The upshot: If you travel abroad frequently, carry a more
universally accepted card in your wallet as a backup.
TowerGroup divides the U.S. gift card category into four segments — retail, restaurant, miscellaneous and
universally accepted cards.
Not exact matches
Credit
cards are almost
universally accepted and have become one of the most popular forms of payment.
For example, while chip & pin credit
cards are more
universally accepted, you may not be travelling to countries where they are a necessity.
Further, American Express isn't as
universally accepted by merchants as some other
card issuers.
While Visa and Mastercard are most
universally accepted, and American Express signs are increasingly common in store windows across the globe, you will inevitably wind up in a place that doesn't
accept the type of credit
card you have with you.