American Express vs Visa

Visa and American Express are two of the most popular credit card brands across the world. Although they offer very similar services, there are advantages and drawbacks to both cards. Ultimately, when trying to decide between the two, it’ll depend on your personal needs and desires. Since they both offer very similar cards, it can be hard to decide between the two.

Overview

In this article, we’ll go over the advantages and disadvantages of both credit card brands. There is an important distinction to note between the two, though. Visa acts more as a payment processor whereas American Express acts as a payment processor and a card issuer. Therefore, when using Visa cards, you’ll often see the name of a bank attached to the card. This bank is the issuer for the card and controls most of the important characteristics of the card. Visa only handles the payments and charges a small processing fee for doing so.

Since Visa doesn’t control the rewards rate for its cards, Visa cards can vary in quality and price. There can be high tier Visa cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card or quite basic Visa cards intended to help people build a credit history. 

On the contrary, American Express controls every aspect of their card since they act as both the payment processor and the card issuer. This means that their policies will stay similar across card to card and won’t vary as much as Visa cards. 

Can I Use Both Cards Anywhere I Go?

While American Express is accepted by millions of merchants around the world, it’s also not as popular as other credit card processors. To expand on this further, American Express cards are estimated to be 30% less accepted than Visa credit cards domestically and abroad. So if you want a one-card-fits-all in your wallet, it may be a better option to get a Visa card since it’s accepted at more places.

However, if you want to keep an American Express card in your wallet for some particular reason, it’s important to keep a backup card as well in case your American Express card does not get accepted. This ensures that you will still have a way to pay for a purchase even if your card gets declined.

Benefits of Both Cards

Both Visa and American Express offer similar benefits and services to help cardholders wherever they go. Here are the benefits offered by each credit card processor

Visa:

• Roadside Dispatch
• Zero Fraud Liability
• Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
• Emergency Card Replacement
• Extended Warranty Protection
• Travel and Emergency Assistance Services

American Express:

• Trip Cancellation and Insurance Policy
• Accident Protection Plan
• Global Assistance Hotline
• Car Rental Damage Insurance
• Extended Warranty
• Purchase Protection

Both credit card companies offer similar benefits to help cardholders with travel and retail. So no matter which company you decide to use, you will be well looked after with the American Express and Visa protections. Another important thing to note is that both Visa and American Express charge a processing fee to merchants for using the card. American Express charges 2.5 - 3.5% for a transaction fee while Visa charges 1.43 - 2.4%. This is why some cardholders may choose to use Visa, as they’ll incur less fees for doing so.