Having a credit card in Japan－RemitQuick的日本代匯款小站

Japan is known as a “cash society,” but having a credit card in Japan can be very convenient.

A few months ago, I decided that I’d like a Japanese credit card of my own. I’ve been using my US CitiBank card, which is accepted at a lot of stores in Japan. My American CitiBank card is great in that regard, but charges an international usage fee that I could escape if I were to use a Japanese credit card.

For this reason, I applied for the Life Card. Much to my dismay, I was rejected. Talking to a coworker about it afterwards, he asked why I went for such a “high class” card. The fact is, I’m not familiar enough with credit cards in Japan to know which credit cards are easy to get for someone like me, a younger person with a lower income who hasn’t lived in Japan for a long time.

I decided to do a little research to find which credit cards are easy for foreigners in Japan to acquire.

12 Japanese Credit Cards for Foreigners to Consider

I’ve compiled this list of twelve credit cards which in theory may be easier for foreigners in Japan to receive. I’ve listed the credit card name, the credit card brand, the yearly fee, and some of therewards associate with the card. All of this information comes from the cards’ official websites. This information may change, so please just use this as a guideline and double check on the official website.

As a side note, students may have more trouble getting a credit card in Japan. According to the credit cards’ official websites and the above mentioned guides, the following cards arerecommended to students: MUFG Card Initial American Express Card, Walmart Card Saison American Express Card, Saison Card International, Aeon Card. In this case “student” usually means a student at a four-year university, not high school students / language school students / trade school students / etc.

Before I choose a card, I plan to do more research about the cards. I’ll post that research about Japanese credit cards later and also let you know how my application goes.

Credit Card Table

Credit card name	Brands	Yearly fee	Rewards
Seven Card	Visa, JCB	500 yen/year (first year free; free for the following year if you buy 50000 yen or more a year)	Point System (exchange points for shopping, ANA miles, etc.)
JAL card	Mastercard, Visa, JCB	None (forever)	Point System (never expire, exchange points for JAL miles, or docomo or au points, etc.)
Rakuten card	Visa	None (forever)	Ponta Points (exchange points for shopping at Lawson’s, JAL miles, etc.)
Walmart Card Saison American Express Card	American Express	None (forever)	Point System (never expire, exchange points for au or docomo points, items, tickets, etc.)
MUFG Card Gold American Express Card	American Express	2000 yen/year (first year free)	Point Program (exchange points for JAL or United miles, au/softbank/docomo points, online shopping, etc.)
MUFG Card Initial American Express Card (only for those 29 years old and younger)	American Express	1312 yen/year (first year free, free while you are a student)	Point Program (exchange points for JAL or United miles, au/softbank/docomo points, online shopping, etc.)
Mitsui Sumitomo gold card	VISA	1312 yen/year (First year free; free after that if you use at least once a year)	Point Program (exchange points for JAL or United miles, au/softbank/docomo points, online shopping, etc.)
Mitsui Sumitomo Debut Plus Card(only available to those between 18 and 25)	VISA	1312 yen/year (First year free; free after that if you use at least once a year)	Point system (points can be used to purchase items fromWorld Point catalog)
WAON card	Visa	None (forever)	Cash Back (automatically receive 1 yen for 1 point)
Recruit Card	Visa, Mastercard	None (forever)	Point system (can use points at Hot Pepper, Eruca, etc.)
Aeon Card	Visa, Mastercard, JCB	None (forever)	Point system (WAON points; can use points at Aeon stores, McDonald’s, Family Mart, etc.)
ANA Visa Suica Card	Visa	2100 yen/year (first year free)	ANA Miles