To conclude our recent updates on holiday shopping discounts, we wanted to round out our coverage with a special reminder for you procrastinators out there: Use your Veterans Advantage VetRewards Card for discounts with major retailers and travel providers nationwide.

Here’s just a sampling:

• Apple Stores: For notebook and desktop purchases, plus AppleCare coverage on your new computer.
• Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker and Kids Foot Locker: Athletic shoes and apparel.
• Verizon Wireless Stores: Monthly plans and accessories.
• Greyhound Bus: Swipe your VetRewards card at terminals for 20% discounts nationwide.

For more on where you can use your VetRewards Card, click here.

And here is some timely shopping advice: While it may be too late to enjoy many online purchases in time for Santa, it is still worth checking to see if last-second shipping options are available. Always check with online retailers before purchasing.

In an update to a recent blog post about how you can save with Veterans Advantage this holiday season, I wanted to highlight another way last-second shoppers can benefit, too. Our Veterans Advantage partnership with 1800FLOWERS has added a second special discount to our Everyday Savings benefit this holiday season. Now, your discount can range between 20% and 25%.

Members can choose from either of these two special offers:

1. 20% on all orders. (Our Everyday Savings Discount)
2. $20 on orders over $79.99. (Special through January 1, 2013, which could save you as much as 25% with an $80 purchase)

Secondly, our members can also save across a variety of 1800Flowers-affiliated online retailers: 1800Baskets, Cheryl’s Cookies, Fannie May Fine Chocolates, FruitBouquets.com and the Popcorn Factory.

Get started now before its too late! Log in to Members Only today, and choose from either of two coupon codes for Veterans Advantage Members, and shop now.

Following on last month’s announcement of our new CVS/pharmacy partnership, we are pleased to announce another significant new benefit to the Veterans Advantage program: an exclusive 50% discount on Fold3 services, a division of Ancestry.com. Fold 3 delivers a premier collection of original U.S. military records, including those from the U.S. National Archives.

Named after the traditional flag folding ceremony in which the third fold is made in honor and remembrance of Veterans, Fold3 provides convenient access to US military records. It includes the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served, with military records never before available online.

In a recent Veterans Advantage online survey, nearly 75% of you had a previous generation that served in our military, including a whopping 38% beyond grandparents – that could stretch back to the Civil War! This is a great opportunity to trace your family’s military history. Hope you take advantage of it. Others pay nearly $80 annually for access to this benefit. Veterans Advantage members pay ONLY $39.95 with member savings of 50%!

The holiday shopping season is now upon us. As a follow up to our post last week about our new shopping benefit at CVS.com, we also wanted to highlight a broad range of discounts that are perfect for the holiday season, both at retailers and major travel providers.

Here is just a sampling of what you can get:

Travel & Entertainment
United Airlines (5% off): A great way to see distant relatives across the country and around the world.
Greyhound (20% off): Many will find this to be an easy and convenient way for the kids to travel home from college.
Amtrak (15% off): Avoid the traffic and long lines, and travel by rail.

Home & Office
Fold3 (50% off): Research your family military history online, and save 50% on a one-year membership. Families should find this fascinating.
Dell Computer (up to 30% off): Many special savings offers for the holidays; including the new Windows 8 Operating System.
Verizon Wireless: 15% off monthly bill and 15% off data charges plus 25% off accessories,
or T-Mobile: 10% off Wireless plans and accessories.
Apple: Save on the latest retina display notebooks, and its AppleCare plans.

Everyday Shopping
1-800Flowers.com (20% off): Choose from a great selection of flowers and gift baskets
Foot Locker (20% off): Save on gym shoes and apparel, and boots for winter.
History Channel DVDs (20% off): Military history and educational programming.
Omaha Steaks: Veterans Advantage has a special combinable discount — great for gourmet holiday meals.

Health & Wellness
Health Clubs: A gym membership at a leading national chain is a great way to kick off a New Year’s Resolution.
Promotive Outdoor and Active Gear: Great discounts on outdoor sports — skiing, hunting, fishing, and more.
CVS/pharmacy: 10% everyday online discount at CVS.com.

As thousands of American servicemen and women continue their transition back to civilian life, this Thanksgiving Weekend represents our nation’s expression of gratitude. We are grateful to those who have safely returned, and grateful for the safety this nation enjoys thanks to those who have served and sacrificed.

There are servicemen and women who return to our country, carrying the wounds of war; we must redouble our efforts to provide them the support they deserve, and remember them in our prayers, especially on this Thanksgiving Day. As our contributing editor Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen notes in this week’s Cover Story, challenges remain more than ever for returning troops, despite the wave of goodwill which prevails across our nation. In July, 2012, for example, the Army reported the greatest number of suicides since the armed forces began tracking this information. It will take an extraordinary level of commitment from all Americans to provide the support tp reverse this trend. We must serve those who have served us.

As Dr. Van Dahlen writes in her commentary, we must band together:

“Lack of progress and the consequences of the social issues that plague our nation and result in suffering for so many drain our economy and weaken our social fabric. It is in our best interest to address them so that we have a stronger, more prosperous nation for all.

This Thanksgiving we hope and pray that our returning troops continue to be welcomed by a grateful public, and that their return to our peaceful nation gives them rest, comfort and a sense of ease with a future that should burn brighter than ever.”

We are pleased to announce the launch of our latest benefit, thanks to CVS/pharmacy. Members can save an additional 10% online every day from a shopping link at VeteransAdvantage.com to CVS.com.

As we noted in our joint press release, CVS/pharmacy represents the latest Fortune 500 corporation partnering with us, speaking once again to the quality of the Veterans Advantage benefits program. This also addresses a very special everyday need for Americans. I know my family shops at CVS quite often, and now there is the extra convenience of online discount shopping.

Learn more about the CVS/pharmacy discount for Veterans Advantage here.

Members can access this special benefit by clicking here to enter Members Only. We added this special link to both our “Everyday Shopping” and “Health and Wellness” benefit categories.

To all of our members: We honor you for Veterans Day, as we do every day. We celebrate you and your family’s service and sacrifice to our great country. For our active duty who have returned home, we welcome you and pledge to do all we can to help in your transition to civilian life. For our active duty currently deployed overseas, we pray for your safe return.

This year, as has become our tradition, those in the New York City area found Veterans Advantage on the city’s famed Fifth Avenue, participating in the New York City Veterans Day Parade, the largest one in our nation. Its theme this year is “United We Stand.” In that spirit, let us all celebrate Veterans Day.

We offer special thanks and recognition to Pat Gualitieri, the superb organizer of the New York City Parade and Terrance Holliday, the outstanding Commissioner of Veterans Affairs of the City of New York, two great Americans, Veterans Advantage HeroVets, both of whom have served and made significant contributions to our country and community. Thank you, Pat and Terry for your continued service!

Happy Veterans Day, everyone.