@JCB_354 I also noticed a weird situation, that Discover on Apple Pay can Tap Kobe Metro no problem, as well as physical card.
But Discover on Google Pay won't work.
:(
As for my personal opinion, allow user to maintain or obtain elite status is not a normal strategy.
Here are my thoughts
For SFC, I think they initially lowered the bar because of the financial crisis of ANA and they need to create cash flow.
For Delta, Delta doesn’t operate domestic flights in Japan, only long-haul international, and none of Japanese Airlines is member of SkyTeam, so the abuse rate of FFP is very little.
@JCB_354 Think it looks really great, but it's basically impossible for me to obtain a Japanese credit card.
Maybe in future I would become an international student of Japan, then I can apply for cards.
@JCB_354 Btw, just a offtopic comment.
Although in theory Discover Card can complete purchase with JCB Network in Japan.
But for my one-week experience, failure is more than success. Even POS Terminal shows JCB or Diners Club logo.