Credit Cards: Visa Vs MasterCard

The words Visa and Master Card are often used hand in hand with credit cards. But what they are really? Is there any difference between them? Lets’ find out.

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Visa and Master Card are payment networks that process the payments between banks, businesses, and individuals. In other words, they act a third party that doesn’t hold the funds but rather helps facilitate the transfer of these funds from one entity to another. In return, they charge a small fee.

Differences Between Visa and MasterCard

There isn’t much of a difference between Visa and MasterCard to speak of, as most of the significant differences can be identified in the credit cards offered by your bank or some other financial institutions. Examples include the rate of interest, rewards, discounts, and other offers. However, both Visa and MasterCard offer multiple tiers of benefits:

Visa

Visa provides two tiers of benefits, which are base level and Visa Signature. Most credit card providers that offer Visa base level benefits cover facilities such as extended purchase warranties, collision damage coverage, etc. On the other hand, Visa Signature provides all the base level benefits but also additional discounts and premium access to sporting events, entertainment, etc.

MasterCard

MasterCard provides three tiers of benefits, which are base, World level, and World level elite. The base credit card has similar benefits as Visa’s with an exception of the “price protection” benefit which is not available with Visa.

With MasterCard’s World level credit card, you can enjoy additional benefits such as more facilities provided at hotels. Similarly, World level elite offers ultra-premium benefits like access to World Elite Cruise and special vacation packages, etc.

Conclusion

It’s good to know what Visa and MasterCard are. However, as far as the comparison goes, it’s better to apply it on the credit cards themselves and consider factors such as interest rates, fees, rewards, etc.