The best credit card network is a tie between Visa and Mastercard, when judged based on network size and merchant acceptance, both domestically and worldwide. Secondary benefits are another point of judgment, in which Visa and Amex win. But when judged on foreign transaction fees, Discover wins. So, which card network is best depends on which of these qualities benefits you most.… read full answer
Acceptance
Mastercard has a slight acceptance advantage internationally. It’s accepted in 210+ countries and territories compared to Visa’s 200+ countries and territories. But people spend more money on Visa credit cards than cards from other networks, and there are more Visa cards in the world than the others, by far. Discover and American Express, on the other hand, are less accepted worldwide and have less market share overall than Mastercard or Visa.
Foreign Transaction Fees
When it comes to foreign transaction fees, both networks and card issuers matter because these fees happen in two stages. First, the card network may charge a fee for transactions made in a foreign country, whether you make the purchase physically abroad or from a foreign merchant online. After that, the credit card issuer – Chase, Capital One, and the like – can decide to charge a fee on top of that, or to absorb the network’s fee so their customers don’t have to worry about it. The fee (or lack of it) will depend on which credit card you have.
Discover, as both a card issuer and a card network, did away with foreign transaction fees on all of its cards. Some American Express cards have foreign fees; some don’t. Visa and Mastercard both charge a 1% fee for all foreign transactions, but they don’t always make it to the cardholder’s billing statement – Capital One, for example, absorbs any card network’s foreign fee on all its cards. So you can still get Visa and Mastercard credit cards without foreign fees.
Secondary Benefits
Secondary card benefits are another collaboration between card networks and card issuers. Secondary benefits – such as rental car insurance, price protection, and travel insurance, for example – are determined by the card network. But the card issuer (Chase, Citi, etc.) can decide which credit cards get those benefits and which don’t. Visa and Amex offer very similar secondary benefits, such as price protection, extended warranty, rental car insurance, and travel insurance. Mastercard’s benefits are similar, but substantial travel insurance nor rental car insurance is included. Discover stripped many travel and consumer benefits from its cards, leaving only security-focused benefits.
Fraud Protection
All four credit card networks have a $0 fraud liability policy in place for unauthorized transactions. But it depends on what kind of fraud is committed. Consumers aren’t liable for ATM transaction fraud with Discover and Amex cards. Comparatively, Mastercard defaults to Federal law with ATM transaction fraud, while Visa shifts the liability to the card issuer. All four networks treat all other types of fraudulent transactions the same: you aren’t liable for any amount.
Overall, Mastercard and Visa are more widely-accepted across the globe. But if a 0% chance of foreign transaction fees is what you’re after, it may be worth it to go with a Discover card. Visa and American Express are the winners for secondary benefits, though.
All four networks have their high points. Which is best, however, depends on which of these perks serves you best.
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