Which Credit Card for What in Japan: The Best Combination for Your Spending
From your monthly card spending and card-funded investing, this tries every way of assigning each kind of spending to one, two or three cards and shows the combination with the highest yearly value after annual fees — with a recommended number of cards that only adds a card if it earns at least ¥3,000 a year more. Miles cards can be included. Covers Sumitomo Mitsui, Recruit, Rakuten, JCB W, JRE CARD, JAL, ANA and more.
The best way to split ¥2,580,000 a year on cards
Recommended: 2 cards — Recruit + SMBC NL, worth ¥37,380 a year.
Against the best no-fee single card (Recruit Card (JCB), ¥30,420), the difference is +¥6,960 a year.
1 card: ¥30,420 a year
- Use it for: Everyday, Konbini & chains, Amazon, Utilities & phone, Suica top-upsRewards ¥30,420, no annual fee
2 cards: ¥37,380 a year (+¥6,960 vs. 1 card)
- Use it for: Everyday, Amazon, Utilities & phone, Suica top-upsRewards ¥28,980, no annual fee
- Use it for: Konbini & chainsRewards ¥8,400, no annual fee
3 cards: ¥37,756 a year (+¥376 vs. 2 cards)
- Use it for: Everyday, Amazon, Utilities & phoneRewards ¥28,080, no annual fee
- Use it for: Konbini & chainsRewards ¥8,400, no annual fee
- Use it for: Suica top-upsRewards ¥1,800, net ¥1,276 after a ¥524 fee
The search tries every way of assigning each category of spending to a card, using the conditions on each card's official pages (listed under "cards and official pages" below). Every extra card is extra work, so the recommendation only adds a card when it adds at least ¥3,000 a year.
The 19 cards in the calculation, and the official pages checked
- Recruit Card (JCB) RecommendedNo annual fee, ever. Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).Recruit Card (official, Japanese) — 1.2% rate, also on utilities and phone bills / Recruit Card (official, Japanese) — electronic-money top-ups (nanaco, mobile Suica) earn 0.75%, up to ¥30,000 a month, from 16 February 2022 / Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos (Japanese) — Recruit Card Visa/Mastercard: 1.2% on shopping
- Rakuten Card Up to youNo annual fee, ever. Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).Rakuten Card (official, Japanese) — 1% rate, no annual fee / Rakuten Card (official, Japanese) — uses with different rates (utilities and taxes: 1 point per ¥500; mobile Suica: not eligible) / Rakuten Securities (Japanese) — point rates for card-funded fund purchases
- JCB Card W Up to youNo annual fee, ever (join at 18–39). You can apply at 18–39 (and keep the card, still free, after 40). Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).JCB Card W (official, Japanese) — 1.0% base, Amazon 4× points, no annual fee, ages 18–39 / JCB (Japanese) — J-POINT and J-POINT partner stores (conditions) / JCB (Japanese) — uses that earn no J-POINT (mobile Suica and other e-money top-ups, annual fees, cash advances)
- Sumitomo Mitsui Card (NL) RecommendedNo annual fee, ever. Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — V Point Up Program (eligible stores, phone contactless, conditions) / Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — card-funded investing: conditions and rates (NL and standard cards)
- Sumitomo Mitsui Card Gold (NL) Up to you¥5,500. Free from the next year once you spend ¥1,000,000 or more in a year. Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — Gold (NL): free from the next year at ¥1M a year, 10,000 points every year / Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — card-funded investing: conditions and rates (Gold) / Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — V Point Up Program (eligible stores, phone contactless, conditions)
- Sumitomo Mitsui Card Platinum Preferred Up to you¥33,000. Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — Platinum Preferred (yearly bonus, overseas, Reward Up) / Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — card-funded investing: conditions and rates (Platinum Preferred) / Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — V Point Up Program (eligible stores, phone contactless, conditions)
- Epos Gold Card Up to you¥5,000. Free from the next year once you spend ¥500,000 or more in a year. Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).Epos Card (Japanese) — Epos Gold Card (annual fee; free from the next year at ¥500,000 a year) / Epos Card (Japanese) — Gold Card yearly bonus points (2,500 at ¥500,000; 10,000 at ¥1,000,000) / Epos Card FAQ (Japanese) — how points are calculated (1 point per ¥200 incl. tax) and which uses earn none / Epos Card (Japanese) — end of points on top-ups of payment services (mobile Suica etc.) from 1 August 2026
- JRE CARD Up to youFree the first year, then ¥524 (free if you pay JR East Sports monthly fees by card). Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).JR East (Japanese/English) — JRE CARD (1.5% on Suica top-ups, ¥524 annual fee) / View Card FAQ (Japanese) — uses that earn no JRE POINT (mobile Suica is not among them) / JR East (Japanese) — utilities and phone bills on a View card (5 points per ¥1,000 = 0.5%)
- Saison Pearl American Express Card Up to youFree if you use it at least once a year (¥1,100 in the first year). Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).Saison Card (Japanese) — Saison Pearl American Express (QUICPay up to 2%, ¥300,000 a year) / Saison Card FAQ (Japanese) — uses with no points or different rates (taxes, electricity, gas, water and NHK: 1 point per ¥2,000; mobile Suica top-ups: none)
- d CARD (standard) Not recommendedFree (from January 2027, ¥1,650 in a year after a year with no use). Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).NTT Docomo (Japanese) — d Card point-rate and annual-fee changes (January 2027) / NTT Docomo (Japanese) — d Card point notes (mobile Suica and other top-ups excluded; utilities and taxes eligible)
- Luxury Card Titanium Not recommended¥75,000 (now ¥55,000; the new fee applies to new applications from 1 Jan 2027 and to existing members from February 2027 billing). Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).Luxury Card (official, Japanese) — points programme (rates, mile exchange) / Luxury Card (official, Japanese) — annual-fee revision notice (January 2027)
- Luxury Card Black Not recommended¥150,000 (now ¥110,000; the new fee applies to new applications from 1 Jan 2027 and to existing members from February 2027 billing). Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).Luxury Card (official, Japanese) — points programme (rates, mile exchange) / Luxury Card (official, Japanese) — annual-fee revision notice (January 2027)
- Luxury Card Gold Not recommended¥295,000 (now ¥220,000; the new fee applies to new applications from 1 Jan 2027 and to existing members from February 2027 billing). Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).Luxury Card (official, Japanese) — points programme (rates, mile exchange) / Luxury Card (official, Japanese) — annual-fee revision notice (January 2027)
- ANA JCB CARD FIRST RecommendedFree for 5 years (ages 18–29, excluding students). For ages 18–29 (excluding students). Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).ANA (Japanese) — ANA card list (annual fees, shopping miles) / JCB (Japanese) — ANA JCB CARD FIRST renewal notice (automatic switch to the ANA JCB standard card after five years)
- JAL Card (standard) + Shopping Mile Premium Up to you¥2,200 (free the first year) + ¥4,950 for Premium. Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).JAL Card (Japanese) — standard card (annual fee, shopping miles, Premium)
- ANA VISA Card (standard) + 2x course Up to you¥2,200 (free the first year) + ¥6,600 transfer fee for the 2x course. Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).ANA (Japanese) — ANA card list (annual fees, shopping miles) / Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — ANA card mileage transfer (2x course, ¥6,600 fee)
- ANA VISA Platinum Premium Card Not recommended¥96,800. Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).ANA (Japanese) — ANA card list (annual fees, shopping miles) / Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — ANA card mileage transfer (2x course, ¥6,600 fee) / Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — ANA VISA Platinum Premium annual-fee revision (¥88,000 → ¥96,800 for payments on or after 10 December 2025)
- Marriott Bonvoy American Express Premium Card Not recommended¥82,500. Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).American Express (Japanese) — Marriott Bonvoy points (3 points per ¥100) / American Express (Japanese) — Marriott Bonvoy Premium Card (¥82,500 annual fee) / Marriott Bonvoy (Japanese) — points to miles (3:1, 5,000 bonus miles per 60,000 points)
- American Express Gold Preferred Card + ANA course Up to you¥39,600 + ¥5,500 ANA course fee. Checked 2026-10-09 (re-check by 2027-03-31).American Express (Japanese) — Gold Preferred Card (¥39,600 annual fee) / ANA (Japanese) — American Express Membership Rewards ANA course / American Express (Japanese) — Membership Rewards (1 point per ¥100; some merchants excluded or 1 point per ¥200)
Approximate estimates only, for a steady state from the second year onward. Welcome offers, first-year-only perks, airport lounges, insurance and hotel perks are not included. One point is counted as ¥1, and each card's rates, fees and conditions are those on the issuer's official page on the date shown in the card's entry; they change often, so confirm on the official page before you apply. Items marked "Assumed" are estimates because no official page could be found to confirm them. This is not tax, legal, or financial advice.
How it is calculated
- Your six rows of monthly card spending and your card-funded investing are turned into yearly amounts.
- Every combination of one, two or three cards is built from the candidates, and every way of assigning each row of spending to a card — and of putting the investing on one card — is tried. For each card, the annual-fee waiver, the yearly bonus and the investing rate are re-judged on the spend that card actually receives.
- The net yearly value of each combination (after annual fees) is compared, and the best one-, two- and three-card combinations are shown.
- A card is added only if it earns at least ¥3,000 a year more. Below that, the extra effort is not worth it, so the recommendation uses fewer cards.
Investing goes on a single card, because the investing rates are set per card and are hard to meet when split. Sumitomo Mitsui's investing rate depends on that card's own yearly spend, so it can pay to put some spending on the card that carries the investing.
Examples: the best split for four spending patterns
| Pattern | Best two cards (points only) | Net value a year |
|---|---|---|
| ¥1.8M a year (¥150K a month), commuting and convenience stores | SMBC Gold (NL) (Everyday, Konbini & chains) + Recruit (Amazon, Utilities & phone, Suica top-ups) | ¥29,890 |
| ¥3M a year (¥250K a month), ¥50K a month into card-funded investing | Recruit (Everyday, Amazon, Utilities & phone, Suica top-ups, Overseas) + SMBC NL (Konbini & chains, card-funded investing) | ¥45,420 |
| ¥6M a year (¥500K a month), ¥100K a month into card-funded investing | Platinum Preferred (Everyday, Konbini & chains, Amazon, Overseas, card-funded investing) + Recruit (Utilities & phone, Suica top-ups) | ¥120,700 |
| Age 29, ¥1.44M a year (¥120K a month) | SMBC Gold (NL) (Everyday, Konbini & chains, Suica top-ups) + JCB W (Amazon, Utilities & phone) | ¥28,000 |
At ¥1.8M a year (pattern A), put everyday spending and convenience stores on Gold (NL) so it passes ¥1M, and Amazon, utilities and Suica on Recruit: ¥29,890. That is ¥3,390 more than Gold (NL) alone (¥26,500).
At ¥3M a year with ¥50,000 a month invested (pattern B), Recruit + Sumitomo Mitsui Card (NL) — both with no annual fee — earn ¥45,420, ¥7,220 more than one card (¥38,200). Putting the convenience-store spending and the investing on SMBC NL also meets its 0.5% investing condition (¥100,000 of card spend the previous year). A third card adds only ¥376.
At ¥6M a year with ¥100,000 a month invested (pattern C), Platinum Preferred alone earns ¥118,600. A second card adds only ¥2,100 — under ¥3,000 — so one card is enough.
At 29 or under (pattern D), counting miles at ¥2 each, putting everything on ANA JCB CARD FIRST earns ¥28,800 on its own, and sending only the convenience-store and restaurant-chain spending to SMBC NL makes two cards worth ¥34,800.
FAQ
Q.How many cards should I carry?
The calculator uses a simple rule: add a card only if it earns at least ¥3,000 a year more. In the four patterns above the answer ranges from one card (pattern C) to two (A, B and D), and a third card never adds ¥3,000. It depends on your own numbers, so enter them.
Q.What changes if I include miles cards?
Enter what a mile is worth to you and a miles card is treated as the cash that many miles are worth, then placed alongside the points cards. If a mile is worth more than about ¥1.5, JAL (with Premium) or ANA (with the 2x course) start to beat the free points card and enter the combinations. At ¥1 a mile they almost never do.
With a high mile value (¥3 or more), high-fee miles cards can rank near the top; check that you can really use miles at that value on a real award ticket.
Q.What are the assumptions, and what is not calculated?
Steady state from the second year, with 1 point = ¥1 (miles at the value you enter). Not included: welcome offers, lounge, insurance and hotel perks, economic-zone boosts such as Rakuten's SPU, JCB W's 10.5% partner stores, Sumitomo Mitsui's Reward Up, airline partner-store miles, and revolving payments.
To keep the search fast, the candidates are first narrowed to the highest-value cards, the cards with the highest rate in each row, and the best cards for investing. The search over those is exhaustive; the tests check that, for one and two cards, it matches a brute-force search over every card.
Sources
- Recruit Card (official, Japanese) — 1.2% rate, also on utilities and phone bills
- Recruit Card (official, Japanese) — electronic-money top-ups (nanaco, mobile Suica) earn 0.75%, up to ¥30,000 a month, from 16 February 2022
- Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos (Japanese) — Recruit Card Visa/Mastercard: 1.2% on shopping
- Rakuten Card (official, Japanese) — 1% rate, no annual fee
- Rakuten Card (official, Japanese) — uses with different rates (utilities and taxes: 1 point per ¥500; mobile Suica: not eligible)
- Rakuten Securities (Japanese) — point rates for card-funded fund purchases
- JCB Card W (official, Japanese) — 1.0% base, Amazon 4× points, no annual fee, ages 18–39
- JCB (Japanese) — J-POINT and J-POINT partner stores (conditions)
- JCB (Japanese) — uses that earn no J-POINT (mobile Suica and other e-money top-ups, annual fees, cash advances)
- Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — V Point Up Program (eligible stores, phone contactless, conditions)
- Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — card-funded investing: conditions and rates (NL and standard cards)
- Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — Gold (NL): free from the next year at ¥1M a year, 10,000 points every year
- Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — card-funded investing: conditions and rates (Gold)
- Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — Platinum Preferred (yearly bonus, overseas, Reward Up)
- Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — card-funded investing: conditions and rates (Platinum Preferred)
- Epos Card (Japanese) — Epos Gold Card (annual fee; free from the next year at ¥500,000 a year)
- Epos Card (Japanese) — Gold Card yearly bonus points (2,500 at ¥500,000; 10,000 at ¥1,000,000)
- Epos Card FAQ (Japanese) — how points are calculated (1 point per ¥200 incl. tax) and which uses earn none
- Epos Card (Japanese) — end of points on top-ups of payment services (mobile Suica etc.) from 1 August 2026
- JR East (Japanese/English) — JRE CARD (1.5% on Suica top-ups, ¥524 annual fee)
- View Card FAQ (Japanese) — uses that earn no JRE POINT (mobile Suica is not among them)
- JR East (Japanese) — utilities and phone bills on a View card (5 points per ¥1,000 = 0.5%)
- Saison Card (Japanese) — Saison Pearl American Express (QUICPay up to 2%, ¥300,000 a year)
- Saison Card FAQ (Japanese) — uses with no points or different rates (taxes, electricity, gas, water and NHK: 1 point per ¥2,000; mobile Suica top-ups: none)
- NTT Docomo (Japanese) — d Card point-rate and annual-fee changes (January 2027)
- NTT Docomo (Japanese) — d Card point notes (mobile Suica and other top-ups excluded; utilities and taxes eligible)
- Luxury Card (official, Japanese) — points programme (rates, mile exchange)
- Luxury Card (official, Japanese) — annual-fee revision notice (January 2027)
- ANA (Japanese) — ANA card list (annual fees, shopping miles)
- JCB (Japanese) — ANA JCB CARD FIRST renewal notice (automatic switch to the ANA JCB standard card after five years)
- JAL Card (Japanese) — standard card (annual fee, shopping miles, Premium)
- Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — ANA card mileage transfer (2x course, ¥6,600 fee)
- Sumitomo Mitsui Card (Japanese) — ANA VISA Platinum Premium annual-fee revision (¥88,000 → ¥96,800 for payments on or after 10 December 2025)
- American Express (Japanese) — Marriott Bonvoy points (3 points per ¥100)
- American Express (Japanese) — Marriott Bonvoy Premium Card (¥82,500 annual fee)
- Marriott Bonvoy (Japanese) — points to miles (3:1, 5,000 bonus miles per 60,000 points)
- American Express (Japanese) — Gold Preferred Card (¥39,600 annual fee)
- ANA (Japanese) — American Express Membership Rewards ANA course
- American Express (Japanese) — Membership Rewards (1 point per ¥100; some merchants excluded or 1 point per ¥200)