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-   Credit Card Programs (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs-599/)
-   -   What is the difference between visa and Mastercard? (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs/267278-what-difference-between-visa-mastercard.html)

Rawhide Feb 11, 2004 2:56 am
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ken in Phx:
[B]It is uniform, some people in the thread are confusing the types of cards taken. Sams takes Discover and Debits Card ( MC or Visa ) and the Wal Mart shopping card.

I think they wont take AMEX or CC Visa and MC is due t the charges. they claim their margins are so low, the extra 1 1/2% - 2% would squeeze them
[QUOTE]

No confusion here....I use my Chase Continental World MC at my Sams. I refuse to carry Discover.

[This message has been edited by Rawhide (edited Feb 11, 2004).]

Kremmen Feb 11, 2004 7:17 am
Why it isn't uniform is simple: It depends on who does their card processing and what special deals they offer the merchant.

While Visa and MC are almost interchangeable in the USA and Australia, I've encountered quite a number of merchants who accept only one or the other in Asia and in Pacific islands. (The most ludicrous example that I can remember was that the ANZ Bank in Fiji would not accept MasterCard ... not even when issued by the ANZ bank itself!)

Craig Mar 9, 2004 4:19 am
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Visa, a/k/a BankAmericard, and MasterCard, a/k/a Master Charge, were competing consumer credit products put out in the late 1950s/early 1960s, by Bank of America and a consortium of banks including Wells Fargo and the Bank of California, respectively. </font>
New York’s Marine Midland Bank introduced the Interbank card in 1966. This was offered by a growing number of banks to compete with BankAmericard. The card became Master Charge, and later MasterCard.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">They are generally recognized as the first national charge cards not tied to a specific type of purchase (e.g. Diner's Card for restaurants). </font>
There is a difference between credit cards and charge cards. Visa and MasterCard are credit cards. Diners and American Express (until recently) offerred only charge cards.



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Craig

Craig Mar 9, 2004 4:21 am
Quite a few merchants in Malaysia will only accept MasterCard. Ditto in China, where MasterCard has been established for a much longer time than Visa.


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Craig

CraigS Mar 9, 2004 6:00 pm
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by jeffo:
I have fun going to Wal Mart, buying $500 in a gift card using my Amex, and then going across the street to our Sams and using the gift card to pay for my Sams items. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif</font>
A little work - but well worth the effort! Thanks for the tip!

ahrz Mar 11, 2004 10:27 am
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Craig:
There is a difference between credit cards and charge cards. Visa and MasterCard are credit cards. Diners and American Express (until recently) offerred only charge cards.
</font>
Both types (charge and credit) exist for Visa and MasterCard.

Diners Club credit cards are offered together with charge cards in France since 1990 or so.

Amex credit cards (Optima cards) exist since the 80s .

formeraa Mar 16, 2004 8:35 am
Sam's credit card policies vary by store. Many newer stores, however, only accept Discover. Just as Costco only accepts AMEX.


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