I don't use this personally, but I think some people here are using this card. They are removing the 4% points bonus for Rakuten Ichiba, which means there are no benefits to this card compared to others, and it's better to downgrade to standard, or upgrade to premium.eyeswideshut wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 12:31 am Rakuten Gold credit card just adds up significantly over time. I honestly have no idea how Rakuten makes money given how much they give away in points.
Excellent summary (in Japanese) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X49rBLcd9bk
The video suggests for most people, downgrading to the standard card, which is still very competitive, would be the best option. Or if you use airport lounges abroad (not likely right now...) the premium card pays for itself.
He finishes by speculating that such a degradation without any replacement is surprising, so maybe they are planning something new that has yet to be announced.
Update
Here's a summary of the video conclusion, for people that can't/don't want to watch it:
- From 1 April, the 4x points on the gold card will turn into 2x points for Rakuten Ichiba (same as the normal card), making it not worth the annual fee. Premium keeps 4x.
- If you spend more than 550,000 in Rakuten Ichiba, upgrading to premium is worth it (If using Furusato Nozei, you need to be earning 20M yen to use this amount).
- If you use the Priority Pass for international lounges, Premium pays for itself.
- For everyone else the normal card is still a good deal: Works with Edy, No annual fee, bonus multipliers for other Rakuten services (Energy, Mobile, Travel, Securities...)
- If downgrading, he recommends to take advantage of the final marathons in Feb/March and this year's Furusazo Nozei allowance before doing so.
- Maybe Rakuten have something else in the works they've not announced yet?