Visa, Mastercard, and Discover Credit Card: What's the Difference?

Discover credit card history

The Discover credit card actually comes from Sears. At the time, the company was the United State's largest retailer, and was trying to expand beyond its stores into real estate, banking, travel -- in other words, to create a one stop shopping experience.


The Discover credit card was an instant success because of its low interest rates, lack of an annual fee (rare at the time), lower credit card merchant fees, and cashback bonuses.

As the years went by, Sears began to struggle and found that it was in their best interests to sell the Discover card and accept other common cards as well. In the year 2000, Greenwood Trust changed its name to Discover Bank and continued the Discover credit card tradition.

What about today?

These days, succeeding in the credit card industry means a lot more than just waiving annual fees. Fortunately, Discover cards remain solvent, acceptable, and sought after alternatives to the more popular Visa and Mastercard, so if you have a few Discover cards in your wallet, never fear -- they're unlikely to go out of business.

Discover has responded to increased competition by creating a wide range beyond the traditional Discover credit card, including student cards, travel cards, cashback cards, and business cards. In other words, like most companies, Discover has expanded their base to include as wide a range of customers as possible.

In terms of benefits, the wide range of availability in the Discover credit card line means you'll have to do your own cost comparison. Provided you're in the United States, the Discover card is accepted almost everywhere. It's a good idea to have a Visa or Mastercard too, though, since the Discover credit card isn't widely known (or accepted) outside of the USA.

Bottom line: the Discover credit card is a solid option for any credit card user.