United States Postal Service is Making it Easier to Support the Troops this Holiday Season

The U.S. Postal Service offers discounted shipping year-round for military, perfect for sending presents and cards to military members this holiday season.

Once again this year, The postal service has rolled out their recommended shipping dates for family members and loved ones of service members.

To send packages to friends and loved ones serving in the military and diplomatic posts abroad, the U.S. Postal Service offers a year-round discounted price on its largest Priority Mail Flat Rate® Box. 

Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes are available at no cost at local Post Offices and can also be ordered via usps.com. Postage, labels and customs forms can also be printed online anytime using Click-N-Ship® feature. All mailing products can be found at store.usps.com/store/home.

To ensure timely delivery of holiday wishes by Dec. 25, the Postal Service recommends that cards and packages be sent to military APO/FPO/DPO addresses overseas no later than the mailing dates listed below.

Military Mail Addressed To and From–APO/FPO/DPO AE ZIPs 090-092
Dec. 16 Priority Mail Express Military Service
Dec. 09 First-Class Letters and Cards
Dec. 09 Priority Mail
No longer available Parcel Airlift 
No longer available Space Available Mail
Nov. 4 USPS Ground Advantage

Military Mail Addressed To and From –APO/FPO/DPO AE ZIP 093
N/A Priority Mail express Military Service
Dec. 9 First-Class Letters and Cards
Dec. 9 Priority Mail
No longer available Parcel Airlift
No longer available Space Available Mail
Nov. 4 USPS Ground Advantage

Military Mail Addressed To and From–APO/FPO/DPO AE ZIPs 094-099
Dec. 16 Priority Mail Express Military Service
Dec. 09 First-Class Letters and Cards
Dec. 09 Priority Mail
No longer available Parcel Airlift Mail
No longer available Space Available Mail
Nov. 4 USPS Ground Advantage

Military Mail Addressed To and From–APO/FPO/DPO AA ZIP 340
Dec. 16 Priority Mail Express Military Service
Dec. 09 First-Class Letters and Cards
Dec. 09 Priority Mail
No longer available Parcel Airlift Mail
No longer available Space Available Mail
Nov. 4 USPS Ground Advantage

Military Mail Addressed To and From–APO/FPO/DPO AP ZIPs 962-966
Dec. 16 Priority Mail Express Military Service
Dec. 09 First-Class Letters and Cards
Dec. 09 Priority Mail
No longer available Parcel Airlift Mail
No longer available Space Available Mail
Nov. 4 USPS Ground Advantage

DOMESTIC SHIPPING DATES

2024 Holiday Shipping Deadlines–The Postal Service recommends the following mailing and shipping deadlines for expected delivery before Dec. 25 to Air/Army Post Office/Fleet Post Office/Diplomatic Post Office and domestic addresses*:

Nov. 4 — APO/FPO/DPO/AE ZIPS (090-092, 093, 094-099,340,962-966) USPS Retail Ground® service
Dec. 9 — APO/FPO/DPO/AE ZIPS (090-092, 093, 094-099,340,962-966) First-Class Mail Service & Priority Mail Service
Dec. 16 — APO/FPO/DPO/AE ZIPS (090-092, 094-099,340,962-966) Priority Mail Express Military Service

Space Available Mail no longer available

*Not a guarantee, unless otherwise noted. Dates are for estimated delivery before December 25. Actual delivery date may vary depending on origin, destination, Post Office™ acceptance date and time and other conditions. Some restrictions apply. For Priority Mail Express® shipments mailed December 22 through December 25, the money-back guarantee applies only if the shipment was not delivered, or delivery was not attempted, within two (2) business days.

A zone pricing calculator can be found online. A complete list of business products and prices is also available online.

The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

Busiest Mailing and Delivery Days
Thanks to more people shopping earlier and shopping online, the Postal Service’s “busiest day” notion is now a thing of the past. Instead, the Postal Service now has a busiest time, and it starts two weeks before Christmas. Beginning the week of Dec. 9, customer traffic is expected to increase, with the week of Dec. 16 – 22 predicted to be the busiest mailing, shipping and delivery week.

Skip the Trip and Ship Online
Consumers don’t even have to leave home to ship their packages, simply visit usps.com. The Postal Service anticipates Dec. 16 will be the Postal Service’s busiest day online with more than 8.5 million consumers predicted to visit usps.com for help shipping that special holiday gift. And usps.com is always open.

It’s estimated nearly 400,000 consumers will use the Click-N-Ship® feature and other online services on Dec. 16 to order free Priority Mail boxes, print shipping labels, purchase postage and even request free next-day Package Pickup.

Since Priority Mail supplies are the packaging of choice for families preparing care packages for service members overseas, the Postal Service created a “military care-kit” based on the items most frequently requested by military families. The kit is free year-round, and each box is emblazoned with “America Supports You,” which is sure to comfort those who are away from home.

The kit contains:

• Two Priority Mail APO/FPO/DPO Flat Rate Boxes.
• Four Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate Boxes.
• Priority Mail tape.
• Priority Mail address labels.
• Appropriate customs forms.

To order the kit, call 800-610-8734 or visit the USPS website here.  To order Flat-Rate Boxes featuring the “America Supports You” logo, go to usps.com/freeboxes.

Addressing the Package

Write the service member’s full name
Include the unit and APO/FPO/DPO address with the 9-digit ZIP Code (if one is assigned). For example:

Army/Air Post Office (APO)
PFC JOHN DOE
PSC 3 BOX 4120
APO AE 09021

Fleet Post Office (FPO)
SEAMAN JOSEPH SMITH
UNIT 100100 BOX 4120
FPO AP 96691

Diplomatic Post Office (DPO)
JOHN ADAMS
UNIT 8400 BOX 0000
DPO AE 09498-0048

• Do not write the country name where the service member is stationed in the address
• Include a return address
• Inside the box, include the service member’s name and address as well as the sender’s name and address on an index card in case the shipping label gets damaged in transit

Visit USPS Holiday Shipping Deadlines To Learn More

Looking for holiday gift ideas?  Check out our ONLINE MILITARY DISCOUNT section loaded with great ideas and military savings.