Personal Finance for Residents of Japan
https://retirejapan.com/forum/
Thanks, that's really helpful. I went ahead with a Mastercard since I already have two VISA cards so should be covered, and as you say at the very least MC should be accepted everywhere. My main card is VISA anyway.zeroshiki wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 4:05 am VISA is by far the most dominant card brand. There's not really any downside to getting a mastercard since most retailers support at least the top 2. There are quirks here and there like the Costco example. I know Amazon gives 5 times less points to Rakuten Mastercard purchases for example. But for the most part, you'll be covered.
Prestia is the SMBC Trust Bank CardTsumitate Wrestler wrote: ↑Sat Oct 28, 2023 2:50 pmhttps://www.smbc-card.com/mem/cardinfo/ ... 001629.jsp
https://www.smbc-card.com/nyukai/card/g ... erless.jsp
+1% points via Tsumitate at SBI
SMBC has tons of different offerings, including the Amazon series. They all have different benefits.Tkydon wrote: ↑Mon Nov 06, 2023 12:26 amPrestia is the SMBC Trust Bank CardTsumitate Wrestler wrote: ↑Sat Oct 28, 2023 2:50 pmhttps://www.smbc-card.com/mem/cardinfo/ ... 001629.jsp
https://www.smbc-card.com/nyukai/card/g ... erless.jsp
+1% points via Tsumitate at SBI
https://www.smbctb.co.jp/en/product/creditcard/
Visa and Mastercard operate on different networks and there will be places that accept one but not the other. A simple but significant example is Costco which accepts Visa but not Mastercard at its US warehouses.mikele3 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 06, 2023 8:48 am I might be wrong, but VISA and Mastercard share the same network, they should both work on the same POS, all the time.
I use VISA for the most here in Japan while I use Mastercard for shopping in foreign currencies or when traveling abroad as it has a better exchange rate AFAIK (last time I checked, a few years ago, it was 2.16% fee for currencies exchange with VISA and 1.63% with Mastercard)
Ironically Costco Japan only accepts Mastercard, not Visa
The only benefit of MC that I can see is for Costco. If you are 100% sure that you will never shop at Costco, then might as well get VISA since it is the most acceptedAntarcticFinance wrote: ↑Sun Oct 29, 2023 8:19 am Thanks for everyone's input. Maybe I will get Mastercard then this time to diversify and in case I shop at Costco.
I heard that MC is less common than Visa in Japan, not sure if that's true. Are there any potential disadvantages going with Mastercard in Japan that anyone is aware of?
