Credit Card for Those Tired of Managing Points
Going through credit card point malls... using points before they expire... converting points through other sites... Many people might be thinking, "I'm tired of this".
I've also been feeling exhausted lately. Maybe it's because I've accumulated the miles I was aiming for. In any case, I wondered if there was a card that was both easy to use and beneficial.
Therefore, in this article, I will introduce the good points of the Booking.com card, which is currently my main card.
Definition of an Easy Card
What is an easy card? It can be said that it's a card that is beneficial just by using it. Of course, there's nothing that's beneficial without using it (except for attached insurance).
Also, having an annual fee is somewhat troublesome. You have to pay even if you stop using it, and if there are conditions to waive the annual fee, you have to consider those as well.
Example of Diligently Saving Miles
I've listed the troublesome points by referring to the method of maximizing mile return rates, which I used to do before. This method uses "ANA Visa Wide Gold" and "ANA To Me Card (Sorachika Card)". Note that as of the end of 2018, there have been some changes.
- Annual fees are required (for two cards)
- Monthly payments need to be made in small amounts using My Pay-su Revolving (need to input manually every month without forgetting)
- When shopping on Amazon etc., go through Sumitomo Mitsui Card's point site
- Card points -> Point site -> Metro points -> ANA miles (takes about 3 months to transfer + monthly limit)
This method accumulated 1.62% miles. While it's an extremely good return rate for collecting miles, it's just too troublesome!
What is an Easy Card?
A card that doesn't require point management and offers cash back seems easy.
Similar to this, I was using a card called Kanpo Style Card, which could convert points to cashback. With this card, when you convert accumulated points, the withdrawal amount for subsequent months would be reduced accordingly. It was a very good card (now changed to Leaders Card), but in the end, you still had to convert the points.
Therefore, an "easy card" is defined as a card that automatically deposits cash into your account or provides cashback just by using it.
List of Easy Cards
After investigating to free myself from point management, I found only two cards that seem to offer cash back.
The Andromeda Card with Google Pay rewards
And the Booking.com Card with cashback rewards.
Both have a basic return rate of 1.0%.
Features of the Andromeda Card
Surprisingly, it's exclusively for Google Pay and offers cashback. Also, there's room for the return rate to increase to 1.5% shortly after issuance or by going through the credit card's point mall.
If you have a mobile wallet, it might be worth considering, but given the limited usage scenarios for Google Pay at present, it doesn't end up being easy after all. As Google Pay becomes more widespread, the appeal of the card will increase, so it's worth continuing to pay attention to.
Features of the Booking.com Card
This one is 1% no matter what, but hotel bookings are certainly beneficial. If you book a hotel from the card's dedicated site, you get +5%... but I wonder if that's not just inflating the displayed price... It's concerning.
Earn with Booking.com stays
Also, you can get a code to become a Booking.com Genius member on a first-come, first-served basis.
While there are these detailed benefits, the biggest selling point is the ease of getting cashback from the withdrawal amount just by using it. It goes through points once, but automatically reduces the withdrawal amount for the following month and beyond.
Increasing Return Rate with a Little Effort
If you want to increase your benefits with a little effort, it's good to use Kyash.
If you set Booking.com Card as the payment method behind Kyash, you can easily achieve +2%.
As a note of caution, Kyash has strict limits, so when making large purchases, check if you're not exceeding the limit.
Summary
Time is money.
While the point return rate is not high at 1%, it's a recommended card for those tired of managing points or for minimalists.
I also want to try using it as my main card for a while.
