The most defensible starting choice for beginners, foreign residents, shoppers, travelers, and investors.
Beginners: the ecosystem matching your carrier/bank; foreign residents: a free loyalty account first, then a no-fee card; convenience: SMBC NL smartphone-touch; supermarket: WAON at AEON; travel: ANA/JAL only when redemption is realistic.
For a complete beginner, start with Rakuten Points, PayPay Points, or the ecosystem attached to your mobile carrier — broad utility and easy ¥1-style redemption. A foreign resident should open a free loyalty account first (membership is easier than credit underwriting), then apply for a no-fee card after establishing address, phone, and bank history. For everyday spending, a one-percent no-fee card plus the merchant point already offered keeps complexity and expiration risk low. Convenience-store shoppers get the most from the SMBC NL smartphone-touch route at eligible chains (up to 7%, method-specific). Supermarket shoppers should use WAON POINT at AEON-group stores, or the supermarket’s own program elsewhere.
By carrier: SoftBank/Y!mobile users fit PayPay; docomo users fit d POINT and d払い (consider d Card tiers only after fee analysis); au/UQ users fit Ponta and au PAY. For travel, choose ANA or JAL only when award redemption is realistic; otherwise prefer flexible points or cash-equivalent value, because miles expire and availability can constrain value. Investors should use the bank–card–brokerage combination already suitable for them (card-investment rewards are secondary to fees, fund choice, and risk). Low spenders should avoid annual fees and high-minimum airline transfers; high spenders should optimise thresholds but stop using a weaker card once its useful cap is reached.
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.
Choose the ecosystem covering the stores, carrier, or marketplace you already use most — Rakuten, PayPay, d POINT, Ponta, and V Points are the principal general candidates. Begin with one primary program and add a specialist transit or supermarket program only when it creates measurable value.
The Rakuten Card (partial English information) and the Epos Card (easy to get, often cited as accessible) are commonly accessible first cards. Establish a bank account, phone, address record, and payment history first, then apply for one card at a time; keep your name spelling consistent everywhere.
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.