Please be aware that there are distinctions with these Home Depot & Lowes discounts.
There are two different discounts, and both stores are making up their own vocabulary: a "military discount" and a "veterans discount". To make it even more confusing, many of the store managers don't even understand their own corporate policy (or they're being exceedingly generous). The chains have been doing this for years and have recently attempted to throttle back to the stated policy, which is now causing hate & discontent among many military veterans & families.
Here's the basic deal, brought to you by Kate Kashman's "Paycheck Chronicles" blog at Military.com:
The military discount is supposed to be for active duty military, current Reservists, National Guard members, retirees, disabled veterans and their families. It gives a 10% discount to eligible patrons every day.
Eligibility is pretty straightforward: show your DoD military ID. If you have a veteran's ID card, or if you don't have any military/veteran's ID, then you're technically not eligible for this discount. However the store manager or clerk may give it to you anyway, especially if you confidently flash your driver's license "veteran" designation or your DD-214.
Personally, it's an acquired habit. I keep using the self-checkout counter and forgetting to show the attendant my ID. At least the cashiers help me remember to show my military ID.
The veterans’ discount is for any and all veterans. It gives a 10% discount to eligible patrons on selected patriotic holiday weekends such as Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Veterans’ Day.
Documenting this eligibility gets pretty confusing. A DD-214 always works, of course, as does a VA veteran's ID card. After that it varies by state and by store: driver's licenses, membership cards from veteran's support organizations like DAV or VFW, a DoD civil-service ID, or some other official-looking document with the word "veteran" on it. Once again the store managers, their clerks, and the degree of holiday-weekend chaos will influence your eligibility and the documentation requirements.
Oh, and this has to be mentioned too: in America, the discount is intended for U.S. military. I'm not sure what other countries have Lowes and Home Depot stores, and they might offer military discounts in those countries too.
If your local store has difficulty understanding their own policy, you could suggest to the manager that they post sample images of the appropriate IDs at the registers. That way the cashiers and the customers can both understand the rules (and help the managers post a complete list of IDs).
Kate has received thousands of comments from her readers on this question, and you can read more on her blog:
Home Depot & Lowes Military and Veteran Discounts
http://paycheck-chronicles.military.com/2012/01/22/lowes-and-home-depot-revisited/
