Visa vs. MasterCard

[Anonymous]

Thanks to reading this forum, I've picked up on some basic rules for having a well-balanced credit card "portfolio":

1)Have at least one store/gas charge card

2)Have at least one card issued by a major national bank

3)Do not have all your cards issued by the same bank

4)If you have an AmericanExpress Card, always carry at least one back-up

Is there any danger (practical or fico) to having only Visa credit cards?  Aside from Costco and Sam's Club, I don't think I've been anywhere that accepted credit cards but did not accept Visa.  Is there any reason to diversify by getting a MasterCard?

[GST2008]

Nope.  It's a personal preference thing at this point.  All that is going to show up on your CR is the name of the lending institution.  All CCs from HSBC just come up HSBC on your CR regardless of if it is their MC, Visa, Amex, or Discover.  I think I only have one MC.  I prefer the Visa logo to the MC logo lol, no logical reason behind it.

[Anonymous]

As GST2008 said, which network a card uses (Visa, MC, Amex, Discover) does not even appear on your CR, so it's not something that will affect your FICO score.

From a practical standpoint, the vast majority of merchants who accept Visa will also accept MC, and vice versa.  However, there are very, very rare exceptions, usually having to do with sponsorship.  There are a couple of major sporting events, for example, that are sponsored by Visa, so only Visa is accepted (no MC), but again, that situation is very rare.

Message Edited by cheddar on 11-09-2008 07:37 AM

[Anonymous]

I would add that MasterCard is more popular than Visa in Europe. I always take MC (in addition to Visa and Amex) with me there as I've been to places in Europe that will only take MC.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice!  If I ever get to travel outside the US, I'll try to get a MasterCard before hand, but for now I'm not going to worry about it. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I would add that MasterCard is more popular than Visa in Europe. I always take MC (in addition to Visa and Amex) with me there as I've been to places in Europe that will only take MC.

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Ditto

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks to reading this forum, I've picked up on some basic rules for having a well-balanced credit card "portfolio":

1)Have at least one store/gas charge card

2)Have at least one card issued by a major national bank

3)Do not have all your cards issued by the same bank

4)If you have an AmericanExpress Card, always carry at least one back-up

Is there any danger (practical or fico) to having only Visa credit cards?  Aside from Costco and Sam's Club, I don't think I've been anywhere that accepted credit cards but did not accept Visa.  Is there any reason to diversify by getting a MasterCard?

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It depends on the issuer and your preference.  Some of the benefits offered by MasterCard are better than the one offered by Visa...

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

It depends on the issuer and your preference.  Some of the benefits offered by MasterCard are better than the one offered by Visa...

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Are you thinking of any specific cards, or just suggesting I choose cards by benefits rather than network?

I'd kinda like to have both, but the cards I have right now are visas (CU and Chase Plat), and the card I would eventually like to get is a visa (Chase Freedom Plus).  I'm not completely committed to this card, so I would love suggestions for MasterCards to look at.

[Anonymous]

Citi Driver's Edge Options Platinum Select Mastercard...  or you can always apply for the Ameriprise World Elite Mastercard.

Message Edited by FaircreditguyFL on 11-09-2008 06:04 PM

[Anonymous]

I'm gonna think about the Citi card, I hadn't looked at it in that much detail before.  I don't drive that much, and buy my groceries at Target.  But with the Drive Rebates, summer vacation might make the card worth it.  And it does have Purchase Assurance coverage, which I would like have. 

A World Elite Mastercard definitely in my long range plans.  Hopefully there'll be more of them to choose from by the time I can justify the annual fee.