 every trip up after that !!

Thank you and all service men here for your service !!

USAA – great insurance (auto, homeowners, etc.) and credit card. We save money on insurance compared to other providers and have had wonderful service on claims. Credit card is no annual fee, 1.5% cash back and provides travel benefits.

Thanks for posting this Jon . Like you , I have often heard about , but never really thought about using the benefits available to us .

My last drivers license was an enhanced one and I used my DD214 as one of my docs. They automatically put veteran on the DL. That’s come in handy several times.

Hardies has a 10% vet discount.

Indianapolis International Airport has free parking for vets.

Some military bases allow 60% disabled vets to some hunting privilege’s on base. Muzzleloader deer season is the only one that I’ve actually seen. But, there may be other hunting opportunities such as archery season.

Home Depot has a 10% veterans discount. I was using self-checkout one time and the Home depot worker there asked me if I was a veteran. I said I was and he helped me apply for it online.

The boat ramp on our lake is run by the Army Corp. of Engineers. It has a daily or annual fee paid at a machine at the entrance. This spring the machine was broken so I went ahead and told the fellow working the AIS inspection site at the ramp. He told me that the National Park card is also valid at the Corp. boat ramps.

great post Jon!!! USMC 71 to 75… and I’m still learning about benefits!!! I’ll be following this all the way!!! was just at St. Cloud VA today…

Great idea and post JJ.

I’m like you and haven’t really looked into a much as I probably should for veterans benefits. I did use the GI Bill and eventually became a college graduate at the age of 39 this past spring. That’s a great benefit.

Lowes and Home Depot do something like a 10% military discount for veterans. A lot of websites nowadays will go thru ID.me, which is an online verification tool. Basically you verify your service through ID.me and then a website like Home Depot or Lowes will use them to verify your veterans status and give you the discount. Once set up it goes real fast.

I think Cabelas (which now identifies as Bass Pro) does 5% discount at all times for veterans.

Also check out Vet Tix. They get tickets for almost everything, concerts, sporting events, comedy clubs, etc. and donate to veterans. If demand is high you’re entered into a lottery and they pick winners for the tickets. Haven’t used it much but I have taken my boys to a Twins game and PBR Bull Riding for free thru Vet Tix. It’s nation wide too, so if you’re traveling you could look to see what they have in that area. When I’ve been to Vegas (Picklerick, we should talk ) I’ve looked up show tickets there thru Vet Tix.

My FIL was a vet…served in the navy in the 60’s. Unfortunately, a few years ago he got sick very quickly and we needed to find hospice care with very short notice. On a whim, I called the VA to see if they had any hospice benefits. Not only did they cover hospice care, they helped us through the process and found a bed for him in a matter of days.

If anyone has dealt with hospice you know how expensive and complicated the process is. The VA was unbelievable and saved our family thousands of dollars.

Jon,
Thank you for your service. I was on active duty in the USMC from 1975-1979.

A friend told me about getting a 10% disability for having Tinnitus (ringing in the ears). I had tinnitus also and went through the County Veterans Service officer, she got everything set up, hearing test, evaluation and hearing aids appointment. The VA approved the diagnosis’s and supplied free hearing aids and supplies for life. The 10% disability comes with a monthly tax free stipend.

Also through the County Veteran Service my wife and I are set up for burial at the VA cemetery in Duluth. Currently the burial cost for the Veteran is $0.00 and the spouse is $750.00.

Thank you guys for your service. My father is a marine and was active for many years.

Dan wrote:

I did use the GI Bill and eventually became a college graduate at the age of 39 this past spring.

That’s awesome Dan, good work!

Dan wrote:

Also check out Vet Tix.

My FIL also uses this often, and he has gone to some of the biggest and most expensive shows and games from it.

Matt Moen wrote:

If anyone has dealt with hospice you know how expensive and complicated the process is. The VA was unbelievable and saved our family thousands of dollars.

My Grandpa did this as well at the St Cloud VA, and they took great care of him.

Jon Jordan wrote:

I was stationed at Camp LeJeune North Carolina in 83-84. This is huge as I plan to retire before I can take Medicare.

I have no input on the VA part of your post, but was wondering if you had any issues regarding the water or whatever I see all the commercials on TV about regarding that base and a lawsuit.

CaptainMusky wrote:

I have no input on the VA part of your post, but was wondering if you had any issues regarding the water or whatever I see all the commercials on TV about regarding that base and a lawsuit.

Let’s just say I don’t recall drinking much water back then ….

No issues now. But if they do pop up, I’m told I’m covered.

-J.

It looks like we have a number of Veterans on IDO. Thank you for your service.

I’m an insurance agent and I mainly work with health insurance benefits. I encourage every Veteran that I meet to talk to their County Veteran Service Officer to see what benefits they have available.

If you are a Veteran on Medicare and are entitled to VA Health benefits, you should look into a Medicare Advantage plan. They do not interfere with your VA benefits, most plans will help pay for a portion of your Medicare premium, and many have extra benefits that are not offered to everyone through the VA. If you have any questions about these plans, feel free to send me a private message. Advice is always free and I’d be happy to steer you in the right direction. These plans do fit the needs of probably 90% of the Veteran I meet, but there are some circumstances where they don’t.

So I just had to reference this thread to answer some questions for a vet that was in my office. He specifically wanted to know about state park passes. Don’t know if they’ve been mentioned but those are free for active duty and 100% service disabled residents as well. They were originally wondering about the national park passes. So you guys have given good info to at least one person already today.

Jon Jordan wrote:

Let’s just say I don’t recall drinking much water back then ….
No issues now. But if they do pop up, I’m told I’m covered.

-J.

Good to hear! We want you around for a long dang time and healthy!

On the government level, 70% or more disabled veterans can apply for a Disabled Veteran exemption, this exempts the first $150,000 for property value from real estate taxes. 100% disabled vets get the first $300,000 exempt for real estate taxes. DD214, your declaration letter, and a short application is all that is needed.

Speaking of the water on base… when I was in Fort Knox for Basic Training back in 1985, every morning after PT, the DI made everyone drink a canteen full of nasty warm water out of the spigot on the building… you had to fill up and drink it dry, show him it dry then refill and move on. I would do this every morning and would proceed to vomit up every drop 10 seconds later. He didn’t care what you did with it after you drank it I guess…

Thanks Dan for mentioning Vet Tix . I signed up and got 4 free tickets to a Brewer game for the family.