Which Sumitomo Mitsui Card should you get? All 14 compared
A decision page for readers who have already settled on Sumitomo Mitsui Card and only need to pick the right card in the lineup. All 14 are compared here — 13 of them open to new applications, with annual fees of ¥0–¥99,000. The axis that actually decides it: annual fee against ordinary earning, plus any milestone bonus you would reach anyway.
Issued by Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co., Ltd. · 14 cards recorded, 13 open to new applications, 3 of them business products · verified 2026-08-16
Which one to get
If you want one answer, start with the Amazon Mastercard — 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 | Amazon MastercardGeneral | Free | — | 1% | Strong Amazon-native return |
| Best paid card with a fee-waiver path | ANA Visa General (SMBC)General | ¥2,200 | First year free | 0.5% | ANA ecosystem |
| Best premium / travel tier | Olive Flexible Pay Platinum PreferredPlatinum | ¥33,000 | — | 1% | Integrated high-reward premium card |
| Best specialist / co-brand | Olive Flexible Pay GeneralGeneral | Free | — | 0.5% | Bank/debit/credit/points modes in one |
| Best business option | SMBC Business OwnersGeneral | Free | — | 0.5% | No corporate registry/financial statements for application; integrates with Vpass |
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
4 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.
- These cards do not all earn the same currency: the lineup spans Amazon Points, LINE Points, V POINT and V POINT / ANA miles. A higher rate in a programme you cannot redeem well is worth less than a lower rate in one you can.
- 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.
- 3 products here are business-focused and should be compared on their own terms — expense controls, employee cards, accounting integration and who is liable — not against consumer lifestyle perks.
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
3 of the 10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Mastercard | General | Free | — | Mastercard | Open to new applications |
| Olive Flexible Pay General | General | Free | — | Visa | Open to new applications |
| SMBC Business Owners | General | Free | — | Visa · Mastercard | Open to new applications |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Card Numberless | General | Free | — | Visa · Mastercard | Open to new applications |
| Visa LINE Pay Credit Card P+ | General | Free | Confirm on the issuer page | Visa | May be closed to new applications |
| ANA Visa General (SMBC) | General | ¥2,200 | First year free | Visa | Open to new applications |
| Olive Flexible Pay Gold | Gold | ¥5,500 | Waiver available | Visa | Open to new applications |
| SMBC Business Owners Gold | Gold | ¥5,500 | — | Visa · Mastercard | Open to new applications |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Card Gold NL | Gold | ¥5,500 | — | Visa · Mastercard | Open to new applications |
| Olive Flexible Pay Platinum Preferred | Platinum | ¥33,000 | — | Visa | Open to new applications |
| SMBC Business Owners Platinum Preferred | Platinum | ¥33,000 | — | Visa | Open to new applications |
| SMBC Platinum Preferred | Platinum | ¥33,000 | — | Visa | Open to new applications |
| SMBC Platinum | Platinum | ¥55,000 | — | Visa · Mastercard | Open to new applications |
| SMBC Visa Infinite | Infinite | ¥99,000 | — | Visa | 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
These cards earn into 4 different programmes. Rates in different currencies are not comparable until you fix what a point is worth to you.
| Card | Base rate | Earns | Comparison-site range | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Mastercard | 1% | Amazon Points | — | Free |
| Olive Flexible Pay General | 0.5% | V POINT | — | Free |
| SMBC Business Owners | 0.5% | V POINT | 0.5%–1.5% | Free |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Card Numberless | 0.5% | V POINT | 0.5%–7% | Free |
| Visa LINE Pay Credit Card P+ | 0.5% | LINE Points | — | Free |
| ANA Visa General (SMBC) | 0.5% | V POINT / ANA miles | — | ¥2,200 |
| Olive Flexible Pay Gold | 0.5% | V POINT | 0.5%–8% | ¥5,500 |
| SMBC Business Owners Gold | 0.5% | V POINT | 0.5%–2% | ¥5,500 |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Card Gold NL | 0.5% | V POINT | 0.5%–7% | ¥5,500 |
| Olive Flexible Pay Platinum Preferred | 1% | V POINT | 1%–10% | ¥33,000 |
| SMBC Business Owners Platinum Preferred | 1% | V POINT | 1%–10% | ¥33,000 |
| SMBC Platinum Preferred | 1% | V POINT | 1%–10% | ¥33,000 |
| SMBC Platinum | 0.5% | V POINT | — | ¥55,000 |
| SMBC Visa Infinite | — | V POINT | 1%–10% | ¥99,000 |
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 14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon MastercardGeneral | Free | 1% | Strong Amazon-native return | Amazon 2% Prime / 1.5% non-Prime; convenience-store bonuses | Amazon-only rewards; specific wallet method needed for maximum convenience-store rate |
| Olive Flexible Pay GeneralGeneral | Free | 0.5% | Bank/debit/credit/points modes in one | Selectable benefits and selected-merchant bonuses | Requires bank relationship; credit mode subject to screening |
| SMBC Business OwnersGeneral | Free | 0.5% | No corporate registry/financial statements for application; integrates with Vpass | Up to 1.5% at eligible business-owner merchants when two-card conditions are met | Bonus requires eligible personal-card pairing and specified use |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Card NumberlessGeneral | Free | 0.5% | Strong selected-merchant card | High contactless rates at eligible convenience stores/restaurants; conditions apply | Maximum rate needs app/account/family conditions and eligible contactless method |
| Visa LINE Pay Credit Card P+General | Free | 0.5% | LINE-linked card | LINE Pay historical bonuses; service changes apply | LINE Pay service/product availability changed; verify status |
| ANA Visa General (SMBC)General | ¥2,200 | 0.5% | ANA ecosystem | ANA flight bonuses | Transfer fees |
| Olive Flexible Pay GoldGold | ¥5,500 | 0.5% | Integrated bank and gold card | Gold/annual-spend and selected-merchant benefits | Qualification rules and account coupling |
| SMBC Business Owners GoldGold | ¥5,500 | 0.5% | Fee waiver plus annual-spend bonus is unusually strong for business use | Annual ¥1m spend earns 10,000 points; eligible paired-card uses up to 2.0% | ¥1m calculation exclusions and pairing/bank-account conditions matter |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Card Gold NLGold | ¥5,500 | 0.5% | Strong ¥1m-spend milestone card | Annual ¥1m benefit and selected merchant rates | Threshold measurement/exclusions; marginal spend distortion |
| Olive Flexible Pay Platinum PreferredPlatinum | ¥33,000 | 1% | Integrated high-reward premium card | Preferred stores and annual spend bonuses | Fee, caps and bank dependency |
| SMBC Business Owners Platinum PreferredPlatinum | ¥33,000 | 1% | High base earn and annual bonuses for large business expenses | Selected business-owner preferred stores up to 10%; ¥10,000 points per ¥1m spend, up to 40,000 | Large-spend benefits, insurance triggers and merchant-specific caps must be checked |
| SMBC Platinum PreferredPlatinum | ¥33,000 | 1% | High points for large/targeted spend | Preferred-store bonuses and annual spend bonuses | Bonus caps and fee break-even |
| SMBC PlatinumPlatinum | ¥55,000 | 0.5% | Traditional premium card | Premium dining/travel package | Base rewards low for fee |
| SMBC Visa InfiniteInfinite | ¥99,000 | — | Top public SMBC Visa tier | Visa Infinite/premium SMBC privileges | Very high fee; benefits need verification |
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 — V POINT. What you actually receive is decided less by the headline rate than by the excluded transactions and the expiry below.
- How it is earned
- Most standard cards: 1 point per ¥200; Platinum Preferred/Visa Infinite commonly 1 per ¥100
- Bonus earning
- Selected convenience/restaurant smartphone contactless; family/Olive conditions; preferred stores and annual-spend bonuses by card
- Eligible spend
- Eligible card shopping
- Excluded or reduced spend
- Fees, cash advances, designated e-money/charges and bonus-excluded transaction routes
- Caps
- Headline maximum requires multiple SMBC banking/family/app conditions; annual-spend calculations exclude named transactions
- Expiry
- 1 year after last earn/use/exchange, automatically extended by qualifying activity; exchanged PayPay-origin points differ
- Best redemption route
- Bill credit or V Point Pay at ¥1; use miles only after checking card-specific transfer ratio
- What a point is worth
- 1 point=¥1 in common uses
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
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sumitomo Mitsui Card Numberless | Selectable free insurance | — | Family/ETC available | 18+; high-school students excluded |
| Olive Flexible Pay General | Selectable insurance | — | Family-card structure differs; ETC available | Requires SMBC Olive account/package |
| Amazon Mastercard | See official page | — | Family up to 3 free; ETC free | 18+; high-school students excluded |
| Visa LINE Pay Credit Card P+ | See official page | — | See official page | 18+ |
| SMBC Business Owners | Selectable free insurance; overseas travel cover up to stated limit | Business support; app-based management | Partner cards and ETC available | Corporate representative or sole proprietor; age conditions apply |
| ANA Visa General (SMBC) | Travel insurance | — | Family/ETC available | 18+ |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Card Gold NL | Selectable insurance | Domestic lounges | Family/ETC available | 20+ with stable income |
| Olive Flexible Pay Gold | Selectable insurance | Domestic lounges | See official page | Requires Olive account and credit approval |
| SMBC Business Owners Gold | Selectable insurance including travel plan | Domestic airport lounges | Partner cards free; ETC available | Corporate representative or sole proprietor |
| SMBC Platinum Preferred | Travel insurance | Concierge/lounges subject to product terms | Family/ETC available | 20+ with stable income |
| Olive Flexible Pay Platinum Preferred | Travel insurance | See official page | See official page | Requires Olive account and credit approval |
| SMBC Business Owners Platinum Preferred | Domestic/overseas travel insurance up to ¥50m, usage conditions | Concierge; DragonPass tickets after qualifying annual spend | Partner cards free; ETC available | Corporate representative or sole proprietor age 20+ |
| SMBC Platinum | Premium travel insurance | Concierge/lounge benefits | Family/ETC available | 30+ with stable income |
| SMBC Visa Infinite | Premium travel insurance | Premium lounge/concierge | Family/ETC available | Issuer 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 cheapest rung here pays for itself at ¥5,500,000 of eligible spend a year. 3 of the rungs do not raise the rate at all, so those can never be repaid by earning.
| From | Up to | Extra fee | Extra rate | Break-even spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Mastercard | ANA Visa General (SMBC) | ¥2,200 | -0.5% | Rewards alone never repay it |
| ANA Visa General (SMBC) | Olive Flexible Pay Gold | ¥3,300 | 0% | Rewards alone never repay it |
| Olive Flexible Pay Gold | Olive Flexible Pay Platinum Preferred | ¥27,500 | +0.5% | ¥5,500,000 |
| Olive Flexible Pay Platinum Preferred | SMBC Platinum | ¥22,000 | -0.5% | 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 Sumitomo Mitsui Card should I get?
For most people the starting point is the Amazon Mastercard — no annual fee and a 1% published base rate. Move up to the Olive Flexible Pay Platinum Preferred (¥33,000 a year and a 1% published base rate) only when the extra fee is repaid by earning and by benefits you will genuinely use. Sumitomo Mitsui Card decides eligibility and credit limits, so check the current terms on the issuer page before you apply.
Is a paid Sumitomo Mitsui Card worth the annual fee?
On rewards alone, the ¥27,500 step from the Olive Flexible Pay Gold to the Olive Flexible Pay Platinum Preferred is repaid at about ¥5,500,000 of eligible spend a year, because the published rate only rises by 0.5%. Below that, the upgrade has to be justified by benefits you actually use.
Do all Sumitomo Mitsui Cards earn the same points?
No. The lineup spans Amazon Points, LINE Points, V POINT and V POINT / ANA miles. Rates in different currencies are not directly comparable, so decide how you would redeem before you compare them.
Does Sumitomo Mitsui Card offer a business card?
Yes — 3 of these are business products, and the lowest-cost one is the SMBC Business Owners (no annual fee and a 0.5% published base rate). Compare them on expense controls, employee cards, accounting integration and liability rather than on consumer perks.
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 2026-08-16.
- www.smbc-card.com/nyukai/card/index.jsp
- www.smbc-card.com/nyukai/card/numberless.jsp
- www.smbc-card.com/nyukai/card/gold-numberless.jsp
- www.smbc-card.com/nyukai/platinum-preferred/index.jsp
- www.smbc-card.com/nyukai/platinum/index.jsp
- www.smbc-card.com/nyukai/card/infinite.jsp
- www.smbc.co.jp/kojin/olive-account/flexible-pay
- www.smbc.co.jp/kojin/olive-account/gold
- www.smbc.co.jp/kojin/olive-account/platinum-preferred
- www.smbc-card.com/nyukai/affiliate/amazon/index.jsp
- www.smbc-card.com/nyukai/affiliate/ana/index.jsp
- smbc-card.com/nyukai/affiliate/lpay/index2.jsp
- www.smbc-card.com/hojin/lineup/biz_owners_index.jsp
- www.smbc-card.com/hojin/lineup/biz_owners_gold.jsp
- www.smbc-card.com/hojin/lineup/biz_owners_platinum-preferred.jsp
- www.smbc-card.com/mem/wp/about_vp.jsp
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.