topic Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card in Credit Cards

Carrying a BACKUP network card

OmarR — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 00:10:13 GMT

I currently carry 3 VISA's, 1 AMEX, and 1 MC.

The mastercard (DoubleCash 2%) is just my backup card to my USAA Limitless VISA. But I have NEVER had to rely on it. FTR, it only gets a recurring $19.99 bill charged to it and PIF.

Have any of you guys, in the 50 states, EVER had to go-to-your-backup-card because it was an alternate network? I do ZERO traveling outside of the country

I am torn between cancelling it or sock-drawering it. But I like the idea of having at least ONE mastercard in my wallet.

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 00:17:22 GMT

@OmarRwrote:
I currently carry 3 VISA's, 1 AMEX, and 1 MC.

The mastercard (DoubleCash 2%) is just my backup card to my USAA Limitless VISA. But I have NEVER had to rely on it. FTR, it only gets a recurring $19.99 bill charged to it and PIF.

Have any of you guys, in the 50 states, EVER had to go-to-your-backup-card because it was an alternate network? I do ZERO traveling outside of the country

I am torn between cancelling it or sock-drawering it. But I like the idea of having at least ONE mastercard in my wallet.

The need for a backup is going to greater if Amex or Discover is the primary card. As you say, very few places in the US accept one and not the other. The few big exceptions, like Costco, are well-known enough to plan for. So generally, no reason to carry around a V and a MC for NETWORK diversity. There is a much stronger argument for carrying cards from two different issuers though.

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

DeeBee78 — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 00:32:24 GMT

@OmarRwrote:
I currently carry 3 VISA's, 1 AMEX, and 1 MC.

The mastercard (DoubleCash 2%) is just my backup card to my USAA Limitless VISA. But I have NEVER had to rely on it. FTR, it only gets a recurring $19.99 bill charged to it and PIF.

Have any of you guys, in the 50 states, EVER had to go-to-your-backup-card because it was an alternate network? I do ZERO traveling outside of the country

I am torn between cancelling it or sock-drawering it. But I like the idea of having at least ONE mastercard in my wallet.

Most merchant services accounts bundle Visa and MasterCard together, so it's pretty much impossible (and not worth the money) to accept one and not the other. I have yet to run into a merchant in the US (outside of the ones that have exclusive agreements, like Costco) that only takes one of the two.

I carry my Amex PRG for some occasional spending, like the $3,500 down payment on my new car, and a Visa card for most daily spend. I only have two MasterCards and neither of them have compelling limits or rewards that are maximized by being in my wallet. My Freedom Unlimited covers me for 1.5% cashback, so I don't carry my Quicksilver - It's better off being used for its frequent balance transfer offers. The BetterBalanceRewards card earns its best reward by being a Netflix recurring charge card, so it stays in the desk at home. I don't feel a need to carry either one as backup with Amex and Visa in my wallet.

Currently I am using my Freedom Unlimited for daily non-category spend. I also keep my new Citi Costco Anywhere Visa in my wallet, because it's a pretty unbeatable gas and restaurant card, and took the place of my Costco Membership card.

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

SouthJamaica — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 00:29:31 GMT

@OmarRwrote:
I currently carry 3 VISA's, 1 AMEX, and 1 MC.

The mastercard (DoubleCash 2%) is just my backup card to my USAA Limitless VISA. But I have NEVER had to rely on it. FTR, it only gets a recurring $19.99 bill charged to it and PIF.

Have any of you guys, in the 50 states, EVER had to go-to-your-backup-card because it was an alternate network? I do ZERO traveling outside of the country

I am torn between cancelling it or sock-drawering it. But I like the idea of having at least ONE mastercard in my wallet.

I've had a couple of instances where Visa was permissible but Mastercard wasn't; never the other way around.

Nevertheless, since it's got no annual fee, and gives 2% cash back, I would hold on to it and use it, rather than dump it.

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

kdm31091 — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 01:07:34 GMT

I think 99% of the time in the US, Visa and MC are interchangeable. The few exceptions are pretty obvious i.e. Costco. So I would not worry about having a MC just to have a MC. I have never seen a place where MC was taken but Visa was not.

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

UpperNwGuy — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 01:09:53 GMT

I have been using Visa and MasterCard for over 40 years, and I never once had a situation where a merchant would accept one but not the other. I currently have seven Visa cards and no MasterCards. Not having a MasterCard has not been a problem for me either here in the US or in Europe. It simply isn't necessary to have at least one card in each network (despite what some people here believe).

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

RicHowe — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 01:13:23 GMT

Sock drawer that schneeshee.

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

Kforce — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 01:34:42 GMT

@OmarRwrote:
Have any of you guys, in the 50 states, EVER had to go-to-your-backup-card because it was an alternate network?

Yes, Just today my "MC" was not accepted at a location that I wished to make a purchase. They were "Visa" friendly. Costco and a large "Feed Store" that I frequent will only take "Visa" not "MC". There are quite a few places near me that do not take "AE". Do not have a "Discover", so no data points on that front. With both a "Visa" and "MC", I have never had to pull out cash.

I would keep it, just in case.

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

SomewhereIn505 — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 02:12:38 GMT

Both of my MC are SO. Waiting till end of next month to combine the 2 accounts. They’re my highest APR (rebuilder cards).

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

OmarR — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 02:44:11 GMT

Thanks for the replies, guys!

I guess what I ALSO meant to ask was:

Has anyone ever been to a vendor where they said "Sorry, VISA has been down for the last hour. You got another type of card?"

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 03:37:47 GMT

I realize this isn’t exactly the question, but I had to support AMEX and Discover. I think it depends on where you live. If you live in a major city it is unlikely that you will have problems with any of the 4 major networks. I have yet to need specifically a MC or Visa ( Costco not included).

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

HeavenOhio — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 03:45:54 GMT

@OmarRwrote:
Has anyone ever been to a vendor where they said "Sorry, VISA has been down for the last hour. You got another type of card?"

I recall a post of that nature a few weeks ago. It's certainly something unusual, though.

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

iced — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 16:04:59 GMT

@OmarRwrote:
I currently carry 3 VISA's, 1 AMEX, and 1 MC.

The mastercard (DoubleCash 2%) is just my backup card to my USAA Limitless VISA. But I have NEVER had to rely on it. FTR, it only gets a recurring $19.99 bill charged to it and PIF.

Have any of you guys, in the 50 states, EVER had to go-to-your-backup-card because it was an alternate network? I do ZERO traveling outside of the country

I am torn between cancelling it or sock-drawering it. But I like the idea of having at least ONE mastercard in my wallet.

With Visa in the US, never. Back when I bothered with American Express, well...that wasn't accepted at least once a month. The only place I have gone where a Visa wasn't accepted but a MC was is in Canada, but it sounds like you wouldn't run into that.

If the concern is hauling it around in your wallet, the long-term answer is mobile pay apps. Even today, I can do at least half of my purchases this way and it means I don't even have to take my wallet with me on those trips. You can have all of your cards loaded in and switch between them as needed or desired.

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

Peteyglad — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 16:14:57 GMT

The only instance I can remember in recent years was paying my college tuition. The only card they accepted was a MC. No Visa, Discover or AMEX.

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 19:06:13 GMT

I'd product change the Double Cash to a Dividend and call it good.

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

OmarR — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 19:57:26 GMT

iced wrote:

With Visa in the US, never. Back when I bothered with American Express, well...that wasn't accepted at least once a month. The only place I have gone where a Visa wasn't accepted but a MC was is in Canada, but it sounds like you wouldn't run into that.

If the concern is hauling it around in your wallet, the long-term answer is mobile pay apps. Even today, I can do at least half of my purchases this way and it means I don't even have to take my wallet with me on those trips. You can have all of your cards loaded in and switch between them as needed or desired.

Thank you for the "Canada" viewpoint. I am in Indiana, and if the DW had her way, I could *possibly* be dragged up there in the future. That gave me something to think about. Even though I chose an UBER Visa primarily for it's 4% on dining, I also chose it secondly for it's chip-and-pin capability. Even though I don't travel.

As for mobile pay, I have considered that for the future. As for now, I *rock* an older android phone that only runs JB 4.1.2, much to DW's chagrin. Most of the apps won't install on such an old phone, but the benefit is that I just purchase backup phones on ebay for $20 and never worry about losing/destroying a phone with backup images on my computer.

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

Np1791 — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 22:03:11 GMT

I believe your backup card should be a VISA and your main card should be a Discover or American Express. Otherwise if your main card is a VISA then there is no need for a backup card as pretty much 99% of merchants take Visa including Costco now.

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

OmarR — Thu, 22 Feb 2018 00:47:56 GMT

@Np1791wrote:
I believe your backup card should be a VISA and your main card should be a Discover or American Express. Otherwise if your main card is a VISA then there is no need for a backup card as pretty much 99% of merchants take Visa including Costco now.

My main cards are for maximizing NON-rotating category cashback rewards based on my spending habits. And they just happened to be mostly VISA's.

I agree with you that it seems to be that 99% of vendors take VISA. So everyone that has pointed out who "falls in the 1%" and any possible "network failure" stories help me & others plan ahead.

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

dlister70 — Thu, 22 Feb 2018 01:29:17 GMT

I work in big box retail and whenever the credit card network is down, it's all of them. I've never seen a situation where Visa worked but MC didn't. I'm sure it must happen if the main server at Visa crashed or something, but it's not a situation I've seen happen. I suppose that they probably have a lot of redundancies in place to make sure that it keeps working! However, the store likely has less redundancies in place, and It's always been a problem with our network when we weren't able to accept any cards at all.

So I guess that you probably have to worry about the store's network going down and accepting NO cards more than a particular branded network going down!

Re: Carrying a BACKUP network card

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Feb 2018 04:48:28 GMT

I carry my debit card, and one of each MC/Visa/Disco/Amex. And then my BP gas card. So I carry a total of six cards on me.

I figure if they take plastic, one of the first five must work. The gas card is just a utility tool for when I need a donut or a some gas, its good cashback if you actually shop at that convenience store.