How to Handle Foreign Currency Transactions After Cancelling Platinum Preferred? Recommended Card Comparison to Beat Overseas Fee Increases

The Rise of Everyday "外貨決済" and the Heavy Burden of Fee Increases

Even if you do not travel abroad, opportunities for "foreign currency payments (mainly USD)" occur on a daily basis while living in Japan. Typical examples include subscription fees for ChatGPT Plus ($20/month), IT tools like Notion or GitHub, domain renewals, and web hosting costs.

Furthermore, between 2024 and 2025, major credit card companies in Japan revised and increased their overseas transaction fees (海外事務手数料). If you continue making USD payments with cards on hand without taking any countermeasures, these hidden fees will silently drive up your household's fixed expenses.

In my case, I used to rely on the "Sumitomo Mitsui Card Platinum Preferred" (三井住友カードプラチナプリファード) which offered an overwhelming 3.0% reward rate for overseas transactions. Even after its transaction fee was increased to 3.63% (tax included), the real out-of-pocket cost was kept at only 0.63%, making it a staple for foreign currency transactions. However, due to its steep annual fee of 33,000 yen (tax included), I decided to cancel the card following a change in my lifestyle.

Now that I have let go of the Platinum Preferred, I carefully analyzed how to minimize overseas transaction fees using only the standard, no-annual-fee cards left in my wallet.

Conclusion: Three Recommended Routes for Foreign Currency Transactions

To sum it up, after cancelling the Platinum Preferred, your best options for foreign payments can be grouped into the following three routes depending on the purpose of payment and accepted card brands.

flowchart TB
    Start["Foreign Currency Transaction Occurs"] --> Dec{What kind of transaction?}
    Dec -->|"USD Fixed Costs<br>(ChatGPT Plus, etc.)"| RouteA["[Route A] Sumishin SBI Debit Point+ (USD Settlement)<br>(Pre-exchange / Real burden ~0.04% / Up to 30x/year)"]
    Dec -->|"Non-USD Currencies<br>or Everyday Shopping"| RouteB["[Route B] Sumishin SBI Debit Point+ (JPY Settlement)<br>(Mastercard / Highly versatile / Real burden 0.50% - 1.25%)"]
    Dec -->|"JCB Merchants &<br>Holding JCB Brand"| RouteC["[Route C] Bic Camera Suica Card (JCB)<br>(Cheapest credit card / Real burden 1.10%)"]

1. 「Route A」 Monthly USD subscriptions (such as ChatGPT Plus)
   → Sumishin SBI Debit Point+ (USD Settlement)
   By purchasing USD in advance and withdrawing directly from your USD savings account, the 2.50% overseas transaction fee is waived through a rebate program up to 30 times a year. This allows you to pay using only the minimum exchange spread (6 sen per USD, or about 0.04%), making it the most cost-effective route for USD payments.
   (However, looking purely at the cost, it is the strongest candidate, but since you need to manage your USD balance, exchange timing, and count the transaction limit, I might only use it when I feel like it...)
2. 「Route B」 General overseas shopping and non-USD currencies
   → Sumishin SBI Debit Point+ (JPY Settlement)
   This is a standard debit transaction where JPY is automatically withdrawn from your account. While a 2.50% fee is applied, you receive a points rebate of 1.25% to 2.0% (depending on your Sumapro Rank), keeping your real burden at only 0.50% to 1.25%. Since it uses the Mastercard brand, it can be used globally with peace of mind.
   (Due to its convenience, I plan to make this my primary card for overseas payments.)
3. 「Route C」 JCB merchants and overseas online shops
   → Bic Camera Suica Card (JCB)
   This leverages the fact that View Card's JCB brand has exceptionally skipped the recent fee revision, remaining at 1.60%. Subtracting the 0.5% point reward (JRE POINT only) leaves a real burden of 1.10%, which is an excellent credit card option.

What is "Overseas Transaction Fee"? The Difference from Yen-based Payments

When you shop overseas or pay for USD subscriptions online, the amount deducted in JPY is not determined solely by the current exchange rate.

For foreign currency credit card payments, the final JPY amount is calculated by adding the credit card issuer's unique overseas transaction fee (事務処理費用) to the "standard conversion rate" set by the international brand (Visa, Mastercard, JCB, etc.).

Specifically, the calculation is as follows:

For example, if you spend $100 on a card with a 3.85% fee on a day when the base conversion rate is 150 JPY per USD, the final payment is:

Because of the fee, you are effectively buying at about 156 JPY per USD, paying more JPY than the base exchange rate suggests.

If you continue to pay in foreign currencies without knowing about this fee, it will quietly eat away at your finances.

Specs Comparison: 8 Cards on Hand + Platinum Preferred

Here is a comparison table listing the fees, reward rates, and real burden costs (overseas fee minus the reward rate) for my 8 cards on hand, plus the cancelled Platinum Preferred. The figures are based on research as of June 2026.

Note

How to Calculate Real Burden Cost

\text{Real Burden Cost} = \text{Overseas Transaction Fee} - \text{Point Reward Rate}

The lower this number, the lower your out-of-pocket cost when paying in foreign currencies.

*1: Due to Sumishin SBI Net Bank's "Debit Card Overseas Fee Waiver Program", the 2.50% fee is refunded in points up to 30 times a year, making it effectively free.
*2: Requires a 33,000 JPY annual fee.

Card-Specific Features and Caveats for Foreign Currency Payments

Sumishin SBI Debit Point+ (Mastercard)

This Mastercard debit card issued by Sumishin SBI Net Bank offers two modes for overseas payments: JPY and USD settlement. Both are highly competitive.

• JPY Settlement (JPY Account Withdrawal)
  An overseas fee of 2.50% is charged, but with the card's base reward rate of 1.25% to 2.0% (depending on your savings balance and Sumapro Rank), the real burden is kept at only 0.50% to 1.25%. As credit card companies raise fees to the late 3% range, this low-cost Mastercard option is exceptionally strong.
• USD Settlement (USD Account Withdrawal)
  By holding USD in your Sumishin SBI Net Bank foreign currency savings account, you can pay directly in USD. The transaction fee of 2.50% is debited initially, but it is refunded in full as Sumapro Points (convertible to JPY cash at 1 point = 1 JPY) under the "Debit Card Overseas Fee Waiver Program" (capped at 30 times a year), making it effectively free.
  However, this USD settlement comes with three caveats:
  1. Exempt from Regular Purchase Rewards
     Transactions debited from USD accounts do not earn the standard 1.25% to 2.0% purchase reward points.
  2. Fee Waiver Points Refund is Capped at 30 Times/Year
     The points refund for the 2.50% fee is limited to 30 times per year (tracked on a fiscal year basis from April 1 to March 31 of the following year). For pay-as-you-go services like OpenAI API or AWS that generate small, frequent transactions, you will hit this limit quickly. Transactions beyond the 30-time cap will not receive points refund and will incur the standard 2.50% fee, so it is safest to reserve this for monthly subscriptions or large travel expenses.
  3. Exchange Rate Volatility Risk
     If the JPY strengthens (USD weakens) between the time you exchange currency and the actual transaction, you could end up paying more than if you had simply used JPY settlement. Managing the timing of your currency exchange adds an extra mental burden.

Bic Camera Suica Card

View Card's Bic Camera Suica Card behaves differently depending on the brand you select.

• JCB Brand
  View Card's JCB overseas transaction fee remains at 1.60% because they did not revise it. Although you only earn JRE POINT (0.5%) overseas (no Bic Points), the real burden is a highly competitive 1.10%, making it the lowest-fee credit card option on hand.
  *Note: Not all JCB cards have low fees. Cards like Rakuten Card (JCB) or PayPay Card (JCB) apply their issuer's own rates (3.63% to 3.85%) regardless of the brand. The low 1.60% fee only applies to proprietary JCB cards or select co-branded cards like View Card.
  Also, while JCB is cost-effective, some overseas online services (especially European SaaS and hosting) do not accept JCB. While it works for major services like ChatGPT Plus, it is smart to keep Route B (Sumishin SBI Debit Mastercard) as a backup.
• Visa Brand
  The Visa brand fee has been raised to 3.85%, resulting in a real burden of 3.35%, so using it overseas is not recommended.

Rakuten Card / PayPay Card / Lawson Ponta Plus / Orico Card (Standard 1.0% Reward Cards)

These cards offer a relatively high reward rate of 1.0%, but have recently undergone fee hikes.

• Rakuten Card increased its overseas transaction fee to 3.63% effective March 1, 2025, bringing the real burden to 2.63%. Its status as the go-to card for overseas spend has faded.
• PayPay Card, Lawson Ponta Plus, and Orico Card (THE POINT, etc.) have all hiked their fees to 3.85%, leaving a high real burden of 2.85% even after subtracting the 1.0% reward rate. Orico Card's JCB brand was also updated to 3.85% on November 27, 2025.

Olive Flexible Pay / Epos Card (Standard 0.5% Reward Cards)

This group features standard cards with a 0.5% base reward rate.

• Olive Flexible Pay (General) has an overseas transaction fee of 3.63%, leaving a real burden of 3.13%.
• Epos Card (General) has a fee of 3.85%, resulting in a real burden of 3.35%. (If you earn bonus points on Epos Gold by spending 1 million JPY/year, you can boost the reward rate to 1.5% and lower the real burden to 2.35%, but this still lags behind the top options.)

Simulating the Cost Difference of Subscribing to ChatGPT Plus for One Year

To make these percentages tangible, let us simulate the annual cost of subscribing to ChatGPT Plus ($20/month, totaling $240/year).

• Assumed Exchange Rate: 1 USD = 155.00 JPY (Base Conversion Rate)
• Base Annual Cost: 240 USD × 155 JPY = 37,200 JPY

*2: Calculated based on the exchange spread (6 sen per USD) when purchasing USD at Sumishin SBI Net Bank.

Comparing Sumishin SBI Debit's USD settlement (within the 30-time waiver cap) with a standard credit card (such as Epos Card) reveals a difference of about 1,200 JPY per year. As you add more USD subscriptions, these small differences will gradually weigh on your budget.

Summary: Minimizing Foreign Currency Payment Costs with No-Annual-Fee Cards

With credit card companies hiking overseas transaction fees to the 3.6% - 3.8% range, the habit of using your primary card without thinking has become the most expensive option.

When restructuring with no-annual-fee cards, instead of using high-reward cards to force-offset fees (like the Platinum Preferred), it is smarter to shift your strategy toward "USD withdrawals with Sumishin SBI Debit Point+" or "viewing JCB's low fees as an asset."

Objectively, the best cost-saving path is to allocate monthly USD payments to Sumishin SBI Debit's USD settlement. However, my personal choice is to stick to the simplicity of JPY settlement on the Sumishin SBI Debit (Mastercard), saving me the hassle of managing a USD account balance and timing the exchanges. With automated withdrawals and reward points keeping the real burden under 1.25%, JPY settlement is more than cost-effective enough if you want to skip the mental load of currency management.

Having completed this analysis, "Sumishin SBI Debit Card Point+" really stands out for its sheer versatility. I just hope they don't revise these generous specs anytime soon!

Primary Sources

• Sumitomo Mitsui Card: Using Your Card Overseas
• Sumishin SBI Net Bank: How to Use Debit Card Overseas
• Epos Card: Overseas Travel Services
• Rakuten Card: Currency Conversions & Fees for Overseas Transactions
• PayPay Card: Using Your Card Overseas
• View Card (Bic Camera Suica): Using Your Card Overseas
• Lawson Bank (Lawson Ponta Plus): Using Your Card Overseas
• Orico: Notification of Overseas Transaction Fee Revision (JCB Brand)