At this point I’m starting to think Japanese credit cards are unlocked only after completing a hidden questline. I’ve been in Japan for about 5 months now and holy hell the only credit card I’ve managed to get is Amex.
Rakuten? Rejected.
Mercari card? Rejected.
Pretty much every “easy” Japanese card people recommend? Rejected, rejected, rejected.
A little backhround I currently work at a global tech company, I’m on an HSP visa, and I regularly spend 800k–1M yen per month on that Amex without a single issue. Amex approved me basically the moment I landed in Japan, like, “Yeah sure, welcome.”
But Mercari, with a card aimed at people buying second-hand sneakers took one look at me and said no thank you.
So what am I missing here?
Is it the short time in Japan?
The visa?
The lack of kanji in my name?
Or is there a hidden checkbox that says “foreigner detected → reject”?
I genuinely don’t understand how Amex is fine trusting me with high monthly usage, but domestic card companies act like I’m applying for a mortgage with zero income and a mysterious past.
by Weak-Ordinary-11