joejones

My Japanese CCs charge a 1.6% foreign transaction fee which is baked into the exchange rate. Check the fine print carefully (if you can)...

KPT

Well, 9 months have passed and I am now a resident of Rappungi, Minat-uh-oh

To date, I have:
- filed 0 CC applications (it's been 2.5 weeks, but I guess I must be a slacker )
- opened an account with Shinsei (whom automatically gave me Shinsei Gold, probably because of my company)

Holding onto my AMEX Plat and SPG cards for now. If I manage to get an AA card here then I will probably kill the Plat card, since I always fly J and will get lounge access anyway. Would be nice to have an AA Suica card but it doesn't look like such a thing exists. This thread has me thinking about switching to Delta: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...-thoughts.html

Pity that none of the major unlocked flagship devices can use Mobile Suica (including the Nexus 5 and the iPhone)

joejones

Shinsei Gold is the default level for the first three months after you open a new account.

AMEX will let you exchange your US card for a Japanese card:
https://www.americanexpress.com/glob...countries.html

KPT

I called them; the desk said I still need to apply for an AMEX card here first. The form does allow you to specify an existing AMEX card, however I doubt they'll go any easier on me.

EDIT: Given the spend I plan on putting on the card, I think the SPG card might be the best option, but the annual fee is stupidly expensive (then again it comes with effectively lifetime Gold status). The Delta card is equally interesting, though going between NRT and SFO seems to be a total PITA on DL. I'd have to dump my MR points with either option -- at this point they're only good for BA travel I guess.

mjm

Welcome to the Hills :-) Reach out if I can be of any help.

cardesigner2000

BA Avios can be great value for domestic JL flights without YQ @:-)

KPT

Question: anyone with corporate cards find that getting a personal card becomes easier? Not sure if that sort of credit is tied to your history.

Taiwaned

This is an absolute NO.

KPT is correct.

They specifically informed me that AMEX Japan is a separate entity than other global AMEX. One must qualify for AMEX on your own Japanese credit history merits. They will specify an existing AMEX card on your file however this will neither be positive or negative toward your Japanese AMEX application.

If your employer backs your application then lack of Japanese credit history will be waived and you should be qualified.

Therefore, if you move to Japan for any other reason other than employment, getting an AMEX very difficult.

railroadtycoon

One advice is do not apply for too many cards at the same time. When you apply for a card and if you are rejected this goes onto your record with the Japanese credit agencies like CIC or JICC for six months before it clears off.

After I got my first Japanese CC (on my first try too!) I was feeling lucky but was rejected for the next 2. I figured I would use my first card as much as possible (always paying in full) building up my record. So I waited 7 months (just wanted to be sure that the previous rejections were cleared) before I applied for the same exact card that I was rejected before on (which was the card I really wanted in the first place), and was approved the next day!

Other tips:
As you know living in Japan with a middle name can be a PIA, as Japanese people have only have a family name and a given name, so most applications and forms only have space to input those items. However some places want your full name as it appears on your residency information, which can be funny at times because I said, "there's no box!" . Usually the solution is to input your middle name combined with your first name *with no space in between. Eg if your name is DOE, JOHN ADAMS it would appear as DOE, JOHNADAMS. I thought this was going to be an issue, but it never was. One of my cards issuer corrected my account by adding the space between while another just left it as is. If you leave your middle name off the application altogether, they might ask you to add it or to redo the application with your full name as it appears on your identification documents.

The application will also generally ask the applicant to input their Romaji name the way they wanted to be printed on the card itself (as the form was designed for Japanese people), that's where I just input my family and given name (without my middle name), again this hasn't been an issue either for me.

gnaget

It's even funnier if you are junior or III. Then you get juunia (?) or sado added to your middle name. thomasmarksado, for example. (Sado = third pronounced katakana style.)

I wonder what IV translates to?

jib71

I've never met anyone who puts IV after their name.... Depending on how I'm feeling, I might suggest:
四世
フォース
アイ・ヴィー

gnaget

You don't spend enough time in the States. フォース seems about right, but I wonder how they write force in that case.

Q Shoe Guy

In my other Japanese life, the AMEX Japan card was the only card I ever qualified for. I got one with my COSTCO membership.....I remember telling them that I was leaving and wanted to transfer it to Canada, but the answer was an emphatic いいえ！I also remember it being quite frustrating on the points angle, as the transfer rates were terrible !

jib71

Currently on my third day in Indianapolis and it feels like I am spending WAY too much time in the States.

I guess the limited range of syllables makes for a lot of homonyms - both with Japanese words and loan words. Career and Carrier is one of my favorite pairs, thanks to an embarrassing misunderstanding.

joejones

I have one Japanese CC with my middle name on it. It's my JAL card, which is linked to my mileage account, which is (had to be?) registered with my full passport name, and the names had to 100% match between the credit card and the mileage account, at least according to the muppet processing the application.

It's fine for shopping and dining in person, but I have had absolutely no luck in using it to buy stuff online (including JAL tickets, which I end up putting on my ANA card that doesn't have a middle name). It may be that the names are registered in a wacky order in someone's computer system. The card itself is printed with my name as "FIRST MIDDLE LAST," but on some Japanese credit card terminals, my name inexplicably shows up as "MIDDLE/LAST FIRST."