Job Discussion Forums

[nawlinsgurl]

Ok everyone thanks for the info. I was wondering as I don't like to keep a lot of cash on me b/c it tends to disappear into shoe stores easily...
To anyone who knows: If I wanted to get a Citibank credit card in Japan would it work in the US. By "work" I mean will I be able to use it in dollars and then when I move back would it work in the US as well?
Also must you have a Citibank acct to have a credit card?

[easyasabc]

[bearcat]

If I understand what you are asking, if you move permanently back to the states, I think(you would need to confirm this) that you account in Japan cannot be maintained and thus you must close it. If you close your account through citibank then you can no longer use your credit card as the two are linked.

If you're asking whether you can use your credit card while you visit back home on a trip etc, of course you can. Charges will be listed in dollars with the conversion rate of the day you purchased in yen. The yen charges are then deducted from your citibank account at the next monthly accounting.

[nawlinsgurl]

So it is not really even worth having a citibank acct if just for the credit card and travling home to the US? I will get charged the higher rate in Yen, right??

[bearcat]

Its not that you are getting charged a "higher rate" in yen. It is that you are getting charged in the currency of the country you rang up the charge in. It has to be converted to yen and thus deducted from your account's balance IN Japan. So if you went to say England, you would be charged in pounds first, then citibank would take the charge and convert it to an equivalent yen charge based on the exchange rate of the day you made the charge.

Its no different than if you had a US creditcard and went to the UK and charged something there... the same rules would apply.

Look, you dont have to take the creditcard if you dont want to. Heck you may not even get approved for it. However most foreigners in Japan -do- get approved... and its infact one of the few you can get here since foreigners get turned down alot from them.

Look, if you put 500,000 yen in the account, get two atm cards, send one home to a relative, then every month put in the amount you need to have for paying things in the US placed in the account here in Japan and your relative then can take it out in the US. That way you avoid paying transfer fees and all you have to do is pay the US side atm withdrawl fee (what like a dollar from a non citibank atm?). Only thing you have to worry about is the current day's exchange rate for the yen/dollar. But even if you used ANY transfering system from Japan to the US you would have to worry on the exchange rate then.

Thats it. Doing this saves you the "transfering funds fees" that most banks and financial services would hit you with.

When I was still in college in the states, a japanese girl I dated used the above system to get money for school and other things. I know another teacher who uses their account this way to get their sister to make payments on a boat they have (I dont know why he doesn't just sell it and since he cant use it and he wont let anyone in his family use it either so it sits idle in his parents back yard.). etc etc.

[ByeBye6]

Hey "Nawlins"-

I have a citibank account in the US; I was able to withdraw money without any problems when I was in Japan. I don't know what's going to happen if I try to deposit money into my Citibank, but I am planning to make Citibank my main banking account when I go back to Japan. I have to pay loans as well, and I will do that through on-line banking. Good Luck

[kaimana]

ByeBye6,

"Without any problems" meaning it was a smooth transaction, or meaning that there were no astronomical fees? Were there any fees when you withdrew?