How it is received afterwards

A recognised distance degree is a degree. It qualifies you for the things the qualification qualifies you for, including further study. That is the accurate statement and it is worth holding onto when somebody implies otherwise.

It is also true that some employers read it differently, and pretending they do not helps nobody. The practical answer is the same one that works for any candidate: evidence. Somebody with a distance degree and three pieces of work they can show is in a stronger position than somebody with a campus degree and none — and the distance route usually leaves more room to build exactly that.