The most defensible cards for no-fee general use, convenience, transit, young applicants, and premium.
Best no-fee general: Rakuten/PayPay/au PAY/d Card (~1% each); best convenience specialist: SMBC NL; best young no-fee: JCB Card W; best train: a suitable View card; best premium: whichever recurring benefit exceeds its fee.
For the best no-annual-fee general return, Rakuten Card, PayPay Card, au PAY Card, and d Card each offer an ordinary rate near one percent in their own point system, so choose by redemption ecosystem. The best selected convenience-store specialist is SMBC Numberless via the precise eligible smartphone payment route. The best first premium threshold card is SMBC Gold Numberless when ¥1,000,000 of natural eligible annual spending is predictable, and the best PayPay premium is PayPay Card Gold where the annual-spend and SoftBank benefits justify the fee. The best young-applicant no-fee card is JCB Card W (apply by age 39).
For transit, a suitable View card wins for frequent JR East/Mobile Suica users — route and regional railway matter more than national rankings. For cashback-like simplicity, choose a one-percent card whose points are automatically or routinely used at ¥1 (these are technically point cards, not bank cashback). For airlines, pick the ANA or JAL card matching actual use and transfer plan; there is no universal winner because annual fees and award availability dominate. For premium, the best card is the one whose recurring benefit exceeds its fee without a behaviour change — value lounge count, insurance, hotel benefits, and family cards individually, and never manufacture spending to reach a threshold.
No-annual-fee credit card · Rakuten Card
A no-annual-fee card that earns Rakuten Points. Eligibility, payment settings, and current reward exclusions should be checked in the issuer disclosures.
Fees: No annual fee; interest applies only if you use revolving or installment payments.
No-annual-fee credit card · Marui (Epos)
A no-annual-fee Visa card issued by Epos Card, with Epos Points and partner benefits subject to current terms.
Fees: No annual fee for the base card; interest only on revolving/installment use.
Rakuten Card, PayPay Card, d Card, au PAY Card, and JCB Card W are prominent no-annual-fee examples with an ordinary rate near one percent in their own point system. Choose by the redemption ecosystem you already use, not by the headline rate alone.
No. Seven percent applies only to specified convenience stores and restaurants and only via the exact eligible smartphone contactless (or eligible mobile ordering) route. Physical-card touch and iD are excluded, and because seven percent already includes the base, you must not add a separate 0.5%.