It's about consumers and merchants knowing they can trust the brand of the card to be a) accepted everywhere to reduce the complexity of managing multiple credi

It's about consumers and merchants knowing they can trust the brand of the card to be a) accepted everywhere to reduce the complexity of managing multiple credit card accounts and b) fraud-protected so they know they won't have to pick up the tab for losing/having a card stolen. Having customers view the Visa/Mastercard/Amex "brand" (aka network) in this light is very valuable. Perks such as cash back, no foreign transaction fees, and miles/points are nice, but they're pretty standard across the different credit tiers of all the major cc providers. Perhaps having an Amex was once considered prestigious, but speaking for myself and my friends in the mid 20's, credit card providers/payment networks are perceived as largely homogeneous. Nobody cares if you're throwing down an Amex or a Visa to split the Korean BBQ bill. If anything, you'll get a comment of "when are you switching off Amex, their network coverage sucks in Europe".