The ¥3 Million Annual Barrier: A Tough Reality Even for SFC Members
However, is the line drawn at “¥3 million in annual spending on an ANA Card and ANA Pay” not simply excessive?
Annual spending of ¥3 million means card spending of ¥250,000 per month on average. Considering that Japan’s average annual income is roughly ¥4.5 million, this is a level that is essentially unattainable for many people.
Even if many SFC members are assumed to be managers at large companies or similar professionals earning an average annual income of ¥10 million to ¥15 million, this remains a high hurdle. From their take-home pay after taxes and social insurance premiums, subtract rent or mortgage payments—which often cannot be paid by credit card—as well as savings and education expenses, and the amount of freely usable living expenses that can be paid by card shrinks significantly.
It is now possible to pay national taxes by credit card or through smartphone payment services in Japan. However, given the burden of transaction fees and the complexity of top-up routes, it is difficult to say that these are methods everyone would actively use. Ultimately, even for those earning ¥10 million to ¥15 million annually, it may be impossible to reach ¥3 million without concentrating the majority of their living expenses on payments made with an ANA Card.
Amid Competition From Other Cards’ Reward Rates
The issue of reward rates adds further pressure. The basic mileage return rate for ANA Cards (standard and Gold) remains broadly around 0.5% to 1%. At a time when numerous credit cards offer high rewards with no annual fee or allow users to accumulate points rapidly within specific economic ecosystems, consumers may understandably be reluctant to consolidate all of their everyday spending onto an ANA Card, which is not necessarily the strongest option in terms of reward rates—even with the 5,000-mile credit.
What Would Be a Reasonable, Realistic Revision?
ANA has announced that it will review these changes by the end of September. If it is to make a realistic revision, lowering the spending requirement for lounge access and similar benefits would seem to be the appropriate course.
In the credit card industry, annual spending thresholds of ¥1 million to ¥2 million are commonly set as standard milestones for such benefits as waived annual fees in the following year and bonus point awards. Setting the threshold for SFC members to qualify as valuable customers within this ¥1 million to ¥2 million range would be the most realistic compromise, balancing users’ actual financial circumstances with the company’s need to differentiate customers. What do you think?
Notice
This article was generated using automatic translation by GPT-4 API. The translation may not be accurate.
