The name Mastercard is one known by most of the world’s population. With advertisement deals strewn throughout the world for big sporting events from the Super Bowl in the US to world events such as the just concluded World Cup championships, MasterCard logs are so frequent that many people have hit saturation and virtually ignore them. Many people assume that when they have a MasterCard that they are working directly with MasterCard for billing, customer service and other day to day pieces of having MasterCard credit cards.
However, this is not the case for any MasterCard credit card holder. They actually do business with an independent bank that makes all the decisions about policies, interest rates, annual fees and creditworthiness as well as do all the staffing for customer support and fraud departments for the individual cards that are issued from that banking institution. The MasterCard is actually more of a service network that allows vendors to take cards from so many different banks. Because the MasterCard credit cards are issued by so many different institutions, the types of cards available are incredibly varied. Here are some of the most common and most popular:
MasterCard Gift Cards
The advertisements for MasterCard gift cards tell consumers to give pre-paid MasterCard credit cards instead of cash and there is a lot of validity to this argument. First of all, mailing cash is never recommended and especially during holiday seasons is quite likely to go missing if not well concealed. It is also still considered tacky in most situations. On top of this, for many people cash is actually less easy to spend than using a credit card. For example, making an online purchase with cash is impossible and would require many more steps than the simplicity of a gift card. There are other benefits to using MasterCard gift cards as well. For one, consumers get some of the same protections that other MasterCard credit cards have. Secondly, there are some online businesses that cannot accept standard MasterCards, only gift cards, due to strange processing rules from the MasterCard company.
MasterCard Debit Cards
Many banks have chosen to issue MasterCard debit cards to their customers. These cards work in ATM machines within the banking company’s system and beyond but really enhance the ability of the consumer to access the money in their account. In fact, it is almost impossible with most banks to get anything but a credit card branded debit card when opening a bank account today. The Mastercard debit card functions as an ATM card but also work just like a regular credit card. This means that for a quick grocery store purchase, the ATM card part can be used, with the PIN and later the same card can be used to pay at a restaurant. The transaction from the business side is handled just like a standard credit card, including applying a tip later but instead of going against the customer’s credit limit it instead is simply deducted from their bank account. With quality online banking to go with the MasterCard debit card, the person will always know how much money they have available.
Consumer MasterCard Credit Cards
There are many different variations on the MasterCard credit card. Those that seek out and get MasterCard credit cards may do so for different reasons and there are cards that are matched perfectly to almost any situation. Even for those who have plenty of money, the convenience and benefits of a MasterCard credit card make using the card make quite a bit of sense. MasterCard credit cards come in three primary forms in the United States.
There are Standard cards which is the most typical card offering and MasterCard offers some great benefits even on Standard cards. From there, people can upgrade their cards to either Gold or Platinum cards. These cards offer better consumer protections as well as higher limits and the Platinum card offers even better benefits such as travel insurance, rental car insurance and other benefits that vary from banking institution and the focus of the card. The travel protections especially make getting a Gold or Platinum MasterCard something that should be a priority for anyone who travels on even a semi-regular basis.
Typical consumer protection packages include automatic extended warranties for most products. The typical product will have their warranty doubled, with a cap of a year of extra coverage. MasterCard credit card purchases also have price protection services meaning that if a product is purchased and the price drops within sixty days, the purchaser can get a refund of the difference. There are many other consumer protection as well as fraud protection services that all MasterCard credit cards come with. In fact, MasterCard holders are not liable for any unauthorized purchases made on the card and MasterCard actually offers many other identity theft services to card holders who end up a victim of identity theft.
MasterCard Credit Cards for Businesses
MasterCard has a full line of credit card options available for businesses and banks can customize these credit cards to suit any business’ unique situation. Small businesses especially can benefit from some of the perks that are available with MasterCard business credit cards. With services that give small businesses the same preferred pricing as larger businesses through specific vendors, it can help make the small business more easily able to compete. Even if it is simply the corporate discount at an office supply store, that savings can help take enough off the bottom line to speed up a small businesses drive to being profitable.
For most businesses, simply having a MasterCard credit card for their business can help expedite things and streamline processes. If a business does quite a bit of purchasing of goods from other companies to sell at retail, having a business credit card makes it much easier to secure those goods. Rather than dealing with purchase orders and the potential for fraud from checks, a MasterCard business credit card number can be given over the phone and the order is placed and paid for right away.