What are four types of credit cards?

Four major types of credit cards are Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. These are the major credit card networks, which most credit cards belong to, and they dictate where cards can be used as well as what secondary benefits cards offer. Fundamentally, the credit cards on these networks work the same way, however.

4 Types of Credit Cards

1. Visa credit cards
2. Mastercard credit cards
3. American Express credit cards
4. Discover credit cards

Overall, Visa and Mastercard credit cards have the greatest worldwide acceptance, but American Express and Discover cards still have very broad coverage. When it comes to benefits, different networks provide different perks like rental car insurance, travel insurance and purchase protection. But which network benefits a card has is often left up to the issuing bank or credit union.

There are other nuances to these four types of credit cards, too. For example, American Express and Discover are the only two networks that issue their own credit cards. All cards on the Visa and Mastercard networks are issued by separate banks and credit unions.

Other Types of Credit Cards

Aside from the four types of credit cards split up by network, there are a lot of other categories that could be considered “types” of credit cards. For example, there are secured cards that require a deposit and unsecured cards that don’t. Similarly, some cards offer rewards, some are partnered with specific merchants, some have special financing deals, and some are only available to students or businesses.

You can learn more about the different types of credit cards on WalletHub.