HSBC Makes It Much Easier To Become Premier Member – Opens Up Premier World Elite & Premier Cards

HSBC offers two credit cards to Premier members:

Previously becoming a Premier required a Premier checking account with $100,000+ in deposits & investments/assets. That is no longer the requirement as you can become a Premier member by doing one of the following:

  • Have at least $75K in total deposits and/or investments, OR…
  • Have at least $5K in direct deposits per month, OR…
  • Maintain U.S. residential mortgage loan with an original loan amount of at least $500K

The direct deposit option makes this much easier for many readers to become Premier members. Some will even already be Premier members from the various HSBC checking bonuses offered. The Premier World Elite card comes with a 50,000 point sign up bonus, but it also carries a $395 annual fee (plus $100 in Uber/Lyft credits and $100 in air travel credits). The Premier card only offers 35,000 points, but there is no annual fee for Premier clients.

Hat tip to reader Mark R

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Sideshowbob233
Sideshowbob233 (@guest_957980)
April 15, 2020 21:43

 William Charles Might want to update the CC reviews – looks like they’ve changed the $200 airline credit to $100 + $100 uber/lyft credit. And looks like you can redeem points online.

Matt
Matt (@guest_946535)
March 26, 2020 17:55

What happens to the Premier World MC after you close your Premier checking account? Does it start generating an annual fee, get closed, or converted to something else?

Alex
Alex (@guest_953280)
April 7, 2020 10:24

Pretty sure it will generate an annual fee. The Advance card was like that.. If you had the Advance checking, it was free, soon as you closed or downgraded the checking, the annual fee for cc kicked in (at anniversary, at least).

deadguy
deadguy (@guest_998673)
June 15, 2020 17:36

any idea what happens after you close the premier checking when holding the premier elite card?

Cal
Cal (@guest_945793)
March 25, 2020 19:37

Word to the wise: just steer clear of HSBC. It has got the absolute worst customer service ever. Banks are notorious for bad customer service but HSBC in the US takes case the cake.

London management has recently come to terms with the fact that HSBC is an also-ran in the US, so they will be cutting down on their branch footprint in due time. Having said that, their credit card products aren’t the best with the very limited number of airlines partners.

HSBC’s strategy in the US is to court wealthy clients with ties to Asia or Europe who would need international banking services, and charge them an arm and a leg. I doubt most of the people here would be into that.

kewlcat
kewlcat (@guest_945942)
March 25, 2020 22:55

True. I use them as a primary checking account as it is literally next door. But premier service is not bad. Also very easy to meet the 75K using HSBC direct savings account. The banking rep is pretty responsive. They gave decent rate on mortgage with minimal fuss. Yeah credit card management website (outsourced is horrible) and general IT stuff is below par.

reventon04
reventon04 (@guest_945652)
March 25, 2020 17:40

Points transferrable to Emirates, Jet Airways(useless), Singapore, BA and Aeromexico at 1:1 from both cards. For travel portal redemption, Premier World is at 1.25cpp and World Elite is at 1.5cpp. First six months of holding a Premier checking is free and closing the account is also free. Six months is plenty of time for you to sign up for both cards.

They prioritize Equifax for card applications, card apps can be done online and usually goes pending without needing to call in. They automatically pull EX if EQ is frozen. They are not inquiry/new accounts sensitive except for World Elite. You need to be a Premier member for at least 3 months before you can get approved for World Elite.

LoKoTe
LoKoTe (@guest_945747)
March 25, 2020 18:46

I had an old “Platinum” card with them for 2-3 years (don’t ask why), but never used it. Applied for Premier checking for the bonus. Once the account was approved and linked to my online profile (3 weeks!), I was able to apply to both World and World Elite. That took another 2 weeks. I was given a US number for the department that reviews apps (not outsourced), and first I was told there was a limit of 2 CCs. When they saw I was applying for the World Elite, they stated that one doesn’t count for the limit.

VML
VML (@guest_945295)
March 25, 2020 13:13

Both cards also still offer most protection and travel insurance axed by other major banks. These benefits are virtually identical between the two cards which makes the no fee ‘regular’ Premier card an excellent choice if you can qualify.

Sapphire checking
Sapphire checking (@guest_945321)
March 25, 2020 13:58

do you have any link for the protections … i thought most of them were taken out. https://www.us.hsbc.com/content/dam/hsbc/us/docs/pdf/credit-cards-pdfs/premier-mc-rewards-and-benefits-guide.pdf

VML
VML (@guest_945688)
March 25, 2020 18:00

I think you answered it. They got rid of the trip delay but they have most other things including trip interruption due to carrier insolvency i.e. airline going out of business. It’s not the old Citi Prestige but, hey, it’s not the current Citi Prestige either!

HSBC
HSBC (@guest_945753)
March 25, 2020 18:49

It is a bummer that they removed extended warranty. It used to have a lot of protections including return etc and be a great value.

Steve
Steve (@guest_945262)
March 25, 2020 11:53

This post sounded like it was a new change, but this has been the case since around July 2019 or earlier, as described in https://www.doctorofcredit.com/hsbc-350-750-checking-bonus-direct-deposit-is-required

LoKoTe
LoKoTe (@guest_945261)
March 25, 2020 11:51

Already did this in January. Checking bonus, and both CCs bonus. They recently lost WedtJet as a transfer partner, but IB/BA and SQ make the points somewhat valuable. The points on both cards post as transactions are posted. Bonus post when the transaction that puts you on the requirement post. Transferring miles take 2-3 business days. Uber/Lyft credits post the day after transaction post. They don’t work for UberEATS delivery or pickup.

John
John (@guest_945586)
March 25, 2020 16:50

I’m pretty irritated about uber eats not counting. Makes that credit worth $0 to me, and the total payout from the world elite card pretty low after the annual fee.

LoKoTe
LoKoTe (@guest_945740)
March 25, 2020 18:42

I thought about trying to buy $10 Uber Cash through Uber app and see if it counts.

The boingo membership from the World Elite, which I always saw as a useless feature, saved me recently. LH and LX charge an arm and a leg for in-flight data metered internet. Boingo login gave me access to unlimited in-flight internet so not bad at all considering I’d have spent 10-15 bucks (20-50mb package, ridiculous) per leg to stay connected.

David
David (@guest_945260)
March 25, 2020 11:44

Are the points valuable?

CJ
CJ (@guest_945278)
March 25, 2020 12:44

at least 1:1 if you deposit into the checking/savings account.

Jeremy
Jeremy (@guest_945281)
March 25, 2020 12:45

They sometimes have transfer bonuses to British Airways. I would actually prefer the Mastercard and keep it for the benefits (PreCheck and $50 Uber/Lyft per year) at $0 AF.

Steve
Steve (@guest_945323)
March 25, 2020 14:02

travel statement credit 1.25cpp (or if you book travel through them the rate might be higher but I haven’t tried that)

Sapphire checking
Sapphire checking (@guest_945325)
March 25, 2020 14:04

1.25 for redemption on portal , 1:1 for cash (min 50$), 1:1 for gift cards (25$ – has amazon). Elite has 1.5 portal. Cannot combine points.