On most credit cards, mobile Suica top-ups and commuter passes earn a lower rate, or nothing. JRE CARD pays 1.5% on top-ups and 5% on mobile Suica commuter passes, with a ¥524 annual fee from the second year. The Recruit Card pays 0.75% on top-ups (up to ¥30,000 a month) against its usual 1.2%. Sumitomo Mitsui Card pays no V Points on top-ups or passes. Rakuten, JCB, Epos, Saison and d Card pay nothing on mobile Suica top-ups either. At ¥10,000 a month of top-ups, the yearly points are ¥1,276 on JRE CARD (after the fee), ¥900 on Recruit and ¥0 on Sumitomo Mitsui.
How each card treats mobile Suica top-ups (from the issuers' pages)
| Card | Top-ups | Commuter passes | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| JRE CARD | 1.5% (auto-charge or manual) | 5% (2% pass + 3% View Card payment) | Free the first year, ¥524 from the second |
| Recruit Card (JCB) | 0.75% (up to ¥30,000 a month) | Not confirmed in the issuer's table | E-money top-up rule since February 2022 |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Card (NL, Gold and so on) | No V Points | No V Points | Also not counted toward yearly spend lines |
| Luxury Card | A flat rate (1.0–1.5%) | — | The rate is the same on mobile payments and top-ups |
| Rakuten Card | Not eligible for points | Not eligible (also tickets and green-car tickets) | Top-ups via Rakuten Pay earn 1 point per ¥200 separately (the issuer's note) |
| JCB cards (W and others) | Not eligible for J-POINT | — | Also excluded from the yearly J-POINT bonus count |
| Epos Card | Points ended on 1 August 2026 | Also excluded (passes, tickets, green-car tickets) | Still counts toward the Gold and Platinum yearly bonus |
| Saison Card | Not eligible for Eternal Points | — | E-money and prepaid top-ups are excluded (the issuer's FAQ) |
| d Card | Not eligible (including via Apple Pay and Google Pay) | Not eligible (also tickets and green-car tickets) | Stated in d Card's own list |
Net yearly value by monthly top-up
| Monthly top-up | JRE CARD (after the ¥524 fee) | Recruit (0.75%) | Sumitomo Mitsui (NL) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ¥3,000 | ¥16 | ¥270 | ¥0 |
| ¥10,000 | ¥1,276 | ¥900 | ¥0 |
| ¥30,000 | ¥4,876 | ¥2,700 | ¥0 |
JRE CARD's ¥524 fee is covered once top-ups exceed about ¥34,900 a year (about ¥2,900 a month; JRE's own page suggests ¥3,000 a month). It beats Recruit's 0.75% from about ¥5,800 a month of top-ups; below that, Recruit is better because it has no fee.
A pass bought with mobile Suica earns 5%. A ¥70,000 pass earns ¥3,500 (the same as JRE's own example), so someone who buys several passes a year clears the fee easily. JRE says that buying at least ¥11,000 of mobile Suica passes a year covers the fee.
Skipping Suica and tapping a credit card on the train
On participating railways and buses you can tap the phone's credit card and ride directly. Sumitomo Mitsui Card (NL, Gold and so on) pays 7% on this (some operators are excluded), and JCB Card W counts "card tap on trains" as a partner store at 10.5% (some stations and lines excluded; advance registration is needed). On a participating route that beats the 1.5% for topping up Suica. Check that your daily route is covered, and note that tapping a card is the standard fare, not a commuter pass.
Who it suits, and who it does not
- Suits: people living on a JR East line who use mobile Suica (passes or top-ups) for ¥5,800 a month or more. Make JRE CARD the Suica-only card and put everything else on another card.
- Does not suit: people who use a physical Suica card, or small top-ups. The JRE CARD rate applies to mobile Suica top-ups; Suica cards that are not registered-name cards are excluded.
- If you are counting toward Gold (NL)'s ¥1M line, remember that mobile Suica top-ups and passes do not count toward it.
To try your own amounts, enter them in the "mobile Suica" row of the card-combination calculator. The verdict list is in Credit card verdicts.
Sources
- JR East (Japanese) — JRE CARD: 1.5% on mobile Suica top-ups, 5% on commuter passes, ¥524 annual fee and the break-even guides
- Recruit Card (official, Japanese) — electronic-money top-ups (nanaco, mobile Suica) earn 0.75%, up to ¥30,000 a month
- Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — card-funded investing conditions: uses not counted toward yearly spend (mobile Suica passes, tickets, transport-IC top-ups)
- Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — Gold (NL): 7% on tapping the phone on trains and buses; some operators excluded
- JCB (Japanese) — J-POINT: partner stores for JCB Card W, incl. tapping a card on trains (10.5%; some stations and lines excluded)
- Luxury Card (official, Japanese) — points programme: the same rate on mobile payments and top-ups
- Rakuten Card (official, Japanese) — uses with different rates (top-ups of payment services — mobile Suica, passes and so on — are not eligible)
- JCB (Japanese) — uses that earn no J-POINT (mobile Suica top-ups)
- Epos Card (Japanese) — end of points on top-ups of payment services from 1 August 2026
- Saison Card FAQ (Japanese) — uses with no points or different rates (mobile Suica top-ups)
- NTT Docomo (Japanese) — d Card point notes (mobile Suica top-ups and passes are excluded)