I am struggling to find a credit card issuer in Japan that will 1. easily give an account to foreigners and 2. Don't have an annual fee . Wonder if anyone has any suggestions. The two options I've been advised are 1. Roppongi Hills card 2.Citibank card. I don't care about the "credit" part, but would love some freebies like cash back or rewards or the like. Thank you!

I am struggling to find a credit card issuer in Japan that will 1. easily give an account to foreigners and 2. Don't have an annual fee . Wonder if anyone has any suggestions. The two options I've been advised are 1. Roppongi Hills card 2.Citibank card. I don't care about the "credit" part, but would love some freebies like cash back or rewards or the like. Thank you!

Since I'm a foreigner myself here (though a resident) and have a walletful of Japanese credit cards (I really need to start getting rid of some of these :o ), I don't think #1. should be a problem as long as you appear to be a good credit risk (residence in Japan, steady employment, and so on...). But getting most Japanese credit cards will require handling the Japanese language, including filling out the applications in Japanese.

As for wanting rewards, many programs/credit card groups (such as Saison, UC, Nicos, DC) have their own proprietary point programs. I don't find these that rewarding, and only hold some of these cards for other specific reasons. If you want miles, several card groups also offer these. JCB offers an array of mileage-earning cards (www.jcb.co.jp/ordercard/special/mile.html): JAL, ANA, NW, etc. including one of the airlines I see you use, MilesAndMore,--UA (www.jcb.co.jp/ordercard/teikei/mileage.html). UC also offers a Mileage Plus-branded card (www2.uccard.co.jp/join/mileage/plus.html).

As for the #2. of no annual fee, while there are several "fee-free for life" credit cards, any points they offer are usually proprietary. Most basic cards have an annual fee of between 1000 to 2000 Yen, including the basic versions (1 mile/200 Yen) of the UC UA and JCB UA cards above. If you want a "Select" card or Gold card (which will give you 1 mile/100 Yen) or higher, the annual fee can take a hefty jump to 10,000 Yen and more. But often you can pick up a promo offering the first year fee free (I see the JCB UA card is now offering this). DC group also offers a variety of cards and fee structures (www.dccard.co.jp/apply/category/index_feefree.shtml).

One card you may wish to consider is the DC Gonzo Gold card (http://www.gonzo.co.jp/card/). It's fee free for life, and being a Gold card offers the benefits of free travel insurance, access to domestic airport lounges, etc., and it appears that one can transfer points from the propriety point program into JAL's or NW's mileage programs.

Hope I was able to provide you with some ideas.

If you are having any problems with getting a JPY credit card(I have had many :rolleyes: )I would point you in the direction of your nearest Costco in Japan where you can either get yourself an Orico Mastercard or Amex card after you sign up. Once you are in "the system" then it will prove easier to get a credit card at any of the larger finanacial institutions. I would give the regional finanacial institutions a miss though as I find them to be rather myopic........I have had luck with the Post office (Yucho)too after them saying it was impossible to give a credit card to a foreigner. I quickly pulled out my Japanese AMEX which is drawn from my Yucho account and berated them. I was sent an apology letter and given an ANA Mileage Club Yucho Visa.....

Well - After a couple of years residing in Japan I decided to get a United Airlines mileage credit card. Was refused by Visa, Master (twice I think).
They would not tell me why - told me to contact the company that rates credit-worthiness. I did so - discovered that there were no issues with my credit rating.
Finally I contacted JCB - who sent me the application forms with translations into English (nice touch). I completed the forms and they issued a credit card which earns me miles with United. Nice.
The draw backs were that the card is not widely accepted outside Japan - and the credit limit was incredibly low at the start. I had to maintain my UK credit cards (AMEX and visa) in order to have access to enough credit when travelling.
I persuaded them to increase my credit limit - so these days it meets most of my needs and keeps adding miles to my UA account.

People have suggested to me that I try VISA JAPAN and MASTERCARD JAPAN again - since I would have less trouble using their cards in the US and UK. However, those companies left such a bad impression with me that I don't feel like doing business with them.

Perfect. I am off to Costco today. I already have an active Costco USD Amex.

Thank you.

Thank you. Doitashimash!te :)

Perfect. I am off to Costco today. I already have an active Costco USD Amex.
Just recalled another possibility. A Japanese department store credit card. My first cc in Japan was from OIOI, and my second from Seibu (Saison Visa). Seibu literally pushed it on me and signed me up on the spot. (They often had someone manning the escalator landings or wandering around the store touting their credit card.) At the time I had only been in Japan a little over a year and had a 6-month renewable 4-1-16-3 visa (old-timers here will remember these), kind of a catch-all visa status, with a new job teaching English in a language school, and making all of $8000 US a year (No typo--made 180,000 JPY a month teaching 35 classes a week @ the xchng rate of 260/$). Looking back, I don't think I was the most creditworthy choice for a credit card, Japanese or otherwise, but Seibu did give me the card, and I have used it from day one with no problems.

I don't know if department stores a lot pickier nowadays, but I still see them even today manning the escalator landings pushing their cc's. In any case, just one more idea.

Just recalled another possibility. A Japanese department store credit card. My first cc in Japan was from OIOI, and my second from Seibu (Saison Visa). Seibu literally pushed it on me and signed me up on the spot. (They often had someone manning the escalator landings or wandering around the store touting their credit card.) At the time I had only been in Japan a little over a year and had a 6-month renewable 4-1-16-3 visa (old-timers here will remember these), kind of a catch-all visa status, with a new job teaching English in a language school, and making all of $8000 US a year (No typo--made 180,000 JPY a month teaching 35 classes a week @ the xchng rate of 260/$). Looking back, I don't think I was the most creditworthy choice for a credit card, Japanese or otherwise, but Seibu did give me the card, and I have used it from day one with no problems.

I don't know if department stores a lot pickier nowadays, but I still see them even today manning the escalator landings pushing their cc's. In any case, just one more idea.
Damn, you put the "old" back into old Japan-hand. ;)
To the OP, I just this week got a new one from Kinokuniya, no yearly fees, a big plus for Mrs VB. Shop around, there's plenty of options. Avoid the banks, not worth the hassle I reckon.

Many years ago I moved to the UK from a country that has no credit bureau or anything of that sort. The first weekend in London, I decided I would not get screwed on exchange rates, so set out to apply for credit cards. Between Friday evening and Saturday morning I applied at the big 4 banks and tried to apply for 3 store cards. The results - negative, negative, negative, negative... well you get the idea. That is when I learned the mechanics of a credit bureau - every application goes against you during the subsequent application approval process. It took me a year to get a UK based credit card because of these seven credit enquiries.
I learned from this experience to be very careful in the US when I moved there the first time. I got a secured credit card with explicit understanding from the bank that they would not do a credit check. It worked and within six months was flooded with zero APR offers.

In Japan I've applied for the Costco Amex, will wait to see what happens. But if that does not pan out, Seiyu - here I come.

I tried the Roppongi Hills card yesterday. The lady held up a paper that said "you should understand japanese to accept the rules and conditions of this card" or something to that effect. I did not want to try my luck.