American Express vs. Visa Whats the difference?

Long story short, if you compare American Express vs. Visa, Visa definitely comes out on top in most areas. Over 2 million more merchants in the US accept Visa than Amex, as do 40-ish countries/territories. But Amex has a lot more to handle in terms of taking applications, sending cards out, and determining rates and rewards. Because it, unlike Visa, is a card issuer as well as a network.

I think the main difference is in the number of U.S. merchants that accept them. AmEx cards are accepted at about 30% less merchants than Visa.

The difference is that Amex also issues credit cards, Visa does not. With that said, you can use a Visa card almost anywhere, whereas Amex isn't accepted in as many places.