Amazon Japan Mastercard

[adamu]

I applied for the Gold card this evening.

Too late for you I guess, but I wouldn't go for gold unless you want the higher credit limit because:

1. It assumes you are going to use Amazon Prime
2. It assumes you are going to use Amazon heavily

Both of these things might be true when you apply, but

1. You could change your priorities later if/when more attractive services come along, or if you decided you don't like Amazon
2. The fact that you are committed will twist your arm to stick with Amazon, even if you'd normally make another choice

This benefits Amazon more than the customers. They are buying your loyalty with the offers of points/discounts, and if you betray them they will rely on complacency to earn annual fees from you instead.

So IMO it's not just a question of doing the sums and working out if it's "worth" it. You have to consider your future choices and what psychological effect signing up to any kind of loyalty scheme will have on your decisions.

[glimmer]

You sent me a question about revolving payments. I am fine with answering it publicly.

Do not select this option. You are essentially agreeing to a high-interest payment plan.

Always pay the entire amount at one time.

If you cannot do this, you cannot afford the purchase the item.

Ah, so revolving payments is basically financing. Oh I never opt in to those. I was mixing it up with autopay so I don't miss a monthly payment. Appreciate the tip!

[glimmer]

Too late for you I guess, but I wouldn't go for gold unless you want the higher credit limit because:

1. It assumes you are going to use Amazon Prime
2. It assumes you are going to use Amazon heavily

Both of these things might be true when you apply, but

1. You could change your priorities later if/when more attractive services come along, or if you decided you don't like Amazon
2. The fact that you are committed will twist your arm to stick with Amazon, even if you'd normally make another choice

This benefits Amazon more than the customers. They are buying your loyalty with the offers of points/discounts, and if you betray them they will rely on complacency to earn annual fees from you instead.

So IMO it's not just a question of doing the sums and working out if it's "worth" it. You have to consider your future choices and what psychological effect signing up to any kind of loyalty scheme will have on your decisions.

Appreciate your thoughts on the matter!

If you read my post and replies, you may notice that I mentioned using Amazon Prime in Japan heavily. I also have Amazon accounts in the USA, UK, and Germany. ¥1M+ this year shouldn't be a problem. I moved to a new home this year and am making major purchases of appliances, and I established a new company too.

I believe that every company uses these loyalty tactics with points, but Amazon is the one of the very few that I actually pay attention to. For me, points are ideally a "set it and forget it" scenario. Later on, if I decide that I'm not getting my money's worth, I can always downgrade to Classic.

Seeing how retail operates in Japan, I have serious doubts anything more attractive will come along for a long, long time. Also, I have limited Japanese language skills so Amazon's multilingual interface is a lifesaver. Rakuten, Yahoo Auctions, Mercari, just doesn't work for me even with Google Translate. I'm all ears if I'm overlooking something though as I still have a lot to learn about shopping on the Japanese internet!

[mighty58]

Amazon also has the availability of the kazoku card for family members, which is useful for married folks and can help ramp up the points. I recently realized my long-held credit card doesn't offer this, and have been looking for an alternative.

[adamu]

If you read my post and replies, you may notice that I mentioned using Amazon Prime in Japan heavily. I also have Amazon accounts in the USA, UK, and Germany. ¥1M+ this year shouldn't be a problem.

Might have our wires crossed, but of course I read your post and the replies. That's why I said that it's too late for you - it was mostly for the benefit of others reading. In your case, the English requirement restricts the choices so it seems to make sense.

Amazon also has the availability of the kazoku card for family members, which is useful for married folks and can help ramp up the points. I recently realized my long-held credit card doesn't offer this, and have been looking for an alternative.

Amazon (gold) is way down at 80 (92 for the basic one) on kakaku's popular ranking for family cards: https://kakaku.com/card/ranking/?cc_family=1

The top 3 are Rakuten, Aeon, and JCB W. The JCB one says it comes with 3x points on Amazon/7-11/Starbucks/Bic Camera + 3 months of Amazon Prime.

I wish they wouldn't use popularity as their default ranking criteria though . They also have a recommended section where they recommend Rakuten, 7 Eleven, or Amex SkyTraveller.

[mighty58]

Amazon (gold) is way down at 80 (92 for the basic one) on kakaku's popular ranking for family cards: https://kakaku.com/card/ranking/?cc_family=1

The top 3 are Rakuten, Aeon, and JCB W. The JCB one says it comes with 3x points on Amazon/7-11/Starbucks/Bic Camera + 3 months of Amazon Prime.

I wish they wouldn't use popularity as their default ranking criteria though . They also have a recommended section where they recommend Rakuten, 7 Eleven, or Amex SkyTraveller.

Damn ... too many choices! I'm always struggling with the desire to optimize vs. the time it takes to achieve said optimization. In my old(er) age I find myself leaning increasingly towards settling for "good enough" rather than "best".
(and I certainly can't/won't reward Rakuten for their crappy UX design no matter how many points they offer!)