Curious if anyone here is into maximizing points / collecting points? I know a bunch of people doing it back home, but less so in Japan, mostly because it may not be worth the hassle here.
One good thing is that you can convert most points into most other points through extra steps, so it should still be possible to at least some extent.
Googling for communities (in Japanese) just brings dozens of trash blogposts about “ベスト3決済サービスをご紹介します” that go into a lot of explaining what points are, without actually having any substance.
Then there are lots of websites like
– https://pc.moppy.jp
– https://d-money.jp
– https://p-any.net/
that want you to signup for other services (cards, memberships, etc.) and watch ads in exchange for points. Haven’t tried it yet, but signed up for moppy and the service spammed me into oblivion with emails. Not sure if it’s worth it.
I know in the past you could chain cards like kyash into d-barai or Rakuten Pay to get extra points on each service (which is what I’m after), but all payment services now restrict poinback to when you use their inhouse card (PayPay -> PayPay Card, Rakuten Pay -> Rakuten Card, d-barai -> D-Card).
Any secret tricks you use to grift points / miles in Japan? Are there are Japanese communities for sharing methods?
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I mainly chase after ANA miles, and get several thousand per month by double-/triple-/quadruple- dipping wherever possible.
US-issued American Express cards give 1 Membership Rewards (MR) point per dollar spent. MR points transfer to ANA Miles at 1:1 (no limit).
Mobile Suica can be charged (as little as 500 yen at a time) using a US Amex. Suica is a Japan Rail product, so charging it codes as “travel” category. On my particular Amex (green), that’s 3x MR per dollar spent.
T-Point is virtually everywhere, generally 1 point for every 100-200 yen, depending on the merchant. Plus there are always coupons for bonus T-Point at various places. Welcia/HAC Drug often has some GREAT Bonus T-Point deals on stuff that I buy regularly *anyway*.
If you use SoftBank, you can charge your PayPay account (1000 yen minimum, at one time) directly to your phone account. There’s a monthly limit for this. But if you spend 100,000 yen in a calendar month, you get (I believe) 1.5% cashback the following month. Like T-Point, PayPay has frequent offers and coupons for bonus points for everyday spending/merchants also.
Rakuten Edy is overall kinda weak-sauce, but you can configure your Edy Points to be directly converted to ANA miles at 1:1 (twice as good as T-Point, and automatic).
Nanaco points are meh but, like T-Point, convert to ANA miles at 2:1.
ANA stores at the airports provide some kind of bonus mileage, but I don’t remember exactly what it is.