Mastercard or Visa?

[ArchEagleJ]

After spending a couple years rebuilding my credit I now have about 5 cards in my wallet and all of them are Mastercard.  Should I work on trying to get a Visa? Does it really matter very much?  Thanks for the help!

[alph4]

No. At least in the United States it doesn't. Large merchants with many stores I believe negotiate with each company individually for fees and rates, but usually take at least Visa/MC and the larger the merchant, the more likely they are to take AmEx and Discover.  Smaller mom-and-pops I think typically negotiate through companies that sell the rights to take credit cards (think those little boxes where it's separate from the cash register, they swipe your card, and then manually input the amount into the box, and it prints out a tiny receipt.)  These smaller stores generally only take Visa/MC, but they're both so common that both are almost always accepted.

But I'm not international traveler, so if your looking for advice outside of the US, don't mind me. 

[ArchEagleJ]

Nope no international travel for me.  I was just curious as to if it mattered as far as my credit rating at all, like if I needed to have a diverse group of cards.  dumb question probably but its something I just noticed the other day and was wondering about

[alph4]

If the difference is between a Chase mastercard and a Chase visa, there would be no difference in terms of credit reporting. However, I have heard that Fair Isaac does discriminate against sub-prime accounts (think Orchard, annual fee cards for bad credit scores.)

So there should be no difference in scores between Prime Mastercard and Prime Visa. But there might be a difference between Prime Mastercard and Subprime Visa, or vice versa. However, this is just something I remember hearing a while back. Anyone can feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. 

[CHARGE_IT]

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@ArchEagleJ wrote:
After spending a couple years rebuilding my credit I now have about 5 cards in my wallet and all of them are Mastercard.  Should I work on trying to get a Visa? Does it really matter very much?  Thanks for the help!

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If your question is in reference to your fico scoring; it does make a difference. Fico does specifically mention that the possession of one or more of major bank cards enhances your score. Listed; amex, visa, mc, disccover.

I personally interpret their wording to encourage having three of the four. When lenders look at your report, it instantly sends the signal that you are accepted by the big guys. From what I read here however, it is their absence that is most notable to your score.

CI

[Anonymous]

Just to offer a bit of clarification--

The issue of having at least one major bank card is not exclusively referring to the brand (Visa, MC, Discover, Amex). The bank or the lender classification as 'major' is what's being considered most-- then, to be a "bank card" it would have to have the Visa/MC/Discover/Amex logo. So, a Visa/Mastercard/Amex/Discover from East Podunk Community Bank won't carry quite the same scoring weight as a card from BoA/Citi/Chase/PNC/HSBC/WellsFargo/Amex/Discover/<insert myriad of other major banks>/etc...

If one of your cards is issued by a major bank, then you don't need to seek the Visa (or any other for that matter) brand for the purposes of scoring. Even if you don't have a card from a major bank... I still wouldn't worry about it unless you just happen to be in the market for new credit. It's also important to note that the weight for this is calculated in the very small 'mix of credit' part of your credit score (10%).This is such a small thing that I wouldn't give it a 2nd thought.

Message Edited by LilMirth on 02-04-2010 12:35 AM

[Itsmeagain]

Visa is the only card accepted at the Olympics . . . .

[Anonymous]

Technically VISA is accepted worldwide at more merchants than any other card.  Practically, especially in USA, there is no difference because most everyone here who accepts one, accepts the other.

IMO, rather than looking at logos (Visa vs MC) I would only worry about the costs (AF, APR, etc) and benefits of your cards/lenders.  Pick those that work the best for you.  And if you have an opportunity to get a Visa in your next app...why not.

IMO  IME