I realized we didn’t have a formal review on the HSBC Elite card since it was rebranded some years ago. There have been a few changes since then as well, and so here’s a quick review.
The card comes with a $495 annual fee, 60,000 points, and earns 5x on all Travel. It requires banking relationship to apply for this card.
For context, here is our prior review from 2017 and the changes from 2020. And here is our review of the HSBC Premier card which has a lower $95 annual fee and 50,000 points signup bonus (the Premier card is available for non-relationship customers).
Card Basics
- Annual fee of $495, authorized users are $0 per card
- Sign up bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 5x points on Travel including flights, hotels and car rentals (reportedly works on nearly every travel purchase imaginable) (this benefit was added in 2024)
- 2x points on Dining
- 1x point on all other purchases
- Automatic $100 Travel Credit for every $2,000 spent in cumulative travel purchases booked through HSBC Travel powered by Priceline, up to a maximum of $400 in total statement credits per calendar year.
- $120 Annual Statement Credits for rides with Uber and Lyft, $10 per month
- Up to $120 towards Global Entry, TSA Precheck, TSA Precheck by Clear, or NEXUS once every 4.5 years
- Priority Pass unlimited lounge access for the cardholder and up to 2 guests
- Metal card
- No foreign transaction fees
How Much Are Points Worth?
On the landing page it states two things that are useful for determining the points value:
- 60,000 points are worth $900 in air travel. I assume this means points are worth 1.5¢ each when using their travel protal
- Points transfer to airline partners. HSBC other cards transfer to: Aer Lingus AerClub, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways Executive Club, Emirates Skywards, EVA Air Infinity MileageLands, Flying Blue (Air France-KLM), Iberia Plus, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, TAP Miles&Go, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, ALL – Accor Live Limitless, Wyndham Rewards.
Who’s Eligible
To be eligible to apply for this card you need to have an existing HSBC Premier Banking relationship (similar to Chase’s Private Client status). Eligibility for that is discussed here but you need $100,000 in combined balances with HSBC or a monthly direct deposit of $5,000.
Our Verdict
This is a pretty weak premium offering, especially considering you need $100,000 in funds with HSBC to be eligible. If you are an HSBC customer anyway it might make sense to get the card with the 60k signup bonus and cancel before the second annual fee hits. The rideshare credits give a bit more value to the card, and some people might find value in the $100 travel credits if you use their portal to book travel.
