Pros And Cons Of Japan Issued Credit Cards?

[MossBoss]

Any thoughts on the whether Japan issued credit cards or foreign issued cards are better?

Regards,

MossBoss

 

[vargas]

Japanese cards have ridiculous interest rates and fees compared to my foreign cards, but auto-charge Suica is worth the fees and I don't carry balances anyway. I do all my yen spending on Japanese cards and foreign spending on cards in the appropriate currency.

 

[TAG Manager]

I'm ok with them - I use my cards a lot and pay the balance each month and no fees.

I use the points to get 2 15,000 yen prepaid visa gift cards each year.

My foreign cards don't really give me any benefit like the Japan cards do... But I use them when at home and pay off the balance after each use.

 

[owlet]

I wouldn't know.. SINCE DAMN JAPANESE BANKS NEVER APPROVE ME RRAARRRRR!!

 

[just4fun]

I wouldn't know.. SINCE DAMN JAPANESE BANKS NEVER APPROVE ME RRAARRRRR!!

Same here! WTF is that?

 

[owlet]

Same here! WTF is that?

I think each time you get denied you go onto a blacklist and have to wait (I don't how long for) before you are "un blacklisted" again.. I will try again after 90 days.. Sigh

 

[Desktop]

I pay my balance each month so no fees except for a yearly fee.
Add an airline miles program & it's great. I believe the airline benefits are better for Japan issued cards.
If I was paying off little by little I'm not sure about interest rates.

 

[just4fun]

I think each time you get denied you go onto a blacklist and have to wait (I don't how long for) before you are "un blacklisted" again.. I will try again after 90 days.. Sigh

It's been over 15 years...........and I owe nobody nothing......

 

[split]

I'm ok with them - I use my cards a lot and pay the balance each month and no fees.

I use the points to get 2 15,000 yen prepaid visa gift cards each year.

My foreign cards don't really give me any benefit like the Japan cards do... But I use them when at home and pay off the balance after each use.

My situation is the extreme opposite. Over 6 years, banked at least 45k in overseas airlines flights (including a few first and business class trips) for under $1000 actual cost, a few weeks of 4 - 6 star hotels including Tokyo Conrad, park Hyatt for even less than 1k cost. All on sign-up bonus, not card spending. I have 1 Japanese credit card, but it offers little incentive to touch it. From my perspective, these banks are stingy. The Japanese credit rating system is really funky too. I can game the American system well, it just takes a little inside knowledge. Here, it's just makes no sense.

 

[Glock]

Best bet for gaijins like myself and most of you is to get a rakuten card. The trick is upon application to uncheck the cash withdrawl option as including that is a guaranteed rejection. For this you probably require a japaneae to help out. If rejected Reapply in 6 months as before that its pointless.. My friend works for rakuten card and I was told that 6 months is the review period.

I started with an initial credit limit of 100k and within 2 years of healthy spending and paying on time I am now at a million. Good luck...

 

[majimekun]

I wouldn't know.. SINCE DAMN JAPANESE BANKS NEVER APPROVE ME RRAARRRRR!!

Maybe you're asking for a credit card when you only need a VISA debit card?

Resona Bank provides debit cards (VISA) to foreigners within two weeks. Refusal rates are mostly inexistant.
Same for the Rakuten Cards.

The card is a VISA card that you can use online anywhere and the other good thing is that you can't purchase anything if you don't have money on your card's account. And the cards works in real time. No billing delay that can confuse you.

 

[DeepStick2020]

Is it hard to get CCs in Japan? I got a bank card and recently I applied for one. I really prefer cash and carry, but like the TAG Manager said, there seem to more perks so my expat friends have stated. I doubt I will use it other than for booking hotels in Japan.

 

[Desktop]

Making the payments for overseas credit cards is the biggest hassle for me.

 

[DeepStick2020]

Transfering money is a bitch, especially if you have a rather high monthly bill like I had on my Amex. All those restrictions. I once had my accounts in the States frozen over a wire transfer to pay the bill because I sent more than the limit. After calling and a review and some forms I had to later fill out, I was off the hook. But lots of little problems happened and after that I decided to get a Japanese CC. I hope I can get it.

 

[k1234k]

A word of advice-
After you apply for a standard issue credit card, you will get a call from the credit card company, confirming your name, birthday, address, and whether or not you applied for the card in question.

If you do not take this call, your application is automatically rejected.

...and the call is in 100% Japanese.

So if you get a seemingly random phone call after you submit a credit card application, better answer the phone.

 

[DeepStick2020]

Thanks for the info!

 

[Manimal]

Once you got one Japanese credit card and take care of always paying on time, you should have no problem with getting a second one. The problem is making that first step. I would recommend researching which is the easiest card to apply. Once you got that you can apply for the one you really wanna have. But if you are rejected, please wait six month. If you don't you will be rejected again and just make things even more difficult. The credit card companies share your history, be aware of that. If you are working for a bigger company, maybe asking HR for some support might be good. That is how I got my first one.

 

[BIPSY]

Yeah, getting your first one is a hassle but after that it becomes pretty easy.

I get pretty good points on my Amex - I use it for my business so I'm usually in the 2~300,000 JPY range every month and that nets me a free international flight or two a year which isn't bad.
I think there's a small annual fee but since I pay it off every month there's no interest or any other fees.
You don't get the crazy travel bonuses I hear about with US cards but a free plane ticket isn't a bad bonus for something that is basically a convenience in the first place.

 

[MossBoss]

I got the Resona debit card as recommended by @majikun. There is a Resona branch 5 minutes from where I live so I thought I would give it a shot. You can actually get points on it then convert them to JAL, T-Point etc... It worth getting as a back-up card.

Regarding credit cards, I got my wife to apply for Aeon family card. Some credit card companies will only issue them for family members with the same family name but Aeon is more flexible so different names are OK. Anyway the application was successful and two cards arrived yesterday (one each for my wife and I). The cards are linked to one of my bank accounts for payment purposes. As my wife already has a bunch of Japanese issued credit cards she won't be using it so in effect it is 100% my card.

The monthly limit is 700,000 yen. Going this route might be the best way for married guys.