A Credit Card for Those Tired of Point Management
Are there many people who are tired of managing their credit card points through point malls, using them up before they expire, and converting them to other points through various websites? I'm tired of it too.
I've recently become tired of it myself. Maybe it's because I've been aiming to accumulate a certain number of miles. Anyway, I want a card that is easy to use and rewarding. Is there such a card?
That's why in this article, I'll introduce the good points of my current main card, the Booking.com card.
Definition of an Easy-to-Use Card
What is an easy-to-use card? It's a card that is rewarding just by using it. It's not like you get rewards without using it (except for attached insurance).
Also, having an annual fee is a bit of a hassle. You have to pay the fee even if you don't use the card, and you have to meet certain conditions to waive the fee.
Example of Accumulating Miles with Effort
I used to do this, but it's a hassle to accumulate miles by using multiple cards. I'll list the inconvenient points of this method. I used to use the "ANA Visa Wide Gold" and "ANA To Me Card (Sorachi Card)" cards. Note that the conditions have changed slightly as of the end of 2018.
- Annual fee is required (and it's for two cards)
- You need to pay a small amount every month using My Pay Slip
- When shopping on Amazon, you need to go through the Mitsui Sumitomo Card point site
- Card points -> Point site -> Metro points -> ANA miles (it takes about 3 months to transfer, and there's a monthly limit)
This way, I was able to accumulate 1.62% of my miles. It's a very good reward rate, but it's too much trouble!
What is an Easy-to-Use Card?
I think a card that doesn't require point management and offers cashback rewards is easy to use.
A card that comes close to this is the Hanhwa Style Card, which allows you to convert points to cashback. This card was very good (now it's been replaced by the Leaders Card), but you still need to convert the points.
So, an easy-to-use card is one that deposits cash into your account or offers cashback just by using it.
List of Easy-to-Use Cards
After investigating, I found two cards that offer cashback rewards.
One is the Andromeda Card, which offers Google Pay cashback, and the other is the Booking.com Card, which offers cashback rewards.
Both cards have a basic reward rate of 1.0%.
Features of the Andromeda Card
This card is exclusively for Google Pay and offers cashback rewards. If you use the card for a while, you can increase the reward rate to 1.5% by going through the credit card point mall.
If you have an Osaifu Keitai, you might want to consider this card, but the usage scene for Google Pay is limited, so it's not that easy to use. However, as Google Pay becomes more popular, the card's appeal will increase, so it's worth keeping an eye on.
Features of the Booking.com Card
This card offers a fixed 1% cashback, but it's very rewarding for hotel reservations. If you book a hotel through the card's dedicated site, you can get an additional 5%... but I'm worried that the displayed price might be increased.
Earning Cashback with Booking.com
You can also get a code to become a Genium member of Booking.com.
There are some detailed benefits, but the biggest advantage is that you can get cashback just by using the card. Although the points are transferred, they are automatically deducted from your next month's payment.
Increasing the Reward Rate with a Little Effort
If you want to increase the reward rate with a little effort, using Kyash is a good idea.
If you use Kyash for payment and link it to the Booking.com Card, you can get an additional 2% cashback. Note that Kyash has a strict upper limit, so be careful not to exceed it when making large purchases.
Conclusion
Time is money.
The reward rate may not be high, but this card is recommended for those who are tired of point management or are minimalists. I'll continue to use it as my main card for a while.
