Ok, so are there any differences between VISA and Mastercard? I know Discover & AMEX are accepted by fewer businesses, but both also offer perks like cash back. How about VISA vs. Mastercard?
While you might not see the difference here in US, overseas Visa has much better market penetration than Mastercard. In fact, Amex is a stronger rival to Visa than Mastercard, although that's slowly changing now. Also, I believe the travel accident insurance coverage is only $250K on one and $500K on the other; I forget which is which, though.
I have yet to see a VISA only store..or a M/C only store... AND I ONLY USE CREDIT CARDS!!! AMEX and DISCOVERCARD are not accepted everywhere....BUT IF VISA IS ACCEPTED SO IS M/C...
The only difference I have ever seen is that for some unknown reason, some porn sites don't take Mastercard but do take Visa Go figure
Re: Re: Is Visa better than Mastercard? I don't have any preference, but I've got a Visa and a Discover. I'd really like to add a few MC's and AMEX's to my wallet!
Re: Re: Re: Re: Is Visa better than Mastercard? I'm not quite to the point where I can be so picky. Right now I'm thrilled to have what I have. Especially my 8.9% Visa!
Re: Re: Re: Re: Is Visa better than Mastercard? And... My Discover is the Titanium, so I don't get cashback! I'm going to see if they'll convert it to Platinum or Gold...
Re: Re: Re: Is Visa better than Mastercard? I know the feeling. I'd really like to add Amex Blue or similar to my stash, but I've got some 90 day lates I need to get cleared. Until then, I'll be waiting on pre-approved offers.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Is Visa better than Mastercard? "IF" you do MOST of your shopping at SAMS/WAL*MART...don't bother... 0.0025% MAX!!! EVEN IF YOU SPEND $20,000 AT SAMS/WAL*MART------>0.0025% YOU NEVER GET THE 1.00%!!! ...BUT you do get the $20,000 credit so you DO GET 1.00% FOR ALL OTHER CHARGES...
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Is Visa better than Mastercard? DON'T BOTHER TO ASK FOR A TRADE...THEY DON'T DO THAT... UYGF (UNLESS IT IS JUST ME) I TRIED TO "DOWN-GRADE" TO TITANIUM..."SORRY IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY--I CAN TAKE YOUR APPLICATION--OR YOU CAN DO IT ON-LINE"
I would guess that a lot of porn sites are offshore for various legal reasons, which would explain their accepting Visa but not MC.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Is Visa better than Mastercard? Well, they offered the upgrade to Titanium from Classic. I'm sure they probably pulled a hard, but I didn't keep track of my credit history then.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Is Visa better than Mastercard? Would going from Titanium to Platinum be an upgrade or an equal trade?
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Is Visa better than Mastercard? WHO KNOWS... When I asked to TRADE PLATINUM FOR TITANIUM...I CALLED IT A "DOWN GRADE" Because you LOSE the CASH BACK...so I "THINK" you probably would be "UP-GRADING" to PLATINUM
Re: Re: Is Visa better than Mastercard? I agree with George....go with the perks that come with the card product (especially with gold & platinum), not just the brand name (visa/mastercard) Technically, Visa & MasterCard are separate card payment networks....Visa is divided in Visa USA and Visa International, while MasterCard is consolidated. In terms of their credit card products, acceptance by merchants globally is about the same due to the merchant acquirer rules (duality) -- ALTHOUGH, in the realm of travellers cheques (who still uses them?), Visa does have an advantage on MasterCard in terms of acceptance in EUROPE. Amex is still stronger than Visa in that arena. In the Debit Card arena (PIN based transactions) - MasterCard's Maestro product is accepted in more places than Visa's Interlink. All in all, the real differences between the two are transparent to the consumer. But when I travel, I always carry a MasterCard, and a Citibank ATM card....Citi has the best proprietary ATM network in the world.
