VISA Credit Cards
Most people have heard of MasterCard and VISA credit cards. These are the most popular credit card providers around. VISA and MasterCard have many similarities. Indeed, wherever one card is accepted, so is the other.
VISA Credit Card Comparison
The Best in Available VISA Credit Cards
The best credit card offered by VISA is the Citibank Clear Platinum VISA. This is truly the premium card of the VISA Credits Cards available today. Why? Because this card gives its consumers a low ongoing interest rate on purchases. On top of that, it provides no interest for six months on balance transfers. There are also other benefits that this card extends for free, such as travel insurance when going to international destinations, purchase coverage and extended warranty coverage. Here are some of the basic terms of the Citibank Clear Platinum VISA:
- Discount of $50 on the annual fee for the first year; you pay only $49
- Interest rate of 11.99% p.a. for purchases
- Interest rate of 21.74% p.a. for cash advances
- 2.9% p.a. for 12 months for balance transfers
- Up to 25% off special discounts with Citi World Privileges
- Minimum income of $50,000 annually required to be eligible for this card
Types of VISA Credit Card
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Citibank Clear Card The Citibank Clear Visa credit card offers a low annual fee and a great long term interest rate for purchases. It is a no-frills Visa credit card offering a very generous credit limit and exclusive offers to Visa entertainment. Citibank card holders not only benefit from these great rates, but they also get exclusive discounts, benefits and upgrades to selected restaurants, hotels, services and shops around the world.
- Westpac 55 Day Platinum Visa As a platinum card this Visa credit card offers all of the security and superior service you would expect to find. If you make more than $20,000 worth of purchases in a year you will be able to avoid paying the annual fee. This card also has a fantastic interest rate.
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Cardholders also have exclusive rights to travel insurance overseas, transit accident insurance, extended warranty insurance and security insurance cover on purchases. There is also a Platinum concierge service available 24/7.
- St.George Bank Platinum Card This card comes loaded with great privileges and rates. It is ideal for travel and shopping since it has premium benefits along with low interest rates. You will be given access to a personal concierge service day and night, as well as travel insurances which are completely complementary.
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HSBC Visa Card If it is a Visa credit card that you are looking for, this card will give you all the security and service that you would expect to get from a Visa card. HSBC Card holders not only benefit from interest rate but also benefit with a low balance transfer rate and a no annual fee.
VISA Credit Cards Background
VISA is the largest credit card provider in the world. There are well over thirty million retail entities around the world which accept VISA as a method of payment. So how did VISA get started?
VISA was born out of Bank of America when, in 1958, it became that banks card. It fast became a dominating force in the market as a result of VISA's aggressive marketing campaign. VISA was exceptional in its role as a payments processor, earning it widespread acceptance around the globe. Being a payment processor is extremely important since it allows merchants to easily and quickly checkout their customers' purchases. If there were no centralized payment processor like VISA, each merchant would be required to have individual accounts with individual machines for each and every credit card issued by the different banks. This centralized system is also quite convenient for consumers, as they can use the same card in various locations without having to use different types of local currencies whenever making a purchase.
VISA was owned by a group consisting of banks and financial institutions which issued VISA credit cards. The ownership changed in 2008, when VISA incorporated and became listed by its own name in the New York Stock Exchange. This change provided VISA with control over its operations.
VISA Credit Cards Come to Australia
Before VISA entered the Australian credit card market, BankCard was the dominating credit card provider. In the 1980s, VISA began to offer credit cards through Australian banks, as well as credit unions. At the same time, VISA's major competitor, MasterCard, entered Australia's credit card market as well. These two major credit card providers overwhelmed BankCard, which closed down operations in 2006.
In the 1990s, VISA branched out even further by offering customers debit cards. This competed directly with the EFTPOS system. Nowadays, the majority of credit unions and banks offer VISA Credit Cards and VISA debit cards.
There are a wide variety of VISA Credit Cards available to fit virtually every need. Whether it's the Visa Entertainment, that gets you premium deals on various events, to Visa Gold Rewards, which brings a variety of privileges based upon usage. Wherever you may be in the world, you can rest easy knowing that your VISA card will be an accepted method of payment.
