American Express vs. Discover: Which is better (at home and abroad)?

When you look at American Express vs. Discover, you can find a lot of similarities. Both companies are credit card networks and credit card issuers. So they not only determine where cards can be used, but they also handle credit card offers, applications and accounts. This sets them apart from the two other major card networks, Mastercard and Visa, which don’t issue cards. But Discover and American Express also have lower acceptance rates than the other networks, although Discover holds the edge over Amex in that regard. Discover is accepted at 10.4 million U.S. merchant locations and in 190+ countries. American Express lags behind at 8.5 million and 160+, respectively. Some Amex cards also charge up to 3% in foreign transaction fees, while Discover has eliminated such fees altogether. 

Those aren’t the only differences that distinguish these two dual-threat credit card companies, either. You can check out the scoreboard below.

American Express vs. Discover by Category

One other big difference between American Express and Discover is that American Express offers some charge cards but Discover does not. Charge cards are credit cards that require you to pay your bill in full each month to continue making purchases. 

But whether you get an Amex or Discover card really depends on what you’re looking for as far as rewards, rates and fees are concerned. Below, you can see how some of the most popular options from each compare.

American Express vs. Discover Credit Cards:

Discover wins out in a lot of areas, but not in terms of secondary benefits. American Express offers perks like purchase protection, while Discover recently discontinued all of theirs. 

American Express, though more richly valued than Discover, is probably the better credit card company. Amex cards usually provide better benefits and have a better reputation imo.

Abroad they're pretty much the same (not good). Domestically, Amex has much better benefits, Discover started shutting most of them down for some reason.