KPT

What is the landscape like for expats looking to get a CC in Japan? Namely, are there any companies that go the full nine yards and make sure their UI is also in English?

I'm a bit dismayed to see that the AMEX site americanexpress.co.jp doesn't have an English option. Citibank seems to have an English version of their Japanese site. Are there any other banks that cater to expats? Shinsei seems to be another one, though it doesn't look like they issue CCs.

mjm

Expats have option such as Citi or Shinsei. They also have the option of using a local to assist them through the process and then they can enjoy the card without any real need to interact with the issuing institution. The language of Japan is Japanese and that is the language of the law as well. Most firms here are most comfortable letting those two things be the driver for not much bilingual support.

Being dismayed is not necessary, there are many people which can assist. If you work fro someone here and they sponsor your visa, they must help you. By nature the Japanese are incredibly helpful so I suspect it will be a lot easier than the lack of English websites suggests.

5khours

Pretty accurate synopsis from mjm.

If English is really important use a US card with no foreign transaction fees.

joejones

I have a Japanese Amex corporate card, and the application and other documents were all in both English and Japanese. I am not sure whether this is the case for personal cards, but IIRC Amex also has a special expat relocation service which lets you transfer a foreign Amex account to Japan.

Citibank has both banking and credit card services in English, and most people I know who have zero Japanese ability use them.

Shinsei is a good option for a bank account as they have minimal fees and can do everything in English, but I believe their credit cards are only serviced in Japanese, and they aren't particularly good credit cards anyway.

I think that Seven Bank (7-11's banking arm) has some services in English now, as they have been pushing their overseas money transfer service to foreigners.

Those are pretty much the only candidates that I can think of...

jib71

Funnily enough, JCB - the Japanese credit card - offered me an English application form many years ago. But all service was in Japanese.

5khours

Amex statements and website are all in Japanese.

KPT

Thanks for the responses. Which from experience would you all suggest is the best bank for Japan->US transfers? Also, what about ATM access? Do certain banks charge service fees for using an ATM that isn't theirs?

mjm

The biggest PIA approach but which bears no cost is maintaining a certain balance at Citi, getting free T/Cs and sending them for deposit to your US account via the post then transferring the funds to whoever in the US you need to pay.

The way I do it though is just pay US bills with my Japanese credit card. There are no fees fr overseas payments as it seems US cards incur and the TTM is the rate used.

BuildingMyBento

Perhaps a bit OT, but has anyone using a non-Japanese ATM encountered issues getting money at night at 7-11s? The other day I tried in vain at a couple of them in Tokyo, but luckily had a spare 一千 note.

KPT

This wouldn't be Flyertalk if I weren't trying to get miles/points while I'm at it

I assume AMEX Japan's MR point transfer partners are exactly the same? No AA? Is AMEX Japan as lenient as AMEX US with respect to filing disputes?

There are a bunch of cards that probably still merit usage though, such as SPG card for stays, and since I'll be back in the US 10 weeks or so a year, T/Cs doesn't sound like a terrible way to go about it.

EDIT: On the banking side, looks my employer has an agreement with Citibank for no fees for executing overseas transfers - though the 1 JPY bid spread applies.

ainternational

As suggested above, I'm not sure why for anyone, regardless of country of residence, who is trying to maximize points and minimize costs, that a US based no international transaction fee card wouldn't be the best credit option? Especially on this situation where service in English is important to the customer.

I've pretty consistently heard that the benefits and costs of Japanese based credit cards are inferior to that of their sister cards in the US. Although that is based on the collective opinions of others and not actual experience.

hamburgler

Mitsubishi-Sumitomo, amazingly, has an English language call center. Learned this a few years ago when I had my admin call and then was asked to call them directly on the English line instead...

BTW, expect it to be painful to get your first card. There's no credit scoring in Japan, and I found at least that I was always declined until a colleague got me an in with Sumitomo. After that, I've had no problems getting other cards (like my shiny new JR Central ExpressCard).

gnaget

We have Citi. The English service is good, both telephone and internet. However, the paper statement of monthly transactions is in Japanese. It's good practice to read it.

A key thing about a JP credit card is that it is necessary to get an ETC card for the toll roads.

Another minor benefit is that certain vendors don't take intl credit cards. I recall sport tickets online and 7-11s.

If you get your funds in USD (our associated bank account with Citi is primarily USD) then you have to exchange to JPY at a rate of ~1 JPY per USD or about 1%. So it would actually be better to use a no transaction fee US credit card.

Citi does not give better exchange rates to its Gold customers. Shinsei has better forex for its premium customers: I think 0.50 JPY per USD.

p.s. For airports Citi Gold CC (don't need a gold bank account) gives you domestic lounge access. Never used it though.

joejones

Keep a large balance with Shinsei and you get a 0.5 yen spread on JPY<>USD currency exchanges, plus one fee-free international wire a month.

http://www.shinseibank.com/english/r...epup_guide.pdf

Their default fee for international wires is 4,000 yen and the default spread is 1 yen. As of late they have had a number of limited-time offers for no-spread JPY>USD exchanges (but only in that direction), usually once a month for a couple of days' duration, but you have to register for their email service in Japanese in order to get the details.

joejones

We had a whole thread about this topic a while ago. There are a few credit databases in Japan, but if you don't have a record with any of them the issuer will look at a bunch of subjective issues on your application, like how long you have held your present job, how long you have lived in the same residence, whether you have a fixed-line phone, etc.

I read somewhere that JAL-issued cards have a very easy review process, and indeed my first credit card in Japan was a JAL card (with a built-in Suica, which is very handy to have). After that, SMBC, who are supposedly very difficult and who had rejected me before, gave me a card with minimal hassle.