Originally Posted by
kansaiflyer
Thanks, lax01. Let me see if I understand you: Are you saying there were not many machines where you could charge your Pasmo with Japanese cash?
Do you know if one could add a Suica (or Pasmo) to their iPhone without adding some money to it initially with a MC or Amex card? I'm trying to figure out a way to add a card without MC or Amex.
My situation was a bit different - I had a physical Pasmo card from a previous trip to Japan which I added to my Apple Wallet. I did not take the physical card to Japan on my latest trip (nor do I know if it even still works after adding it to the Apple Wallet). I *believe* I saw machines with NFC (what Apple Wallet uses to read the "virtual IC card" - but I did not use one and there were NOT a lot of them (where you could tap the Pasmo/Suica and top off using the machine with cash (vs. physical credit card).
I also don't believe (but I'm not sure) if you can add the Suica or Pasmo to iPhone without adding money initially. I imagine you probably have to add money to create the card though...would make the most sense. The process to add funds to the card in Apple Wallet is extremely easy as we did it 10-15 times over the course of our trip.
The Apple Card (assuming you are in the US, the credit card Apple offers) is a Mastercard and you should be able to apply and top off with that immediately...assuming you want a new credit card