Others give better perks to people approved for … Mastercard has three tiers of benefits, too. They are the middlemen between you, your bank and a retailer. That’s not necessarily an easy question to answer. Visa offers more cobranded hotel and airline credit cards. Visa vs. Mastercard: Which is better? Visa and MasterCard are companies that handle transactions when you spend on your credit, debit or prepaid card. While Visa claims to have 2.4 billion cards issued, across more than 200 countries, MasterCard avoids direct comparison by saying it processes over 18 billion payments per year. Both Visa and MasterCard operate in a very similar way. Both credit card networks offer wide acceptance and competitive benefits, but let’s try to break it down a bit. While both companies offer credit cards with similar features and usability, there are some differences, though most users won’t notice them as many merchants accept both cards. Visa vs. Mastercard Benefits. Some cards offer one level of benefits to all users. The companies are publicly traded, with Visa and MasterCard commanding a $171.7 billion and $97.5 billion market capitalization, respectively. The truth is both types of cards are widely accepted abroad, and are therefore better choices for international travel than Amex or Discover. However, certain perks can be unique to one or the other, and this guide will go over the most noteworthy ones. What do Visa and Mastercard do? The major credit card features are managed and decided on by the issuer (Chase, Citibank, etc.). The process is to: Check with your card provider if the transaction should be accepted or declined VISA and Mastercard both offer extremely similar benefits, and choosing one over the other will not make a substantial difference. There are three levels of Visa credit card benefits: Traditional, Signature and Infinite. Student and secured cards. Mastercard arguably has better secured and student credit cards, such as the Capital One® Secured Mastercard® and Citi Rewards+℠ Student Card. Visa and Mastercard provide the technology and networks required for processing … As noted above, Mastercard may offer a slightly better exchange rate than Visa, but if you don’t travel frequently, it probably won’t make a huge difference.