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Best credit cards for bonus points and multipliers in Japan
Almost no card pays its headline rate on everything. The difference between a 0.5% card and a 2% one is usually not the base rate at all — it is which merchants, categories and annual-spend milestones the issuer pays extra on, and whether your spending happens to land on them.
Top five for bonus earning
| # | Card | Annual fee | Base rate | Leading bonus | Why it ranks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  JCB Card WJCB · J-POINT | Free | 1% | At least 2x standard JCB earning; partner/mall bonuses |
|
| 2 |  JCB Card W plus LJCB · J-POINT | Free | 1% | W earning plus LINDA League benefits |
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| 3 |  JCB Biz ONE GoldJCB · J-POINT | ¥5,500 | 1% | 2 points per ¥200; J-POINT partner bonuses |
|
| 4 |  SMBC Visa InfiniteSumitomo Mitsui Card · V POINT | ¥99,000 | — | Visa Infinite/premium SMBC privileges |
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| 5 |  JCB Card SJCB · J-POINT | Free | 0.5% | Partner and J-POINT Mall bonuses |
|
How these five were chosen
The five are computed, not chosen. A card scores for each card-specific earning bonus in its record, for its programme publishing bonus rules, for its published base rate, and for how far the comparison-site range runs above that base rate. Standing earning bonuses only: signup campaigns are excluded from the data this ranks, because a one-off award says nothing about what a card earns in its third year.
How to maximise bonus earning
Map the bonus categories onto your actual statement
Take last month’s card statement and mark which lines a card would pay extra on. A 10% category you spend ¥3,000 a month in is worth ¥300; a 1% category you spend ¥80,000 in is worth ¥800. The headline percentage is the least useful number in the comparison.
Register, and register again
A large share of Japanese card bonuses require enrolling a merchant, opting into a campaign or selecting preferred shops — often each year. An unregistered bonus pays the base rate, and the issuer will not backdate it.
Find the cap before you plan around the rate
Most high multipliers are capped monthly or per campaign. A 10% rate capped at ¥1,000 of points a month is a ¥12,000 benefit a year, however much you spend — and that is the number to compare against an annual fee.
Treat annual-spend milestones as a threshold, not a rate
A milestone that pays 10,000 points at ¥1m of spend is worth 1% only if you would have spent the ¥1m anyway. Check what the calculation excludes as well: fees, charges and e-money top-ups usually do not count.
Use the right payment method at the counter
Several of the highest rates in the lineup apply only to a specific route — smartphone contactless, a named wallet, or the issuer’s own mall. Paying the same merchant a different way silently drops you to the base rate.
What to put on the card
Convenience stores, restaurants and named merchants
This is where the largest multipliers in the Japanese market sit, usually behind a specific contactless or wallet method and usually capped.
The issuer’s own online mall
Mall routes multiply the base rate on purchases you were making anyway, at the cost of starting the purchase from the mall rather than the retailer.
Spend that counts towards an annual milestone
Where a card pays a milestone bonus, ordinary spend has a second value: moving you towards the threshold. Confirm what the calculation excludes before you rely on it.
Not: spend the bonus excludes
Electronic-money charges, gift certificates, fees and issuer-designated transactions are the usual exclusions, and they are excluded from milestone calculations too.
How each programme pays a bonus
The bonus mechanics each points programme publishes, with the cards that earn under them. Read these against the caps: most bonuses are capped monthly, annually, or by merchant registration.
| Programme | Route | As recorded | Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| ANA milesANA | Direct | Enrollment/renewal and flight bonuses; ANA Card Miles Plus; issuer transfer courses | 23 cards · Official programme page |
| JAL milesJapan Airlines | Direct | Flight first-use/annual/tier bonuses; JAL Card special stores; Shopping Mile Premium; card-specific JRE/TOKYU routes | 17 cards · Official programme page |
| Permanent PointsCredit Saison | Direct | Saison Point Mall up to advertised multipliers; card-specific domestic/overseas multipliers; eligible cards may use SAISON MILE CLUB | 15 cards · Official programme page |
| WAON POINTAEON | Direct | AEON Group double points, customer appreciation days, card/store-specific campaigns | 15 cards · Official programme page |
| Rakuten PointsRakuten | Direct | Rakuten Market SPU, Rakuten Pay, campaigns and card-tier benefits | 14 cards · Official programme page |
| V POINTSMBC / CCC | Direct | Selected convenience/restaurant smartphone contactless; family/Olive conditions; preferred stores and annual-spend bonuses by card | 14 cards · Official programme page |
| J-POINTJCB | Direct | J-POINT partner stores; J-POINT Mall; eligible cards may receive a bonus for each ¥500,000 annual spend. JCB Card W/W plus L are excluded from the annual-spend bonus | 13 cards · Official programme page |
| Orico pointsOrico | Direct | Orico Mall and card-specific first-month/tier bonuses | 13 cards · Official programme page |
| JRE POINTJR East | Direct | Suica charge, Mobile Suica, e-ticket, JRE MALL, station-building and annual-spend bonuses by card | 11 cards · Official programme page |
| Membership RewardsAmerican Express | Direct | Bonus Points Program and card-specific offers | 11 cards · Official programme page |
| Epos PointsEpos Card | Direct | Gold selected shops and annual bonuses; Platinum annual bonus; collaboration-card benefits | 7 cards · Official programme page |
| Global PointsMitsubishi UFJ NICOS | Direct | Eligible merchants up to advertised maximum; Global PLUS monthly-spend bonuses on eligible tiers | 7 cards · Official programme page |
| Diners Club RewardsSumitomo Mitsui Trust Club | Direct | Premium-card earning and mileage transfer options; campaigns | 6 cards · Official programme page |
| Luxury Card RewardsAPLUS / Luxury Card | Direct | Tier earn; selected high-value items; dining/travel promotions | 6 cards · Official programme page |
| VIASO PointsMitsubishi UFJ NICOS | Direct | POINT名人.com and selected telecom/Internet/ETC payments | 6 cards · Official programme page |
| d POINTNTT Docomo | Direct | d Card merchant offers; Docomo telecom/service benefits on Gold/Platinum tiers; campaign/limited points | 5 cards · Official programme page |
| LIFE PointsLife Card | Direct | Birthday month 3x; annual-use stage; card-specific campaigns/cashback | 4 cards · Official programme page |
| JR Kyushu Q pointsJR Kyushu | Direct | JR Kyushu rail/facility, SUGOCA and card campaigns | 3 cards · Official programme page |
| Metro PointsTokyo Metro | Direct | Member-rank ride bonuses and To Me Card-specific routes | 3 cards · Official programme page |
| MI PointsMICARD | Direct | Mitsukoshi Isetan Group purchase rates, annual purchase amount and partner-store bonuses | 3 cards · Official programme page |
| PontaLoyalty Marketing / KDDI | Direct | au/UQ/service and Ponta-partner campaigns; au PAY Gold telecom/autoload benefits have conditions | 3 cards · Official programme page |
| TOKYU POINTTokyu | Direct | Tokyu stores, rail/bus registration, PASMO auto-charge and annual purchase programs | 3 cards · Official programme page |
| Hilton Honors pointsHilton | Direct | Hilton spend, status, free-night certificates and campaigns | 2 cards · Official programme page |
| Marriott Bonvoy pointsMarriott | Direct | Marriott spend, elite status, free-night awards and transfer bonuses | 2 cards · Official programme page |
| Mercari PointsMercari | Direct | Personalized Mercari rate, 8th-day campaigns and Gold annual-spend benefits | 2 cards · Official programme page |
| nanaco pointsSeven Card Service | Direct | Seven & i partner rates, bonus products and annual cumulative bonuses | 2 cards · Official programme page |
| PayPay PointsPayPay | Direct | PayPay Step and campaigns; Gold has ecosystem/telecom benefits subject to conditions | 2 cards · Official programme page |
| Plus PointsIdemitsu Credit | Direct | Tier multipliers plus separate fuel-discount programs | 2 cards · Official programme page |
| store pointsRetail/issuer partner | Direct | Retailer purchase rates, bonus dates/items, member tiers and campaigns | 2 cards |
| Amazon PointsAmazon Japan | Direct | Higher Amazon rate for Prime and named convenience stores; campaigns | 1 cards · Official programme page |
| Mitsui Shopping Park PointsMitsui Fudosan | Direct | Facility campaigns, member tiers and double-currency earning | 1 cards · Official programme page |
| Recruit PointsRecruit | Direct | Recruit services and campaigns | 1 cards · Official programme page |
| UC PointsUC Card | Direct | Quarterly spend and named merchant/program bonuses | 1 cards · Official programme page |
| Cash/BitcoinCard issuer / crypto partner | Direct | Card tier, annual-spend and campaign bonuses | 0 cards |
| Other Airline MilesAirline loyalty program | Direct | Card spend, airline purchases, flight/status and campaign bonuses | 0 cards |
| UPSIDER automatic cashbackUPSIDER | Via partners | Some merchants/categories may receive higher rates | 1 cards · Official programme page |
The other points guides
Keep comparing
Card records verified 2026-08-16; points records verified 2026-08-17. Programmes change their redemption charts, caps and transfer ratios — check the programme’s own page before you plan around a route.