There’s an official Department of Defense travel site that books your vacation hotels, flights, rental cars, and cruises — and most people who are eligible have never heard of it.
It’s called American Forces Travel. It’s run by Priceline under contract with military MWR. It’s free to use, there’s no membership, and every dollar of commission it earns gets pumped back into Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs on your installation. You’re not paying a middleman — you’re funding the gym and the family events.
Here’s how it works and whether you qualify.
What it actually is
American Forces Travel is the only official joint-services MWR leisure travel website. The military branches contracted Priceline to run it, so the back end is the same booking engine millions of civilians use — but the rates are negotiated for the military community.
Think of it as the online version of the ITT (Information, Tickets and Travel) office on base. Same idea, more inventory, open 24/7.
What you can book:
- Hotels — the platform advertises over a million hotel deals across 71,000-plus destinations worldwide
- Flights
- Rental cars
- Cruises
- Vacation packages (flight + hotel or flight + car bundled)
- Events and area attractions through the ITT side
It covers domestic and international travel. This is leisure only — your own vacations, not official duty travel.
Who qualifies
This is the part that trips people up. Eligibility is wider than most assume, and it got a lot wider in a 2021 expansion. You qualify if you’re in any of these groups:
- Active duty — Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard
- National Guard and Reserve members
- Retired military, including retirement-eligible Guard and Reserve
- Veterans with a discharge status of honorable or general under honorable conditions
- DoD civilians registered in DEERS (appropriated and nonappropriated fund employees)
- Service-connected disabled veterans, Purple Heart recipients, former POWs, and Medal of Honor recipients
- Primary family caregivers of eligible veterans under VA programs
- Sponsored family members — the ID-card holders in your household
- Full-time paid American Red Cross and USO staff serving at U.S. DoD installations overseas
That 2021 expansion added roughly 16 million veterans to the eligible pool. If you separated honorably and assumed this was an active-duty-only perk, you were wrong — you’re in.
How to start
- Go to AmericanForcesTravel.com
- The first time, you verify your eligibility through the Department of Defense. It’s a quick check against DoD records.
- Book like any travel site.
One detail worth knowing: Priceline isn’t part of the verification step and doesn’t keep that data. The DoD confirms you’re eligible; Priceline just unlocks the rates.
What the savings actually look like
The program advertises some big numbers — up to 40–60% off leisure travel overall, hotels up to 60% off, cruises up to 80% off, and an average of around $240 saved on a package booking. Those are advertised maximums on specific deals, not a flat discount on everything. Treat them the way you’d treat any “up to” claim.
The honest move is the same one you’d make on any booking site: compare. Pull up your hotel or flight on American Forces Travel, then check it against Priceline, Expedia, or booking direct. Sometimes the military rate wins by a real margin. Sometimes a public sale beats it. The only way to know is to put the two side by side before you book.
What tips it in this site’s favor: there’s no membership fee, and the commission funds MWR instead of a corporate shareholder. So when the price ties, this one comes out ahead.
When to reach for it
- Booking a family vacation — check it first, especially for hotels and cruises
- PCS leave or a long weekend — bundle a flight-and-hotel package and compare the total
- You’re a veteran who’s been paying full price — you’ve likely had access for years and didn’t know
When to skip it: official/duty travel goes through your normal travel office, not here. And if a public flash sale clearly beats the military rate, book the cheaper one. This is a tool, not a loyalty test.
Do this today
Go to AmericanForcesTravel.com, run the one-time DoD verification, and price out a trip you’re already planning. Put it next to whatever booking site you’d normally use. If the military rate wins, you just saved money and fed your installation’s MWR fund at the same time. If it doesn’t, you’ve lost five minutes and confirmed your backup was the right call.
Either way, you now know the official DoD travel site exists — which puts you ahead of most of the people who are eligible for it.
Not an official VA or DoD website. American Forces Travel is operated by Priceline under contract with DoD MWR; verify current eligibility and offers at AmericanForcesTravel.com.