Pick the mobile reward you can actually receive and spend.

The largest number is not always the best value

A campaign reward can reduce real mobile cost, but only if the reward currency fits your life in Japan. Foreign residents often lose more value through account setup, document mismatch, app access, payment friction, or campaign overlap than through choosing a smaller-looking headline.

• Good fit: a resident, student, worker, or long-stay user who already knows they need a Japanese phone-number line and can use the reward wallet in Japan.
• Weak fit: short-stay visitors who only need maps, translation, hotel apps, messaging, and web access. Start with the data-only eSIM guide or before-arrival checklist instead.
• If the campaign would make you choose a plan you would not otherwise use, compare the base plan first on the plans page.

What the current official pages show

The useful comparison is not only Rakuten Points vs dPOINT vs PayPay Points vs au PAY balance. It is also how late the reward arrives, whether it is limited-time or app-linked, and whether the application route has to be MNP, new-number, SIM-only, or calls + data.

• Rakuten Mobile: the first-application campaign page checked in this run advertises 10,000 Rakuten Points for eligible MNP and 7,000 points for eligible new applications, with entry, Rakuten Link, and plan-use conditions.
• ahamo: the referral page lists dPOINTs with separate referrer and invited-user tracks, and it says dPOINTs are limited-time/usage-limited. Device purchase and overlapping MNP campaigns can break the route.
• LINEMO: the Best Plan and Best Plan V pages list PayPay Point gift-card style rewards, delivered later by email, with PayPay app/account requirements and non-stack rules. povo: the campaign list shows mixed reward types, while Honkiwari is a conditional au PAY balance route for calls + data MNP users.

Match the reward wallet to your setup

Each reward type has a different practical gate. Treat the app or wallet as part of the application checklist, not as something you can fix after the line opens.

• Rakuten Points fit best if your Rakuten ID, Rakuten Link use, and Rakuten ecosystem spending are already realistic.
• dPOINTs fit best if your d account route is clean and you can use limited-time dPOINTs before expiry.
• PayPay Points fit best if you can install PayPay, receive the gift-card email, charge the gift card within the stated window, and actually spend PayPay in Japan.
• au PAY balance fits best if your au ID is linked, au PAY is started, and the campaign specifically includes your povo calls + data or topping route.

Phone-number needs still decide the plan

Rewards should not blur the biggest product split: visitor data products are different from resident phone-number lines. A data-only eSIM can be the right answer for arrival-day internet, but it will not solve normal carrier calls, SMS, banking, housing, work, school, delivery, or long-term account recovery.

• Choose visitor/data-only first when you only need maps, translation, train apps, tickets, messaging, and web.
• Choose a resident phone-number plan when Japanese carrier SMS or calls are part of the job. Then compare campaign routes inside the plans that already fit.
• For povo specifically, the Honkiwari page says the au PAY balance campaign is for calls + data and excludes data-only lines. Do not use a rebate headline to justify the wrong product.

A safer order before applying

Use campaign pages as the final confirmation layer. This keeps points from hiding the checks that can block approval or make the reward unusable.

• First, decide whether you need a visitor data eSIM or a resident phone-number plan.
• Second, choose the base plan by coverage, data, calls, support, documents, payment, and cancellation risk.
• Third, choose one reward path and reopen the official page on the application day. Confirm app/wallet setup, MNP/new-number status, no-phone-purchase rules, account matching, benefit timing, expiry, and non-stack rules before using any referral or campaign link.