Visa Vs MasterCard - Which Is The Best?
June 12th, 2009The two leading credit card companies in the world today are the competitors Visa and MasterCard. They both operate along very similar lines. While Visa can claim to have almost a billion cards issued, MasterCard has over twenty five thousand banks issuing its cards and it is difficult to find any difference in the number of locations worldwide that accept the cards, which is now estimated at over twenty million.
In fact, as far as most consumers are concerned, there is no real difference between the two. They are both very widely accepted in over one hundred and fifty countries and it is very rare to find a location that will accept one but not the other.
However, neither Visa nor MasterCard actually issue any credit cards themselves. They are both simply methods of payment. They rely on banks in various countries to issue credit cards that utilise these payment methods. Therefore, the interest rates, rewards, annual fees, and all other charges are issued by your bank and when you pay your bill you are paying it to the bank or institution that issued your card and not Visa or MasterCard.
How Visa and MasterCard make their money is by charging the retailer for using their payment method. So the truth of the matter is that a Visa issued by say the Bank of Scotland will have very little to do with a Visa issued by other banks and may in fact by more similar to the Bank of Scotland’s MasterCard.
What this means for the vast majority of customers is that you do not have to overly concern yourself with whether a credit card is MasterCard or Visa. You would be better off concentrating on the interest and other charges on the card, the balance transfer possibilities or their reward scheme. You are very unlikely to ever be effected by the fact that it is one and not the other.
If you prefer, if you are going to have two credit cards, you may decide that you want one of them to be Visa and the other MasterCard, this means that if something drastic were to happen to one company, or if you were in the unlikely position of finding a location that accepts one but not the other, then you would have the option of paying with either.
At the end of the day however, much more depends on the bank that gave you the card, than on the type of card it is.
Warren
Bank of America - Triprewards Mastercard Credit Card
June 10th, 2009Most of the credit cards today come packed with rewards aiming to entice the present customers and incite new applicants into opting for their services. The Bank of America - TripRewards MasterCard Credit Card provides some fabulous offers, which makes it simply irresistible.
Side by side minding your own benefits, the Bank of America - TripRewards MasterCard credit card gives you a great opportunity to help the needy and trodden. A percentage of the purchases you make with this card is donated to any one of the many charitable organizations – working towards societal development.
Reward Program
The merit of Bank of America - TripRewards MasterCard credit card is that it offers you some exclusive features absent in other cards. As the tag of MasterCard is attached to your card, you earn yourself an exciting rewards program, especially if you are a frequent traveler or if you often go for vacationing.
You must be interested to know about the host of rewards; so look below:
§ Through your card, get two points per dollar spent on eligible purchases
§ The reward program gives you an exclusive offer to earn 13 points per dollar spent on eligible hotel stays – ten points for your TripRewards membership and extra three points for using the card.
§ Above all, TripRewards MasterCard credit card offers you one of the world’s largest hotel rewards’ program within a chain of over 6000 hotels spread across U.S. and Canada. Some of them are - Howard Johnson®, Days Inn®, Knights Inn®, AmeriHost Inn®, Ramada®, Super 8®, Wingate Inn®, Travelodge® (only U.S.), and Wyndham Hotels and Resorts®. You can earn a free night at any one of these luxurious hotels.
§ You can choose anything - airline miles, travel in train, car rentals, airline tickets or resort vacation.
§ The card also cares for your entertainment factor, with rewards in movies, music or amusement parks.
§ You can even earn rewards in the form of gift certificates for shopping, dining and a variety of other services.
§ There is no limit or restriction when it comes to earning points and so you can earn as many points as possible. Keep in mind these points expire after 4 years.
Anne Geddes Rewards program
Out of huge sums you earn, you may prefer to contribute some for philanthropic activities. Here is a chance where your charity begins with your credit card. When you make eligible purchases with your card, you automatically get enrolled in the Anne Geddes Rewards program.
This program allows you to earn Anne Geddes merchandise or if you wish, you can donate your reward-points to the Geddes Philanthropic Trust. More details of the reward program are as follows:
§ With your first purchase, you get 2000 Anne Geddes Rewards points
§ On renewal of the card, you get 1000 points
§ Your redemption will begin from 800 points
Basic Features
The highlights of the vital features of TripRewards MasterCard credit card from Bank of America include:
§ 0% introduction Annual Percentage Rate (APR) for Balance Transfers and Cash Advance Checks throughout your first twelve billing cycles. This is subjected to 3% transaction fee – no less than $10.
§ The card charges no annual fee
§ Round the clock access to Online account related services
§ Offers complete fraud protection and credit protection
Julia
Can I get cash using my credit card(citi bank mastercard) from an atm machine in the states?
June 10th, 2009ok I got credit card from citibank in newyork. i’m us citizen.
I have never used a credit card. so please understand my trivial questions.
1. continuing from the above question, will my credit card work on any atm machines in the states? as long as the machine says mastercard?
2. Can I use any mastercard atm machine in south korea? will I be able to take out their cash currency which is Won? meaning, will I be able to take out cash using atm machine in korea?
3. If I buy clothes, or other goods in south korea, will they charge me in dollars? of course the price will be in Won, korean currency, but would they automatically convert it to dollars and charge me in dollars?
Please answer me in details! thanks! it’s so exciting to have a credit card!
Tara
The Continental Airlines Business MasterCard - How To Get Bonus Points For Business Spending
May 28th, 2009If traveling is an integral part of your business, then the combination of Continental Airlines and MasterCard’s small business card might be a perfect fit. Most small businesses find that in order to make moves critical to the growth and expansion of their business, they need to make some extra investment of capital. Office supplies need to be purchased on a regular basis, items need to be purchased over the Internet, employee training sessions need to be paid for, and business trips need to be funded. Applying for a small business credit card will assist you in all the financial needs of your business without costing the extra fees that banks may charge if you use a business account.
The Continental Airlines Business MasterCard has several advantages over other small business credit cards. The most obvious advantage is that MasterCard and Continental Airlines offer the special bonus miles when you purchase items using this card, a significant partnership between major companies. This can come in very handy if you or your employees fly a lot on business trips. You will begin to accrue your miles right away; the first purchase you make with your card will mean you automatically receive 15,000 bonus miles. After this initial welcome gift, you can expect to earn bonus miles on a regular basis. When you use your card to purchase tickets directly from continental, you will receive double the miles on the dollar. With the MasterCard partnership program you can also double your miles when you make purchases at over 10,000 restaurants across both the United States and Canada. The Continental Airlines Business MasterCard even offers users the opportunity to triple their miles through registering at their rewards site.
Most credit cards that combine with airline programs come with several restrictions and caveats attached, not to mention very high APR and no introductory period. With the Continental Airlines Business MasterCard, you are entitled to a six billing cycle introduction period for which the APR is only 7.99%. After the introductory period expires, APR goes up to 18.34%. There is also an annual fee attached to this card; users of this card are asked to pay $75 a year for its use. Fortunately, there is no limit on how many miles you can accrue, nor will your miles expire after a certain length of time.
Those small business owners who wish to consolidate their company spending can also apply for additional cards for their employees. Instead of using their own cards for office supplies and then applying for reimbursement, all of your expenses can be put onto one card to which you will have easy access through quarterly and annual reports as well as consolidated spending reports. Any miles your employees gain through the use of their additional cards will count towards your own total.
The Continental Airlines Business MasterCard offers even more advantages to those users who are also card members. Discounts are offered, and of course all of the benefits of being on the team, such as earning points through purchases made from Continental and Sky Team alliance partners. This business card offers all the protection you would expect from a leading small business card; users are protected against fraud, emergency services and card replacement services are continually available, and you can also use the card to purchase additional travel insurance.
Mathew
POLL: Would you expect Visa to be as good or better than MasterCard’s stock performance?
May 20th, 2009Please state your opinion on if you believe Visa can produce similar or better result than MasterCard’s stock performance since its IPO.
If you feel positive about Visa, what’s your primary reason?
Thanks!
Frank
How do I withdraw my paypal money to my Mastercard?
May 13th, 2009I have a paypal, and I’ve added a mastercard to it. I want to withdraw my funds from paypal, to my mastercard.
How do I do it?
Julio
How Can the Orchard Bank Silver Mastercard Help Those With Bad Credit?
May 8th, 2009Our quick reference article aims to put your mind at rest by explaining exactly how getting the Orchard Bank Silver MasterCard benefits you even when you have limitations on your credit line.
We understand how getting detailed reports is important to your stand as an informed and aware business credit card holder and Orchard Bank Silver MasterCard providers give ample proof of understanding your needs as paying customers by giving you quality customer care facilities even when you have a bad credit background.
This is apart from offering you closely competitive credit card company advantages to power up your business’s net worth with measurable methods outlined by various user-centric programs (reward points on swiping the card for merchandise, travel miles, etc.), which also serves as a yardstick for start-up enterprise owners to better monitor the baseline of their credit.
People with bad credit can bank on and with Orchard Bank Silver MasterCard: here’s how -
This segment is especially meant for those of you with poor/no credit history or those who have been late in payments, which translates into credit history being far from ideal. Don’t lose hope for Orchard Bank Silver MasterCard is just the thing you need to bail you out of temporary business expenses; all you need to do is focus on improving your score and learning as much as you can from credit card experts about getting the best deals that will help you do this. To improve your credit score, you should try and review all the competitive line-ups of small business credit cards aimed at people with a bad score, most of which cover both secured and unsecured offers, as Orchard Bank Silver MasterCard.
You also need to understand where you have been going wrong and what type of spending behavior has caused your bad credit to mount up so you can work to control your poor spending habits. However, the good part is that even though a bad credit history can limit the deals you get in a business credit card, with the convenience and leeway given by companies for online applicants, even with their harder terms and conditions, its still a steal of a deal – considering the great incentives they carry with them!
The best company for getting yourself an online business credit card if you go by our recommendations is undoubtedly, Orchard Bank and the plastic in question being the Silver MasterCard that you can get on at smaller retail stores too.
Making the most of getting your application for Orchard Bank Silver MasterCard accepted: tips on improving your score and smart spending!
• Once your credit card application is accepted, you can opt to make a small purchase and resolve to pay the minimum payment on time on a monthly basis; in fact, what’s a smarter option is to aim at paying a little over and above the minimum payment due so you can save more on interest charges.
• Aim at getting a secured credit card if other options do not work so all you need to do is approach your chosen savings institution or credit union as the agency that already has your business will be more likely to give you the credit card. Open and maintain a savings account to act as security for your line of credit, which will be a percentage of your deposit.
• Get a family member or close friend with good credit to co-sign for a credit card so that your possible bad credit gets countered with some good credit.
• Pay all your other bills on time and keep your additional credit card limit to a maximum of 3 cards, so that you can limit expenses to only emergencies purchases besides demarcating one for business use and the others for personal use so as not to get swamped with a big fat bill.
Use the above tips to rebuild your bad credit history with more responsible ones – Orchard Bank Silver MasterCard helps you big time in smart money management at low interest rates.
Cathy
Continental Finance Mastercard - Review of Bad Credit Card
May 7th, 2009The Continental Finance MasterCard is a sub prime unsecured credit card. This means it is a card that was created for individuals with a bad credit rating.
Your card will be issued with an initial credit limit of $300. However you will be able to received semi-annual credit limit increases, with a maximum limit of $2000.
Your card will report monthly to all three major credit bureaus. Thus providing you a way to re-establish and rebuild your credit score.
This will help your score because it will improve your ratio of debt to available credit. In addition you can create a positive payment history by paying your monthly bill.
These two factors have a tremendous impact on your credit score. It is still important to remove bad credit items from your credit reports.
This card is unsecured which means there is no initial deposit, however because of your low credit score they will charge you an annual fee. Unfortunately this is an unavoidable cost and you will have a fee with any credit card you open with a damaged credit score.
This card does offer a low 9.75% APR. This is way below the industry standard of 19% APR. Your card is accepted world wide at millions of locations.
They do offer easy approval and there are no minimum income requirements. You can still be approved for this card even with a recent bankruptcy on your credit history. They offer an online application decision within seconds of submitting an application.
The card is issued by The First Bank of Delaware. This bank has been a leader in sub prime lending for years.
You will also have online account access with your card. You will be responsible to keep your balance below your credit limit and to pay your monthly bill just like any card.
The alternative is a secured credit card. However with this card it will take you longer to rebuild your score because this card is reported to the bureaus as a secured line of credit.
You also can qualify for a shopping card. We do not suggest these cards because they often come with large fees and only report to one credit bureau.
In sum we do suggest the Continental Finance Card to anyone looking for a second chance with credit. You can use this card to re-establish your credit score and build positive credit because it will improve your ratio of debit to available credit and can create a positive payment history.
Louis
The Lowdown on the Citi AAdvantage World MasterCard
May 5th, 2009As one of the many AAdvantage cards by Citibank, the Citi Platinum Select®/AAdvantage World MasterCard caters to individuals with a good credit score and who frequently travel on American Airlines.
The Citi AAdvantage World MasterCard awards cardholders with one AAdvantage mile for every dollar spent on the card. Accumulated miles can then be redeemed for hotel stays, car rentals and free travel via American Airlines, American Eagle, American Connection and other participating carriers, with no blackout dates. There is a maximum cap of 100,000 miles that can be earned per card each year, which is well within reason. This limit does not apply for the other AAdvantage cards from Citibank. However, the miles will expire if there is no account activity for three years.
The difference between this AAdvantage card and others is not very apparent. Aside from the maximum cap, the Platinum Select card offers 15,000 Bonus Miles on the first purchase as well as no ‘pre-set spending limits’, which provides cardholders with room to go over their credit limit once in a blue moon. Also, as this is a Platinum Select card and not a full fledged Platinum card, this card with several benefits that are typical of a Platinum card such as $1,000,000 in travel accident insurance for airline tickets purchased with the card.
Also, the card’s APR is somewhat above average as compared to other cards of the same category. On the flip side, there is an $85 annual fee attached, thus making this card rather costly to own and use. To add to the cost, a minimum rate of 19.99% is imposed for cash advances, regardless of any drop in the Prime Rate with which the APR is dependent on.
To sum it up, individuals traveling frequently with American Airlines and partnering carriers will reap the full benefits from owning the Citi AAdvantage World MasterCard, as most of these benefits are specially tailored for this target market.
John










