Sayonara Sumitomo Gold Visa Card
I realize it is dumb to feel wistful and nostalgic about a credit card. And I’m sure Sumitomo doesn’t feel the same way about me. But I decided today to cancel my Sumitomo Gold Visa Card.
The reason I feel nostalgic about it is because it’s the first credit card I got in Japan, and I’ve had it for about 30 years!
But… I just got the membership renewal bill, and it’s ¥10,800 yen for the year. So I was thinking, is it worth it?
Since getting that card I have other Japanese credit cards, all with no membership fees. And a few months ago I even got another Sumitomo card – an Amazon MasterCard. If I use that I get points on Amazon Japan, good towards purchases, just like with my U.S. Amazon credit card.
So I called the “Gold Desk” and talked it over with them. They said if I used the card even just one time during the membership year that the member fee goes down by half. However, looking over the records it seems I didn’t use the card even one time all year. In fact, my last payment was a year ago – for last year’s membership fee. Hmm…
So I decided it was a waste and canceled it. The only practical change is that my credit limit with Sumitomo will drop from ¥4,000,000 to ¥800,000 on my remaining Amazon card, because it’s not “Gold,” but that’s more than enough for me.
Still, I feel nostalgic about it because I remember how excited I was about it when I first got it – my first Japanese credit card! And boy, have we been through a lot together over the years…
But financially it’s a waste. So, as per their instructions, I’m cutting it in half and tossing it. Sayonara Sumitomo Gold Visa Card. It’s been an adventure.
:sniff:
I feel your pain – I felt the same way when I cancelled my American Express card. Right out of college it was the first credit card I ever qualified for and it really made me feel like an adult. Decades later, when Jeanne pointed out that it was the only card we were actually paying a fee for, and that we didn’t even use it much (many establishments no longer take Amex because they pay a higher fee than for Visa or Mastercard) I couldn’t justify keeping it. But like you, I was actually emotionally attached to a plastic card…
Weird, isn’t it.