Visa and Mastercard both offer extremely similar benefits, and choosing one over the other won’t make a substantial difference. The major credit card features are managed and decided on by the issuer (e.g. Chase or Citibank). However, certain perks can be unique to one or the other, and this guide will go over the most noteworthy benefits.

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If you feel strongly about one of these benefits, you can call your issuer and see if they can switch your network. While not always possible, this method has been known to work and is worth trying.

Benefits comparison: Visa vs. Mastercard
On entry level cards, there is very little difference between Visa and Mastercard, as both provide a similar suite of basic features. However, Mastercard includes impressive special luxury offers on its World and World Elite level cards, which can be attractive for big spenders.

On the whole, Visa offers significantly more benefits overall than Mastercard, though the overarching categories are the same. Visa also operates with a three-tier structure, ranging from standard Visa Traditional to Visa Signature to Visa Infinite. While the Visa Traditional provides a few more benefits than the standard Mastercard, the base level Visa network doesn't offer anything extravagant.

Visa Signature and Infinite cards are where most of the network’s benefits come into play. The best among these include:

Purchase protection and insurance
Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection
Travel benefits
Emergency services
Why is Visa better than Mastercard?
While both Visa and Mastercard are accepted virtually everywhere around the world, Visa cards offer slightly more benefits than Mastercard cards. Even with the most basic level Visa card, you'll still have access to features like:

Lost or stolen card reporting
Emergency card replacement
Emergency cash disbursement
Roadside dispatch
Zero liability
With Mastercard, at its most basic level, cardmembers will only get:

Zero liability protection
Access to Mastercard Global Service
Mastercard ID Theft Protection
What standard benefits do both Visa and Mastercard provide?
There are certain benefits both Visa and Mastercard provide. Some of these exist due to federal regulations, while others have become industry standards that issuers expect the networks provide for their cardholders.

Zero liability protection
Both Visa and Mastercard provide protection against unauthorized charges. If your credit card is used to make unauthorized or fraudulent purchases, you can report it to your issuer and have the transactions reversed. In such a scenario, Visa or Mastercard will be the ones to cover the cost.

Global emergency services
Visa offers travel and emergency assistance services for Visa Infinite cardholders, which will provide help in an emergency from anywhere in the world. Mastercard provides Global Emergency Services for every card level available anytime, anywhere and in any language: This can help you replace a lost or stolen card, get you a cash advance and more.

Cell phone protection
Both Visa and Mastercard offer some type of cell phone protection to give their cardholders peace of mind. Visa Signature members can get cell phone protection each month they pay their wireless bill with their Visa card.

World Mastercard also offers cell phone protection with $1,000 in yearly coverage ($600 max per claim, two claims per year) — should your cell phone get stolen or need certain repairs — when you pay your phone bill with your World Mastercard.