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Below are brief reviews of the nation's largest credit card companies. For more information on these credit card companies and the credit cards they offer, please visit their respective sections on CardWisdom.com. |
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 Discover credit card offers are among the most straightforward in the credit card industry. They don't use fine print trickery to deceptively advertise 0% interest rates that only some applicants can get. Furthermore, Discover was one of the few major credit card companies that did not wreak havoc on their customers prior to the CARD Act. They are a customer-oriented company that consistently ranks second in J.D. Power's annual customer satisfaction survey and first in the Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index |
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 Chase is the nation's second largest issuer of credit cards and one of the most innovative credit card companies around. Chase Blueprint (SM) is a recent innovation that provides cardholders the ability to manage how they pay for certain purchases and estimate the costs of paying over time. Chase's other online account management tools are also top notch, making them a good choice if you are looking for a Visa or MasterCard. |
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 American Express is the nation's largest issuer of charge cards and operator of the most famous credit card rewards program in the world. Unlike most point based rewards programs, the American Express Membership Rewards® program is excellent. Rewards points can be used for everything from Olive Garden gift cards to flights on most airlines. The perennial winner of J.D. Power's annual customer satisfaction survey, American Express is loved by its members who appreciate their top notch customer service and don't mind paying annual fees. |
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 Citibank is the third largest issuer of credit cards in the country. Unlike Discover and American Express, Citi doesn't typically fair well on J.D. Power's Annual customer satisfaction survey. However, Citi does offer some of the longest advertised 0% interest rate deals and some of their rewards cards are worth taking a look at as well. |
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 Visa has its logo is on more pieces of plastic than any other issuer. Visa credit cards, along with MasterCards, are accepted just about every place in the world where a credit card can be used. Because of this, everyone should have at least one Visa or MasterCard credit card in their wallet, especially when traveling abroad. Many people mistakenly view Visa as a credit card company, which they are not. They are a transaction processor. Consequently, you can have multiple Visa cards from any of the hundreds of banks that issue them. |
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 MasterCard is second only to Visa in the number of cards bearing its logo worldwide and is often mistaken for a credit card company. Like Visa, MasterCard is a payment processing network that doesn't extend credit; they simply make money move around the world. Because MasterCard is not a credit card company, a person could theoretically have as many MasterCard's as their heart (or creditors) desire. And everyone should have at least one MasterCard or Visa.
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