I think Rakuten is generally considered the easiest.
But if you’re just looking for an easy way to buy things online a prepaid will work.
This was quite awhile ago, but I got mine through AU, which was my phone provider at the time. I think they get commission on signing people up, so they helped me with my application and I was approved. I never could get a rakuten or aeon card for some reason, I was rejected every time.
I don’t know how urgent you need the card, but be aware that it takes time to get accepted/card mailed out to you. I think mine took a few weeks, if I remember right
Do you already have an American Express card from your home country? If so you can transfer to Japan easily
Try the 7-11, famima, or Lawson’s credit cards
I’d say the easiest way maybe through your bank (especially if it’s a mega bank like SMBC or mufg). Then, Rakuten and amazon cards are easy to get as well.
Rakuten was the easiest. I had been here for over a decade and Sumitomo/Tsutaya/SoftBank/Amazon and a few others all rejected me despite being a customer for over a decade. Rakuten sent me a debit card immediately and a few months later I had a credit card from them. Suddenly, all the others wanted to offer me credit cards…screw them.
I’m pretty sure that Line payments have a credit card built in that you can charge with cash at a convenience store if you need to pay for something by card in a hurry.
Go for saison digital numberless cc. Instant result and you can use rightaway after you get approved(physical card will take weeks to get delivered) but you ll get cc details in email and its apps. Also look for nearby aeon malls, lalapot(i got mine on this mall) . First cc is hard to get though, but after you get first one, it will be easier to get others.
Prepaid from a convenience store is the fastest… but prepaid so obviously not a “credit” card
Fastest is probably the credit cards you can get at department stores like takashiyama. Got mine on the next day, but you can get it on the same day too.
Why do you need a credit card urgently? If you have no money and you are hoping to put something on a card to “pay off later” you should know that Japanese credit cards don’t generally work that way. You might be able to split payments across a few months but there is no “minimum payment” option where you pay a tiny amount every month forever. You’re expected to pay the full balance of what you are billed each month.
Also, your credit limit as a student with a new card is likely to be 100,000yen.
I think Amazon is easiest especially if you’ve had an Amazon JP account for a while.
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I think Rakuten is generally considered the easiest.
But if you’re just looking for an easy way to buy things online a prepaid will work.
This was quite awhile ago, but I got mine through AU, which was my phone provider at the time. I think they get commission on signing people up, so they helped me with my application and I was approved. I never could get a rakuten or aeon card for some reason, I was rejected every time.
I don’t know how urgent you need the card, but be aware that it takes time to get accepted/card mailed out to you. I think mine took a few weeks, if I remember right
Do you already have an American Express card from your home country? If so you can transfer to Japan easily
Try the 7-11, famima, or Lawson’s credit cards
I’d say the easiest way maybe through your bank (especially if it’s a mega bank like SMBC or mufg). Then, Rakuten and amazon cards are easy to get as well.
Rakuten was the easiest. I had been here for over a decade and Sumitomo/Tsutaya/SoftBank/Amazon and a few others all rejected me despite being a customer for over a decade. Rakuten sent me a debit card immediately and a few months later I had a credit card from them. Suddenly, all the others wanted to offer me credit cards…screw them.
I’m pretty sure that Line payments have a credit card built in that you can charge with cash at a convenience store if you need to pay for something by card in a hurry.
Go for saison digital numberless cc. Instant result and you can use rightaway after you get approved(physical card will take weeks to get delivered) but you ll get cc details in email and its apps.
Also look for nearby aeon malls, lalapot(i got mine on this mall) .
First cc is hard to get though, but after you get first one, it will be easier to get others.
Prepaid from a convenience store is the fastest… but prepaid so obviously not a “credit” card
Fastest is probably the credit cards you can get at department stores like takashiyama. Got mine on the next day, but you can get it on the same day too.
Why do you need a credit card urgently? If you have no money and you are hoping to put something on a card to “pay off later” you should know that Japanese credit cards don’t generally work that way. You might be able to split payments across a few months but there is no “minimum payment” option where you pay a tiny amount every month forever. You’re expected to pay the full balance of what you are billed each month.
Also, your credit limit as a student with a new card is likely to be 100,000yen.
I think Amazon is easiest especially if you’ve had an Amazon JP account for a while.