RetireJapan

All the changes are highlighted here. https://www.smbc-card.com/mem/cardinfo/ ... 002557.jsp

In a nutshell, this is basically now Amazon's answer to the standard free Rakuten card.

The Gold card is dead, and the benefits are all being scaled back. No lounge access, No Prime, lower coverage rates.

1% points for general purchases, 1.5% at konbinis (nice benefit), 2.5% on Amazon if you are a Prime member.

...

Tinfoil hat talk: I see this as a precursor to raising amazon Prime membership rates.

Nice one. I have this card, so got that email today.

No fee? Seems like a win. The benefits don't seem to change much.

RetireJapan wrote: ↑Tue Oct 12, 2021 11:29 am Nice one. I have this card, so got that email today.

No fee? Seems like a win. The benefits don't seem to change much.

Do you have the Gold or Standard?

No Prime, no lounge access, lower-max credit limit, lower travel insurance rates are the main changes.

You need to pay for prime separately now it seems. That allows you to get the PRIME version of the card.

I would call it a wash... Very neutral. My wife is miffed we no longer have a "gold" card.

I have the Gold, and paid for prime before (was it included in the card?). Haven't really been paying much attention to this

Just had another look. You're right, losing the lounge access and travel coverage might be bad for some people (I have other cards that provide those, so not really bothered).

I only signed up in the first place to get the free 5000 yen worth of points, as I wanted to buy a hydraulic wood splitter through Amazon.
I think I have only used the card a couple times since then, for sundry Amazon purchases like bulk cat food etc. (it is linked to my Amazon account).

I think I have the regular card, not the gold one.

As I recall, it has no membership fee as long as you spend over a certain amount in one year.
Maybe I am getting confused with another card?

Anyways, thanks for the info.

Newbie questions:
1. Personal or business card?

2. How difficult was the application process?

3. Non-PR can apply? I was told at Costco that only PR can apply for their MasterCard…

Thank you!

glimmer wrote: ↑Tue Oct 26, 2021 8:23 am Newbie questions:
1. Personal or business card?

2. How difficult was the application process?

3. Non-PR can apply? I was told at Costco that only PR can apply for their MasterCard…

Thank you!

We cannot answer these questions. The new card has not been released.

I assume it will be much easier to apply, as there is no gold card tier.

The easiest card to get in Japan, and the most useful/best deal, is probably the Rakuten Basic card.

EmaxisSlim Cultist wrote: ↑Tue Oct 26, 2021 12:16 pm We cannot answer these questions. The new card has not been released.

I assume it will be much easier to apply, as there is no gold card tier.

The easiest card to get in Japan, and the most useful/best deal, is probably the Rakuten Basic card.

Ah, 11/01 release date, my apologies…

Good to know!

I searched on these forums but had trouble finding info on the Rakuten Basic. What's a good resource to learn more besides the product pages? Kakaku's ranking? Thank you.

There's tons of pages that have credit card rankings and it almost always depends on your personal usage patterns and lifestyle. If, for example, you for some reason subsist solely on Amazon then that's a pretty good deal.

The most generic answer is the Rakuten Basic Card because it gets you into the Rakuten Ecosystem and their generous point system (even just the card itself is 1% point back for all purchases).