How to get a Credit Card

[Self]

Hi,

I know this topic has probably been covered, but the search engine says "credit" and "card" are too common words, so gives no results.

I am not married to a Japanese citizen and just live in Japan with a year-to-year visa. I have a steady income, above the standard eikaiwa/ALT salary. I've been living in Japan over a decade (although not in a row). I pay my taxes, health insurance, pension, and other bills.

I have applied for credit cards in the past, but have been rejected. I applied at two major banks and JP Bank.

I've heard that Rakuten might be a good option, but I've also heard that if you apply for a credit card and get rejected, you should wait at least 6 months before applying again.

Any suggestions? I don't understand why an institution would be afraid to give me a credit card. I also have a great credit rating in my native country.

[RetireJapan]

We wrote about this on the blog: https://www.retirejapan.com/blog/credit-cards-in-japan/

Sadly your credit rating in another country has no bearing on Japan, you need to establish your credit rating here by paying bills on time, having debt and paying it off on time, etc.

Anyone else?

[ricardo]

What is a “year to year” visa?

No one cares about your overseas credit rating.

Credit card companies look at your employment stability, employment salary and years of residence stability. They also look at your credit history (in Japan). If you don’t have a credit history and stability this will be a massive negative.

[TokyoWart]

No one cares about your overseas credit rating.

I would add that this works in reverse as well. I've had credit cards in Japan for over two decades but when I applied for a credit card in the US in connection with a bank account I was establishing there a couple of years ago, I was rejected for lack of a credit history. When I ask for free credit reports from the US (by law the rating agencies must provide one free report a year) the credit agency assures me that I don't really exist.

[N00bster]

Do you want a "credit" card or just a device to use online and in shops? If the latter, then you can also consider Rakuten Bank visa debit cards. They are easier to obtain than credit cards and work similarly, expect transactions are directly applied to your checking account balance.

I suspect starting with one may also play in your favor if you apply for a credit card with then later.

[adamu]

If you have a Japanese employer, they might be able to help you by getting you a contact in one of the companies can can authorize applications outside of the standard shinsa process. That's what eventually did it for me.

[KyushuWoozy]

I've heard that Rakuten might be a good option, but I've also heard that if you apply for a credit card and get rejected, you should wait at least 6 months before applying again.

Yup. My Japanese wife just got rejected by Rakuten, even though she is our company Director and our business account is with Rakuten. She mentioned to me about the 6 month thingy too. It's extremely frustrating that between the two of us we can't even get one Japanese credit card.

[Djdawang]

I applied for one last week, Waiting for the response if I am successful or not.
I have PR and my Japanese wife helped me out filling the application online.
I also refereced this blog
https://kimi.wiki/life/get-rakuten-credit-card

I'll keep you guys posted of the results and give some tips on how I filled mine out.

Good luck

[ricardo]

They don’t ask if you have PR.

They don’t know who helped you fill in the form.

They may call you soon to further screen your application. Be ready to confirm your details, income, length of time at current residence, employment status etc. That’s all they’re interested in.

[Bushiman]

From my experience getting a Japanese credit card, I applied for the credit card issued by the bank my monthly salary goes into... I went into my local branch with the Japanese wife and filled out the form with the bank employee. I received the Mastercard a week or 2 later. I used that card for a year or so then applied for a Rakuten card and got that within a couple of weeks...