HSBC is in the process of updating their credit card portfolio they recently launched the Premier World Elite & Cash Rewards Mastercard. The latest in their new card line up is the HSBC Gold Mastercard credit card. This card is targeted towards people that carry a balance with an introductory APR offer and variable APR’s starting from 11.99%. Let’s take a look at the card in this short review.
Contents
Card Basics
- No sign up bonus
- No rewards program
- 0% Introductory APR on purchases & balance transfers for the first 18 billing cycles
- APR of 11.99%, 15.99%, 19.99%
- No foreign transaction fees
- No annual fee
- Standard Mastercard benefits
Our Verdict
Most long time readers of this site won’t be interested in this card due to the lack of rewards program and sign up bonus. 0% introductory APR for 18 months is competitive when comparing to cards like Chase Slate, that card offers 15 months but the major difference is that it also waives the balance transfer fee for the first 60 days. People trying to reduce their credit card debt are typically interested in these $0 balance transfer fee, 0% introductory APR offers where this HSBC card only offers the introductory APR part of the equation. A better comparison would be the Citi Simplicity card as this offers a 0% APR for the first 21 billing cycles.
It’s also very important to be careful with these types of introductory APR offers, as generally if you miss a payment you’ll have to pay interest for the full period, not just the month you missed. Personally I don’t see much use for this card, but for those chasing 0% introductory APRs it might be of some use.
