Docomo monthly bill and usage

I'm a new ALT and just got a contract with Docomo. Docomo will be deducting my monthly bill directly from my bank account even though they originally said they wanted me to use my credit card. They then told me no one uses credits cards and to use my bank account instead.

This is fine, but I am wondering if there is anyway to keep track of your usage so you can predict your bill every month. I have 5 GB of data and although I do not personally make calls or send SMS, my work tends to from time to time. I wanted to make sure I wasn't going over data or racking up the cost of calls and SMS. All they said to me though was that I would receive my bill in the mail and it would automatically be deducted a few days later.

Previous carriers I've had used a website or an app to allow you to keep track, but Docomo didn't mention anything like this.

Docomo accepts all major credit cards unless it is a Visa Debit card. You can switch to a credit payment by visiting Docomo shops.

You can download "My docomo" application to check your data usage.
https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/mydocomo/appli/index.html

or, you can check onlone(follow the pictures).
https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/charge/online/data_traffic/

alternatively, docomo offers data usage notification by e-mail.
https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/charge/online/notification_service/index.h...
The service fee is "Free" but you need to register to use this service. Visit docomo shops for the registration.

android smartphones have a data usage monitor in the settings page, in which you can set limits and warnings on your data usage. It's not 100% accurate but it's pretty close. Not sure about apple but i'm sure there must be something similar.

if you log-on at "my docomo" site, you can know your situation.
I understand your frustration. I also feel the same way as you, although I am a long docomo user.
there seems to be no English menu at "my docomo".
I think you should ask a Japanese friend to help you.

you can change the payment to credit card at my docomo site, at least if you have a card issued in Japan. if you have a foreign card, it might not be used.

ken
Thank you! I saw the My Docomo website, but since it's all in Japanese I had difficulty. I could translate some, but not everything. Do you know how to register or get an ID and password for the website? I wasn't told I had one when I got my cell phone.

They told me sending SMS to the US would be crazy expensive, but that sending iMessages to other iPhone users in the US wouldn't cost anything - it would just use data. Can anyone confirm this?

Sorry for a double post.

I created a My Docomo account, but their website has contradicting information. One page says you must go in store to change your payment method to credit card, but then another page says you can change it online.

When changing it online, it only asks for your credit card number, expiration, and security code. It doesn't ask for the type of credit card, which I would think is important since it says they accept 20+ credit cards.

I have an American Visa and MasterCard.

It states, "In addition to the 21 cards listed above, you can also use other MasterCard, Visa, and JCB affiliated credit cards. Also, please note that some retailers do not accept some of the cards listed above."

I would assume this means I can use it?

I just worry if they do require me to go in store, I won't be able to communicate with them as I've been using books and online translators, which obviously isn't possible to do in person.

It doesn't ask for the type of credit card, which I would think is important since it says they accept 20+ credit cards.

Shouldn't be necessary, that info is encoded in the credit card number itself.

They told me sending SMS to the US would be crazy expensive, but that sending iMessages to other iPhone users in the US wouldn't cost anything - it would just use data. Can anyone confirm this?

International SMS do cost more than regular sms, with fees that depend on your service agreement. It's easy to avoid using imessages, which are indeed free internationally as they only count against your regular data.