topic Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular? in Credit Cards

Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

ray8806 — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 05:59:31 GMT

Is there a catch or something that I don't see?

I see that 3% cash back, only a $35 AF(annual fee plus membership fee), only 13.9% APR, and a Discover card. To me, that seems better than Citi DC at 2%, CapOne QS at 1.5%. There has to be something that I'm not realizing, anyone have any thoughts on this card?

I personally think it looks a little ugly, but it seems like it does give a lot of cash back.

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

joedtx — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 06:06:29 GMT

@ray8806 wrote:
Is there a catch or something that I don't see?

I see that 3% cash back, only a $35 AF(annual fee plus membership fee), only 13.9% APR, and a Discover card. To me, that seems better than Citi DC at 2%, CapOne QS at 1.5%. There has to be something that I'm not realizing, anyone have any thoughts on this card?

I personally think it looks a little ugly, but it seems like it does give a lot of cash back.

Ahhh the prized card from Japan Credit Bank it is a great to get in with them since they are a Prime bank but they are a strict conservative lender with limted acceptance in the US. But if you hold their card thats awesome!

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 06:13:53 GMT

Few reasons. You have to be a resident of either California or Hawaii to qualify. Not sure if they opened up to more states.

They are also very very conservative. Application method is also very traditional. You fill up an app manually, send it in, and an underwriter will look at it. There's no automated computer approvals.

It's on the discover network, which means acceptance is limited. Out of all the 4 major payment networks, this is the least accepted.

Rewards redemption cannot be done online. You have to call in.

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

FinStar — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 06:18:05 GMT

@joedtx wrote:
@ray8806 wrote:
Is there a catch or something that I don't see?

I see that 3% cash back, only a $35 AF(annual fee plus membership fee), only 13.9% APR, and a Discover card. To me, that seems better than Citi DC at 2%, CapOne QS at 1.5%. There has to be something that I'm not realizing, anyone have any thoughts on this card?

I personally think it looks a little ugly, but it seems like it does give a lot of cash back.
Ahhh the prized card from Japan Credit Bank it is a great to get in with them since they are a Prime bank but they are a strict conservative lender with limted acceptance in the US. But if you hold their card thats awesome!

The geographical restrictions are pretty much the reason. As per their application disclosure...Currently, JCBUSA has licenses and/or permissions to issue credit cards to U.S. residents in the States of California, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York.

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

uswala — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 06:21:18 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Few reasons. You have to be a resident of either California or Hawaii to qualify. Not sure if they opened up to more states.

They are also very very conservative. Application method is also very traditional. You fill up an app manually, send it in, and an underwriter will look at it. There's no automated computer approvals.

It's on the discover network, which means acceptance is limited. Out of all the 4 major payment networks, this is the least accepted.

Rewards redemption cannot be done online. You have to call in.

Their website says applicants must be a resident of the state of California, Nevada, Oregon or Washington

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 06:24:18 GMT

@uswala, thanks for the clarification. It's been a while since I looked at the website and I was too lazy to look it up again lol

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 06:27:45 GMT

@joedtx wrote:
@ray8806 wrote:
Is there a catch or something that I don't see?

I see that 3% cash back, only a $35 AF(annual fee plus membership fee), only 13.9% APR, and a Discover card. To me, that seems better than Citi DC at 2%, CapOne QS at 1.5%. There has to be something that I'm not realizing, anyone have any thoughts on this card?

I personally think it looks a little ugly, but it seems like it does give a lot of cash back.
Ahhh the prized card from Japan Credit Bank it is a great to get in with them since they are a Prime bank but they are a strict conservative lender with limted acceptance in the US. But if you hold their card thats awesome!

Mostly because it's limited in issuing, geographically.

If I lived in Hawaii, I'd get this one, lol.

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 07:36:03 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Few reasons. You have to be a resident of either California or Hawaii to qualify. Not sure if they opened up to more states.

They are also very very conservative. Application method is also very traditional. You fill up an app manually, send it in, and an underwriter will look at it. There's no automated computer approvals.

It's on the discover network, which means acceptance is limited. Out of all the 4 major payment networks, this is the least accepted.

Rewards redemption cannot be done online. You have to call in.

In the US, Amex is the least accepted of the 4, discover is close to V/MC. See, from http://blogs.wsj.com/totalreturn/2014/08/28/discover-credit-card-has-risen-in-rankings-and-acceptance/

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

yfan — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 08:04:35 GMT

Simple. Because the cashback is "up to" 3%, not flat 3%. It's 1% on spends up to $1K, 2% on spends between 1K and 3K and 3% above 3K.

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

Kenny — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 08:09:16 GMT

@yfan wrote:
Simple. Because the cashback is "up to" 3%, not flat 3%. It's 1% on spends up to $1K, 2% on spends between 1K and 3K and 3% above 3K.

I would respectfully disagree with this answer. To some people 3k is a single purchase. I would think the general reasons have all been listed by now that are more applicable/probable.

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 08:24:18 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Few reasons. You have to be a resident of either California or Hawaii to qualify. Not sure if they opened up to more states.

They are also very very conservative. Application method is also very traditional. You fill up an app manually, send it in, and an underwriter will look at it. There's no automated computer approvals.

It's on the discover network, which means acceptance is limited. Out of all the 4 major payment networks, this is the least accepted.

Rewards redemption cannot be done online. You have to call in.
In the US, Amex is the least accepted of the 4, discover is close to V/MC. See, from http://blogs.wsj.com/totalreturn/2014/08/28/discover-credit-card-has-risen-in-rankings-and-acceptance/

ah i see. I didn't know that. i guess their promotions during the past few years have paid off!

i thought discover would be a lot more limited in the US but I guess not. They're bigger in asia because of unionpay.

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

SunriseEarth — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 10:48:43 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Few reasons. You have to be a resident of either California or Hawaii to qualify. Not sure if they opened up to more states.

They are also very very conservative. Application method is also very traditional. You fill up an app manually, send it in, and an underwriter will look at it. There's no automated computer approvals.

It's on the discover network, which means acceptance is limited. Out of all the 4 major payment networks, this is the least accepted.

Rewards redemption cannot be done online. You have to call in.

AFAIK, JCB would be accepted anywhere that takes Discover for swipe purchases. However, for transaction where the card isn't present, they would actually have to use the JCB network.

In any case, I think the geographical limits and the complication of application & payments through mail limit the appeal of the Marukai.

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

weehoo — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 13:29:26 GMT

I had applied last year via snail mail. Even got a call from a nice lady and we went over my application after a 20 min phone call. Then got a denial letter a week after that stating to many recent inquiries. So far its the only card i wanted and still do not have.

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

yfan — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 14:31:58 GMT

@Kenny wrote:
@yfan wrote:
Simple. Because the cashback is "up to" 3%, not flat 3%. It's 1% on spends up to $1K, 2% on spends between 1K and 3K and 3% above 3K.
I would respectfully disagree with this answer. To some people 3k is a single purchase. I would think the general reasons have all been listed by now that are more applicable/probable.

Right, but the question was why the card isn't popular, and I don't think you become popular by appealing to "some people". Even those who do drop 3K on one purchase on a regular basis may not want to lose out on the cashback on their first 3K. I'm not saying that the other reasons aren't valid. But as a California resident, this card is available to me, and this is THE reason I chose not to get it.

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 14:41:09 GMT

@yfan wrote:
@Kenny wrote:
@yfan wrote:
Simple. Because the cashback is "up to" 3%, not flat 3%. It's 1% on spends up to $1K, 2% on spends between 1K and 3K and 3% above 3K.
I would respectfully disagree with this answer. To some people 3k is a single purchase. I would think the general reasons have all been listed by now that are more applicable/probable.
Right, but the question was why the card isn't popular, and I don't think you become popular by appealing to "some people". Even those who do drop 3K on one purchase on a regular basis may not want to lose out on the cashback on their first 3K. I'm not saying that the other reasons aren't valid. But as a California resident, this card is available to me, and this is THE reason I chose not to get it.

OK, but compared to what other card. On that first $3K a 1.5% card like QS would get $45, a 2% would get $60, this gets $50, and then you are earning 3% on all the rest. In addition the card gives you $10 if you spend $1000 a year, $50 if you spend more than $5000, and even the $10 makes up most of the $15 AF

$3K on a card per year is not "some people", probably quite a lot do this on cards that give less than 3%.

So while it may be your reason, I doubt if that is a lot of people's reason unless they all have less than $5k uncategorized spend.

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

yfan — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 15:26:39 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
OK, but compared to what other card. On that first $3K a 1.5% card like QS would get $45, a 2% would get $60, this gets $50, and then you are earning 3% on all the rest. In addition the card gives you $10 if you spend $1000 a year, $50 if you spend more than $5000, and even the $10 makes up most of the $15 AF

$3K on a card per year is not "some people", probably quite a lot do this on cards that give less than 3%.

So while it may be your reason, I doubt if that is a lot of people's reason unless they all have less than $5k uncategorized spend.

Well, there you have it. My mantra is if you have more than $5K in unchaegorized spend, you're not doing it right. But you're right about the bonuses though... I hadn't paid close attention to them before (in fact, I don't think I've noticed those - are they new?).

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

Open123 — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 16:07:51 GMT

Some of my reasons are as follows:

1. Manual application process with follow-up interviews.

2. Lack of online account management and rewards redemption.

I can deal with the limited Discover network acceptance, but not the amount of effort necessary to get this card. Unless there's something in addition to a 3% cashback, it's not worth the effort to (1) spend 15 or 20 minutes to be interviewed (unlike the 70K UR Chase, which is definitely worth it), (2) calling in for manual redemptions, and (3) printing and filling out a paper application.

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

sillykitty1 — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 18:49:17 GMT

@yfan wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
OK, but compared to what other card. On that first $3K a 1.5% card like QS would get $45, a 2% would get $60, this gets $50, and then you are earning 3% on all the rest. In addition the card gives you $10 if you spend $1000 a year, $50 if you spend more than $5000, and even the $10 makes up most of the $15 AF

$3K on a card per year is not "some people", probably quite a lot do this on cards that give less than 3%.

So while it may be your reason, I doubt if that is a lot of people's reason unless they all have less than $5k uncategorized spend.
Well, there you have it. My mantra is if you have more than $5K in unchaegorized spend, you're not doing it right. But you're right about the bonuses though... I hadn't paid close attention to them before (in fact, I don't think I've noticed those - are they new?).

It's a pretty big assumption that more than $5K of uncatagorized spend is not doing something right. Most catagory spend at greater than 3% is capped. So depending on one's spend pattern & amounts, it's not hard to have a significant amout of non catagorized spend.

@Open123 wrote:
Some of my reasons are as follows:

1. Manual application process with follow-up interviews.
2. Lack of online account management and rewards redemption.

I can deal with the limited Discover network acceptance, but not the amount of effort necessary to get this card. Unless there's something in addition to a 3% cashback, it's not worth the effort to (1) spend 15 or 20 minutes to be interviewed (unlike the 70K UR Chase, which is definitely worth it), (2) calling in for manual redemptions, and (3) printing and filling out a paper application.

They now have online account mangement. It's very, very basic, but you can see your transactions, balance, statements, and do ACH pull payments from the site.

No interview for me. I sent in the app, and included 2 paystubs, not required, but figured it might speed along the process, and was approved less than a week from mailing.

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

yfan — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 19:07:32 GMT

@sillykitty1 wrote:
Well, there you have it. My mantra is if you have more than $5K in unchaegorized spend, you're not doing it right. But you're right about the bonuses though... I hadn't paid close attention to them before (in fact, I don't think I've noticed those - are they new?).
It's a pretty big assumption that more than $5K of uncatagorized spend is not doing something right. Most catagory spend at greater than 3% is capped. So depending on one's spend pattern & amounts, it's not hard to have a significant amout of non catagorized spend.

Right, however, no one is limited to only one category card. Btw, we know what happens to unlimited spends for 3%+ cards. They get nerfed. If the vast majority of JCB's users turn out to put the great majoirty of their spendings above the 3K threshold, they'd be losing money and as such not be able to maintain that structure. It'd get nerfed too.

Re: Why is JCB Murakai not popular?

sillykitty1 — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 19:43:49 GMT

@yfan wrote:
@sillykitty1 wrote:
Well, there you have it. My mantra is if you have more than $5K in unchaegorized spend, you're not doing it right. But you're right about the bonuses though... I hadn't paid close attention to them before (in fact, I don't think I've noticed those - are they new?).
It's a pretty big assumption that more than $5K of uncatagorized spend is not doing something right. Most catagory spend at greater than 3% is capped. So depending on one's spend pattern & amounts, it's not hard to have a significant amout of non catagorized spend.
Right, however, no one is limited to only one category card. Btw, we know what happens to unlimited spends for 3%+ cards. They get nerfed. If the vast majority of JCB's users turn out to put the great majoirty of their spendings above the 3K threshold, they'd be losing money and as such not be able to maintain that structure. It'd get nerfed too.

Please name catagory cards that have > 3% that you can realistically have more than one of, with no or minimal AF?