RetireJapan

Hi all,

I've decided to finally close my Theo account after being a little underwhelmed with their recent attempt to lower fees. One thing I will miss however is the ability to easily setup a monthly investment amount automatically without having to think too much about it.

I know Monex has some options for something similar, but I already have my NISA, ideco and regular taxable investment account through Rakuten.

I saw some posts and read a little about the Rakuten credit card allowing monthly investments through there, and they just so happen to have a 6,000 point back promotion on right now so I think I'm going to apply for the basic card with no fees. Has anyone set this up yet, or are there any options to do this without having to apply for the credit card that I've overlooked? Or is Monex a better option overall?

Best regards,
Rezz

It's not limited to the credit card. You can setup a monthly wire from your Rakuten Bank account (and presumably any other institution) and automatically buy a given amount of selected funds. It's not super hard to set up.

The advantage of using the Rakuten Card is that you can accumulate up to 500 points/month if you max your card allowance of 50,000Y.

Congrats on moving from Theo to a simpler investment strategy. I did the same some time ago and am not looking back.

Thanks for the reply! I'll look into it a little more. I tried applying for the free Rakuten card anyway because 500 yen in points a month for depositing 50,000 is always appreciated, but as usual I hit the name character limit during my application. This resulted in linking a bank account failing to pass the security checks because the bank account name wasn't the same as the application (sigh). They're now sending forms by post instead .

N00bster wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2019 3:54 pm It's not limited to the credit card. You can setup a monthly wire from your Rakuten Bank account (and presumably any other institution) and automatically buy a given amount of selected funds. It's not super hard to set up.

The advantage of using the Rakuten Card is that you can accumulate up to 500 points/month if you max your card allowance of 50,000Y.

Congrats on moving from Theo to a simpler investment strategy. I did the same some time ago and am not looking back.

I have set up the automatic 50,000 yen from my Rakuten credit card but it is not 500 points/month, it is 50 points/per month. So instead of getting charged 50,000 i get charged 49,950 per month for 50,000 worth of purchase.

Am I doing something wrong?

Are you accruing the rest of the 500 in points on your account perhaps?

I know you asked for Rakuten, but just for balance it seems SBI have a regular investment option too. Looks like it takes the money from your bank account and puts it in a fund. I don't use it myself, so can't talk from experience.

https://site1.sbisec.co.jp/ETGate/?_Con ... te_06.html

OkiBum wrote: ↑Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:02 am

N00bster wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2019 3:54 pm It's not limited to the credit card. You can setup a monthly wire from your Rakuten Bank account (and presumably any other institution) and automatically buy a given amount of selected funds. It's not super hard to set up.

The advantage of using the Rakuten Card is that you can accumulate up to 500 points/month if you max your card allowance of 50,000Y.

Congrats on moving from Theo to a simpler investment strategy. I did the same some time ago and am not looking back.

I have set up the automatic 50,000 yen from my Rakuten credit card but it is not 500 points/month, it is 50 points/per month. So instead of getting charged 50,000 i get charged 49,950 per month for 50,000 worth of purchase.

Am I doing something wrong?

Are we talking about the same thing? It seems like you are talking about buying stuff with your Rakuten points. This gives you +1 in points on Rakuten Ichiba if you spend 500 points or more per month. How many points to use can be specified when editing your credit card transaction schedule on Rakuten Securities. I have set 500 points and confirmed I was charged 49,500Y + 500 points every month.

What I was talking about is that by using a Rakuten credit card along with the maximum allowed amount of 50,000Y to buy securities, you are getting these 500 points back as the 1% cashback of the card.

N00bster wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2019 3:54 pm Are we talking about the same thing? It seems like you are talking about buying stuff with your Rakuten points. This gives you +1 in points on Rakuten Ichiba if you spend 500 points or more per month. How many points to use can be specified when editing your credit card transaction schedule on Rakuten Securities. I have set 500 points and confirmed I was charged 49,500Y + 500 points every month.

What I was talking about is that by using a Rakuten credit card along with the maximum allowed amount of 50,000Y to buy securities, you are getting these 500 points back as the 1% cashback of the card.

I am not sure as well... I rechecked my statement and I pay 49,950 instead of 50,000 for the monthly purchases. How do I get the 500 points as well? Do I need to subscribe to something else? Or could it be because it is a ANA mileage card so I don't get Rakuten points? Although it does show my Rakuten points balance as 326 but if I receive 500 points every month it should be much higher.....

I am a noob when it comes to Japanese newsletters etc. so i might have missed some emails from them.

OkiBum wrote: ↑Thu Sep 12, 2019 6:34 am I am not sure as well... I rechecked my statement and I pay 49,950 instead of 50,000 for the monthly purchases. How do I get the 500 points as well? Do I need to subscribe to something else? Or could it be because it is a ANA mileage card so I don't get Rakuten points? Although it does show my Rakuten points balance as 326 but if I receive 500 points every month it should be much higher.....

I am a noob when it comes to Japanese newsletters etc. so i might have missed some emails from them.

Yes you only get Rakuten points if you use a Rakuten card... With your ANA mileage your are getting ANA miles, just as you would with any other transaction.

It would be interesting to know where the remaining 50Y are coming, but that's probably from some Rakuten points you have on your account.

Ahh okay..I suppose that makes sense.