Visa and Mastercard are household names that are synonymous with credit cards, but did you know that these companies do not offer or issue credit cards? They are payment networks that partner with banks like Chase, Citibank and Capital One and process credit card payments made by customers of the bank. They are simply responsible for processing the payment between you and the businesses you shop at.
Together with the issuing bank, Visa and Mastercard offer a variety of benefits that are similar, like zero liability protection and cellphone protection. Visa and Mastercard both have three tiers of credit card benefits, with more exclusive perks and, usually, annual fees for the top tiers.
Choosing a card from one network over the other won’t make a substantial difference. The majority of the credit card features are managed and decided on by the issuing bank. However, certain perks can be unique to one or the other, and this guide will go over the most noteworthy benefits.
If you feel strongly about one of these benefits, you can call your issuer and see if they can switch your network. While not always possible, this method has been known to work and is worth trying.
On entry level cards, there is very little difference between Visa and Mastercard, as both provide a similar suite of basic features. However, Mastercard includes impressive special luxury offers on its World and World Elite level cards, which can be attractive for big spenders.
The tables below give a quick overview of the most important benefits on each card network, specifically for the following features:
| Visa | Mastercard | |
|---|---|---|
| Roadside dispatch | ||
| Lost or stolen card reporting | ||
| Travel and emergency assistance services | ||
| Emergency card replacement | ||
| Emergency cash advance |
| Visa | Mastercard |
|---|---|
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| Visa | Mastercard |
|---|---|
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Credit cards on the Mastercard network break down into three tiers, with each one containing all of the benefits and perks of the tier below it. In ascending order of exclusivity, these include:
Here are some of the common benefits:
All Mastercard levels offer some amount of purchase protection and insurance with their cards. World and World Elite Mastercard, however, offer the most. These services include:
There are a number of other protections and insurance options included with Mastercard as well; view the full list here.
World Elite Mastercards also come with concierge services that can schedule restaurant reservations or event tickets, or help with purchasing hard-to-find items. This is similar to the concierge benefit of The Platinum Card® from American Express, except this one doesn’t come with a $695 annual fee. For World Mastercard users without access to World Elite Concierge services, you’ll still be able to use the Mastercard Airport Concierge and the special Golf Concierge service through Priceless Golf.
Mastercard World and World Elite members will have access to amenities and upgrades at 3,000-plus properties worldwide. Though these amenities will vary depending on the property, you could get things like complimentary daily breakfast, amenity credits up to $100 and other valuable perks.
World and World Elite card members have access to a number of luxury event deals. You’ll get special access to PGA Tour golf outings, access to Priceless Experiences (including film festivals and cooking lessons with private chefs) and more. For more information about ongoing World Elite promotions, check out the website.
On the whole, Visa offers significantly more benefits overall than Mastercard, though the overarching categories are the same. Visa also operates with a three-tier structure, ranging from standard Visa Traditional to Visa Signature to Visa Infinite. While the Visa Traditional provides a few more benefits than the standard Mastercard, the base level Visa network doesn’t offer anything extravagant.
Visa Signature and Infinite cards are where most of the network’s benefits come into play. The best among these benefits include:
Visa offers tons of purchase protections and insurance options, even in its most basic tier. Features of Visa Signature and Visa Infinite cards include:
For the full list, check out its website.
Visa Signature cardmembers can get special guest status at over 900 participating global hotels in the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection. Through this program, you’ll have access to seven premium benefits. They are:
Visa Signature and Visa Infinite card members have access to numerous travel benefits, such as Global Entry statement credits, Priority Pass lounge access, special Visa Signature offers and rental car privileges. Frequent travelers will want to take advantage of these excellent perks, discounts and special offers.
Visa also provides its members with a suite of important emergency services. These include:
If you find yourself in a bind, your Visa card may be able to help.
While both Visa and Mastercard are accepted virtually everywhere around the world, Visa cards offer slightly more benefits than Mastercard cards.
| Basic level Visa cardholders get: | Basic level Mastercard cardholders get: |
|---|---|
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There are certain benefits both Visa and Mastercard provide. Some of these exist due to federal regulations, while others have become industry standards that issuers expect the networks provide for their cardholders.
Both Visa and Mastercard provide protection against unauthorized charges. If your credit card is used to make unauthorized or fraudulent purchases, you can report it to your issuer and have the transactions reversed. In such a scenario, Visa or Mastercard will be the ones to cover the cost.
Visa offers travel and emergency assistance services for Visa Infinite cardholders, which will provide help in an emergency from anywhere in the world. Mastercard provides Global Emergency Services for every card level available anytime, anywhere and in any language: This can help you replace a lost or stolen card, get you a cash advance and more.
Both Visa and Mastercard offer some type of cellphone protection to give their cardholders peace of mind. Visa Signature members can get cellphone protection each month they pay their wireless bill with their Visa card.
World Mastercard also offers cellphone protection with $1,000 in yearly coverage ($600 max per claim, two claims per year) — should your cellphone get stolen or need certain repairs — when you pay your phone bill with your World Mastercard.
Both Visa and Mastercard have different levels of card membership that offer different perks and benefits. Here is how these levels compare:
One step up from each network’s “standard” level, Visa Signature and Mastercard World have a lot to offer. While both of these offer benefits for purchase protection and insurance, travel benefits and emergency services, Visa Signature offers significantly more of them to its cardholders.
Visa Signature members have access to features like roadside dispatch, extended warranties, a Global Entry statement credit and more. Mastercard still has some additional offerings, but not nearly as many.
The highest levels of Visa and Mastercard are similar to the level below, encompassing all the previous level’s benefits and building on them. For example, with Mastercard World Elite, cardmembers get access to the World Elite Concierge, Priceless Cities, and enhanced offers and experiences.
Visa Infinite has all the same benefits as Visa Signature, though Infinite benefits are slightly enhanced. For example, both offer trip delay reimbursement — but while Visa Signature offers members $300 after a 12-hour or longer delay, and Visa Infinite offers members $500 after a six or more-hour delay.
| Visa | Mastercard | |
|---|---|---|
| Acceptance worldwide | Accepted in 200+ countries | Accepted in 210 countries |
| Marketshare in the USA | 61% | 25.5% |
| Tiers |
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| Popular credit cards | Best Visa credit cards | Best Mastercard credit cards |
Both Visa and Mastercard credit cards are generally accepted by the same merchants, anywhere you go. Therefore, any real choice between the two networks should only come down to which of their benefits you prefer.
American Express is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards in the U.S. However, you may occasionally encounter a merchant that accepts Visa, Discover and Mastercard but not American Express. That’s because American Express charges a slightly higher transaction fee to merchants than the other networks, so some merchants don’t take Amex as a result.
American Express offers competitive benefits to Visa and Mastercards, including numerous travel perks, purchase protections and insurance, emergency services and more.
While 99% of places in the U.S. that take credit cards accept Discover, its international acceptance is much more limited (that said, its international presence is growing). Discover has the third-highest acceptance rate in the U.S. behind Visa and Mastercard, so it’s not a bad choice if you plan to mainly use your card domestically.
However, Discover has far fewer benefits across its cards than Visa, Mastercard and American Express, so whether or not you choose a Discover card will likely depend on the specific credit card you pick.
| American Express | Discover | |
|---|---|---|
| Acceptance worldwide | Accepted in 140+ countries | Accepted internationally |
| Marketshare in the USA | 11.3% | 2.2% |
| Popular credit cards | Best American Express cards | Best Discover cards |
Deciding whether Visa or Mastercard is better depends on which network’s benefits you prefer, as they have about equal global acceptance. On the whole, Visa offers its cardmembers more benefits than Mastercard.
Mastercard is a publicly traded company as of 2006.
Visa and Mastercard have equal global acceptance.
Both Visa and Mastercard are publicly traded companies.
Visa is a publicly traded company as of 2008.
There are four major card networks in the U.S.: Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express.
Yes, Visa is an American company that has expanded internationally.
To see rates & fees for American Express cards mentioned on this page, visit the links provided below:
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