Job Discussion Forums

george31 · Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 10

Ok, i applied to NOVA and yes i know all the talk of nova bla bla bla but they r the only company i can work for in japan without a degree (unless someone wishes to tell me otherwise) - ANYWAYS -

I know pay is dolled out monthly - this is a very big shock when most pay in australia is weekly or fortnightly. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to obtain a credit card to pay for things so i can pay the bill of when i get my monthly pay?

I understand self control is required but i do have that. Plus i would put a $500 cap on it or something.

Also would you apply for a credit card in australia or japan?

thank you!
george

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

worldwidealive · Joined: 03 Mar 2004 Posts: 84

Not to be rude, but have a little self control and make a budget, then, most importantly, stick to it. You should have no problem living on the salary at any Big 4.

WWA

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

Japanese credit cards also take a long time to get too. I think it was 4 months before I received mine at that is with my employer sponsoring it.

Mike L. · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 519

Took me about a 3 weeks to get my Citibank visa.

My employer was only involved in answering one question.

"Does he actually make ****** yen a month?"

My employer said "Yes"

I'd been working there for almost 3 years so that might hav expedited the process.

Make sure you get a card with air miles.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

You can also pay all of your bills (except rent, of course) with cash at many convenience stores.

chixdiggit · Joined: 21 May 2003 Posts: 60 Location: ROK

The credit card thing isn't always that tough. I received a VISA, MASTERCARD, and JCB all within 14 months of arriving in Japan. At the time I was working at GEOS only making about 270,000 a month. Perhaps the size of the company helped? By that logic NOVA teachers would do well in this pursuit. On the other hand, 3 years later when I was working for a high school and corporate classes on the side, I was turned down for a card and my monthly income was about 450,000 a month. The only thing that was different was my location so perhaps it's a factor as well. My point is, there are no absolutes so give it a shot! Best of luck.
Chix.

george31 · Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 10

space · Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 44 Location: japan

Man, Get a credit card!

What if you want to actually purchase something using the internet....

Anyway, apply for one in Austrailia... you mentioned $500 but I am sure you won't have problems getting more if you needed it.

Paying it off was mentioned as an issue... I don't see why, there will be no additional transfer fees if you set up a monthly bill payment directly from a bank account with your credit company. Even my natural gas company does this for free now.

Sometimes banks do charge for these bill payment transfers, but many offer the transfers for free if you are paying enough bills off with it.

Credit cards will not be very useful for day-to-day life in Japan, IE food. But when you do need one, not having access is a handicap.

Willy_In_Japan · Joined: 20 Jul 2004 Posts: 329

I have been in Japan for 2.5 years, and I applied for a credit card last week and was turned down.

The first time I applied, I was working at GEOS, and I had been here 9 months or so. This time, I work for a dispatch company, but my Junior High School was listed as my employer on my foreigner card.

I put down that I made between 200 and 400 thousand yen a month and was turned down. I dont know what I have to do to get credit in this country. I have over 20,000 dollars in Canadian credit cards, but all I want is a card I can make small internet purchases with and pay off without having to send money to Canada.

When I went there, they said 'you have to have a home phone. I said, ok....I do, and pulled out my cell phone to get the number......she didnt even look at it and said it again, assuming I didnt have one. My friend got a little impatient and said 'well, thats a home phone number is it not!?"......at any rate, when the application was filled in, they said come back in 30 mins. I did and of course they handed me my go away letter. I wonder if they even bother submitting it. Maybe I should go with a Japanese friend next time? I just dont know.

Mad

worldwidealive · Joined: 03 Mar 2004 Posts: 84

Something else to consider - MasterCard, Visa, and AMEX, have all begun a policy of adding anywhere from a 1% to a 4% fee (depending on the bank) to foreign currency credit card transactions - at least for cards issued in the USA. This "small fee" can add up and become ridiculous if you use your card a lot, so getting a card issued in Japan saves me a lot of money.

The credit card companies claim this is to recoup money lost with foreign transaction fraud, but I have a feeling some profit is involved too.

By the way George, not trying to be sarcastic or infer that you have no clue, just mostly wanted to make it clear that with some good decisions there should be no need to float bills on a credit card. I, like you, do this at home too because the air miles add up nicely and I always pay my balance in full each month.

WWA

David W · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 457 Location: Japan

A lot of places like video stores and big supermarkets and the like offer credit cards. Might be easier to get one through this route rather than a bank. We've get ones (the missus and I) that we never use. The only reason we've got them is that you get some kind of benefit when buying things at that store. As an example, one we have from the video store gets us 10% or something off our videos even when we pay cash. It doubles as a membership card.

space · Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 44 Location: japan

worldwide:

Such a good point. I just remembered that my new check card does that... DOH.

Well I only had my interview with JET yesterday... so Japan isn't a sure thing yet (course I'm going anyway if they dont accept me)

buffy · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 57

Are there any credit cards that don't charge a high yearly fee?
I want to get one in order to take advantage of ETC on the expressways, but the ETC capable credit cards I have seen are gold cards and require a 10,000 a year or so fee which sort of offsets the savings I would make using the ETC discount.
Citbank doesn't work with ETC at this time.