Hi everyone
I have been using Rakuten’s Premium Card for a while now but with the service’s downgrade announced I’m looking for something that gives me more benefits.
Since I’m originally from France and working in Japan (not an expat) I go back home about once a year and since I like to travel, I travel abroad about 2-3 times a year and travel within Japan as well quite a bit.
I looked throughout Reddit a lot but most of the credit card recommendations I could find were American credit cards which I am not eligible for. I went through the 陸マイラー articles as well trying to find some good stuff but nothing conclusive.
One thing I’m looking for is access to airport lounges included (with the Priority Pass for instance) and good return on miles with easily accessible award tickets or upgrades.
I found the JAL プラチナ card by AMEX to be interesting but that would mean committing to JAL which practices prices at about ¥300,000~ for a RT fare to France (I don’t live in Paris so I need to change planes to a more local airport) whereas I usually have been getting home at around ¥150,000~¥180,000.
I usually spend about ¥150,000~¥200,000/month on my credit cards.
Anyone in a situation similar as mine might have any recommendations as to what card they use? Maybe a credit card that can swap points to mile on a 1:1 ratio with a bunch of different airlines?
Open to any recommendations by fellow foreigners here in Japan to be honest so even a card that doesn’t exactly match my criteria would be greatly welcomed!
Sorry if this is a post that has been seen over and over, hopefully it can serve other people too!
Thanks!
10 comments
You can read about the options covered on these threads, but unfortunately, they aren’t that great:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/15irpy0/best_credit_card_for_flying/](https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/15irpy0/best_credit_card_for_flying/)
[https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/14uuvsj/suggestion_for_japanese_milage_credit_cards/](https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/14uuvsj/suggestion_for_japanese_milage_credit_cards/)
[https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanFinance/comments/14uv2mq/suggestion_for_japanese_milage_credit_cards/](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanFinance/comments/14uv2mq/suggestion_for_japanese_milage_credit_cards/)
Here are some links in Japanese. Am on the rakuten premium myself so wondering what you meant by the downgrade? What happened?
If it’s quite a big deal I might move over to MUFG Platinum Amex myself
[https://matsunosuke.jp/prioritypass-creditcard/](https://matsunosuke.jp/prioritypass-creditcard/)
[https://www.measuretrip.com/contents/INFO-81-001-MUFGPA.html](https://www.measuretrip.com/contents/INFO-81-001-MUFGPA.html)
With your spend a mileage card will not be worth it. Many people seem to say the best card is the AMEX Marriot Bonvoy because Bonvoy points are valuable and can be easily exchanged into miles at a favorable rate, along with the other benefits that the card gives you.
what about just gold amex. Priority pass included, some hotel coupons, restaurants offering
After using my JAL gold card for a little over a year for everything (groceries, bills etc) I get enough miles for a round trip home to Norway which is nice.
What JAL is currently charging for miles is insane. I like Amex platinum for the household goods insurance and other perks (which are nowhere as good as the US Amex). Point conversion to ANA is also 1:1 but limited to 40k/year which sucks.
I have Jal Gold card and an Amex Sky Traveller Card.
I can exchange Amex points into almost any other airline and Jal miles can be redeemed for Jal or Emirates. Whith these two cards I dont fly economy since 2017 and never paid for an upgrade or a reward ticket.
I spend about 200k yen a month in each card. Buy tickets with amex (3% back)
Also recommending the Marriot Bonvoy card, but you’ll need to get lounge access elsewhere.
I also recommend Amex Marriot Bonvoy Premium card, if you need a card for travel. I have it because I like traveling. But you have to pay around 50,000 yen as annual fee.
The exchange rate to mile is 1.25% of yen you spend. If you spend 200K yen per month, you will get 2,500 miles.(not 2,500 Marriot Bonvoy points. I’m talking about miles you eventually get)
And its points virtually do not expire. It could expire. But if you get even 1 new point, the expiration date will be extended. So it’s lasting forever.
You can exchange its points to miles of dozens of airlines. You can also buy if you need a bit more.
One potential option is the new ANA status setup. It’s an odd mix between flying and earning status, which JAL is sure to copy next year (but for you, ANA will be better as Star Alliance is more likely to take you where you need to go).
Basically, they started a system where spending cash gets you partway to annual status, and then you need to do a bit of flying on ANA to actually complete it. To get base level Star Alliance Gold, you would likely do fine with your current monthly spend, and need to fly a bit of ANA to complete the requirement of half the miles coming from flying on their metal. Most of the info is in Japanese, though, not sure if you can read that, but if that interests you I can give more details on how their new system works.
Other than that, yeah, Bonvoy is probably the best, but the annual fee is VERY steep and you should factor that in before applying because that does offset your earnings. Make sure to use a referral link, though, because at least someone will make some points off it!