Which Mercari / Merpay card should you get? All 2 compared
A decision page for readers who have already settled on Mercari / Merpay and only need to pick the right card in the lineup. All 2 are compared here — 2 of them open to new applications, with annual fees of ¥0–¥5,000. The axis that actually decides it: how much of your shopping goes to these stores, and sale-day rules.
Issued by Merpay, Inc. · 2 cards recorded, 2 open to new applications · verified 2026-08-13
Which one to get
If you want one answer, start with the Mercard — no annual fee and a 1% published base rate. If you already know what you want the card for, take the matching row instead.
| Use case | Card | Annual fee | Fee condition | Base rate | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best no-fee starting point | MercardGeneral | Free | — | 1% | Useful for Mercari users |
| Best paid card with a fee-waiver path | Mercard GoldGold | ¥5,000 | Waiver available | 1% | Mercari-heavy spend proposition |
Each row is selected from the recorded data by rule — cheapest fee, a stated waiver, the highest published rate within a grade — not by editorial preference. Nothing here reflects how likely you are to be approved.
How to decide inside this lineup
3 rules apply to this lineup. Work down them in order — the first one usually settles it.
- Start with the strongest no-fee card, and move up only when a paid tier has a waiver you will actually reach, a milestone bonus you would hit anyway, or a recurring benefit worth more than its fee.
- Every card here earns Mercari Points, so the rate is comparable across the lineup — but only once you fix a realistic value for one point in the redemption you would actually use.
- This lineup has more than one grade, so an upgrade is an arithmetic question: divide the extra annual fee by the extra published rate to get the spend that repays it, then add only the benefits and milestones you expect to use.
Each rule is triggered by the recorded fees, grades, programmes and payment types rather than written per provider, so it changes when the lineup does.
Annual fees and what they really cost
1 of the 2 personal cards you can choose between here have no annual fee. The fee is the only cost you pay whether or not you use the card, so it is the first column to read.
| Card | Grade | Annual fee | Fee condition | Networks | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercard | General | Free | — | JCB | Open to new applications |
| Mercard Gold | Gold | ¥5,000 | Waiver available | JCB | Open to new applications |
A waiver or a free first year still means you pay the fee until the condition is met. Family cards, ETC cards and optional programmes can carry their own charges, which are not in this column — check the issuer page. All amounts include tax.
Earning rates and what they earn into
Every card here earns Mercari Points, so the published rates in this table are directly comparable.
| Card | Base rate | Earns | Comparison-site range | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercard | 1% | Mercari Points | — | Free |
| Mercard Gold | 1% | Mercari Points | — | ¥5,000 |
The base rate is the figure the issuer publishes; where none is published the cell is blank rather than estimated. The comparison-site range is calculated by Kakaku.com under its own assumptions about redemption value and bonus conditions — it is a secondary signal, not an issuer claim.
Every card compared
All 2 cards, ordered by grade and then by fee, with what each is for and what to watch on it.
| Card | Annual fee | Base rate | Best for | Main edge | Caution / status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MercardGeneral | Free | 1% | Useful for Mercari users | Mercari purchases up to personalized rate; 8th-day benefits | Personalized rate and closed-loop points |
| Mercard GoldGold | ¥5,000 | 1% | Mercari-heavy spend proposition | Annual-spend and Mercari benefits | Newer product; rules and caps need frequent refresh |
The last three columns are the English research record for each card. Signup campaigns are deliberately excluded — they are not standing value.
How the points actually work
Most of this lineup earns under one rule — Mercari Points. What you actually receive is decided less by the headline rate than by the excluded transactions and the expiry below.
- How it is earned
- Mercard: base rate outside Mercari and personalized rate on Mercari; Gold adds annual-spend benefits
- Bonus earning
- Personalized Mercari rate, 8th-day campaigns and Gold annual-spend benefits
- Eligible spend
- Eligible Mercard/Merpay and Mercari transactions
- Excluded or reduced spend
- Fees, cash advances and designated transactions
- Caps
- Personalized rate, campaign and annual bonus caps apply
- Expiry
- Depends on grant type; campaign/limited points can have short fixed expiry
- Best redemption route
- Use limited points first on Mercari/Merpay at ¥1
- What a point is worth
- 1 point=¥1 in eligible Mercari/Merpay use
This block is shown only when most of the lineup really does earn under the same rule, so one card’s terms are never presented as the provider’s.
Benefits, and what switches them on
2 of these cards have a recorded insurance, lounge, family-card or eligibility term. What decides a benefit’s value is not whether it exists but what switches it on.
| Card | Insurance | Lounge | Family / ETC | Eligibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercard | See official page | — | No family/ETC | 18+; Mercari account |
| Mercard Gold | See official page | See official page | No family card; verify ETC | 18+; Mercari account / screening |
A blank cell means nothing was recorded, not that the benefit is absent. Travel insurance in Japan is often conditional on paying for part of the trip with the card, and lounge access usually caps visits and charges for guests — the activation rule is on the issuer page.
Upgrade maths: what a higher tier has to return
The published base rate does not rise as the fee does, so no amount of ordinary spending repays the difference. Only a waiver, a milestone or a benefit you use can justify it.
| From | Up to | Extra fee | Extra rate | Break-even spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercard | Mercard Gold | ¥5,000 | 0% | Rewards alone never repay it |
- Reward-only break-even spend
incremental annual fee ÷ incremental effective reward rateThe eligible spend at which the higher tier’s extra earning covers its extra fee, and nothing more.- Upgrade net value
incremental rewards + used credits + used benefits + family-card savings − incremental annual feeCount a credit or benefit only at the value you would actually redeem, not at its advertised value.- Milestone expected value
milestone benefit value × probability you reach the threshold without changing how you spendIf reaching the threshold requires new spending, the milestone is a cost, not a benefit.
These figures use the published base rate only — no merchant multipliers, milestones, insurance, lounge access or family-card savings. Adding spending you would not otherwise do always breaks the arithmetic.
Check these on the issuer page before applying
The tables above narrow the choice; only the issuer can settle it. Check these four things on the official page before you apply.
| What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Credit limit | Almost every issuer sets an individual limit after underwriting. Do not infer a usable limit from the card’s tier unless an official public range is stated. |
| Rewards limits | Check monthly and annual bonus caps, annual-spend thresholds, whether enrolment is required, and whether taxes, utilities, e-money charging, securities accumulation, fees or cash advances earn a reduced rate or nothing at all. |
| Benefit limits | Confirm what activates the insurance, who is covered, lounge visit and guest rules, reservation channels, blackout dates, and whether a benefit renews by calendar year, membership year or card anniversary. |
| Payment and overseas use | Verify the foreign transaction fee, cash-advance terms, installment and revolving settings, the accepted network, and mobile-wallet compatibility. |
Important cautions
This page is a comparison, not advice. These hold whichever card you pick.
- This is a comparison guide, not approval advice. Issuers decide eligibility and credit limits, and nothing here predicts either.
- Never increase spending to reach a points threshold or a fee waiver. Interest and unnecessary purchases overwhelm rewards quickly.
- Use a conservative point value. The same point is worth different amounts as a statement credit, as merchant spend, as miles or as a limited campaign reward.
- Invitation, campaign, insurance and lounge terms change. Re-check the official terms immediately before applying.
- If you are a foreign resident, confirm accepted identification, name and address matching, Japanese-language requirements and any bank-account condition directly with the issuer.
Common questions
Which Mercari / Merpay card should I get?
For most people the starting point is the Mercard — no annual fee and a 1% published base rate. Mercari / Merpay decides eligibility and credit limits, so check the current terms on the issuer page before you apply.
Is a paid Mercari / Merpay card worth the annual fee?
The published base rate does not rise with the fee here, so the extra fee cannot be earned back through ordinary spending. The only things that justify it are a waiver you will reach, a milestone you would hit anyway, and benefits you will genuinely use.
Do all Mercari / Merpay cards earn the same points?
Yes — every card in this lineup earns Mercari Points. The earning unit, the excluded transactions and the expiry still differ by card, so compare the redemption you would use rather than the headline rate alone.
Sources and freshness
Everything on this page comes from the issuer’s own product and lineup pages, and from the points programme’s official pages, as checked on 2026-08-13.
Card facts are from the research database as of 2026-08-16; the points and benefit records are from the 2026-08-17 pass. Fees, benefits, campaigns and application rules change without notice. If something here is wrong, tell us on the corrections page.