HSBC Premier World Mastercard Credit Card Review – 35,000 Point Sign Up Bonus

In this post we’re going to be taking an in depth look at the HSBC Premier World Mastercard Credit Card, this is their top tier card. It has some interesting benefits and sign up bonus, but being qualified for the card is a bit tricky. Let’s get started.

hsbc premier credit card review

The Basics

  • Sign up bonus of 35,000 points after $2,500 in spend within the first three months of account opening
  • Card earns at the following rates:
    • Card earns 2x points on all travel purchases
    • Card earns at 1x points on all other purchases
  • No annual fee for qualified Premier customers
  • $85 credit for TSA PreCheck
  • $50 annual statement credit for Uber/Lyft
  • Unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi access
  • Access to concierge service supplied by Aspire
  • Identity Fraud Expense Reimbursement
  • Coverage for lost, damaged or delayed baggage
  • MasterRental Insurance
  • No foreign trasnaction fees

Application Information

Unfortunately neither creditboards or Credit Karma have any information on this card, so we’re not able to provide you with statistics on the credit scores needed or credit limits received.

Premier Customer

As mentioned in the introductory, it can be difficult to be qualified for this card. Basically you need to be a premier checking member with HSBC. This account requires a minimum balance of $100,000, otherwise you will be charged a $50 per month fee. When you have this account there is no annual fee on the card, if you don’t have this account then you’ll be charged $95 annually (either way you still need the HSBC Premier checking account the first year/just to apply for the card). Business owners are also able to use their commercial balances to qualify as a premier customer.

Note that there is an on going checking bonus for $200 for Premier customers (person who refers you also receives $100). There have also been bonuses of up to $750 in the past. It’s also important to note that these accounts earn a measly rate of 0.01% APY, although again they often have promotions that increase this rate to around 1% APY.

Earning Rewards

Sign Up Bonus

If anybody knows any dates of increased/decreased offers on this card, please let me know.

On Going Spend

This card only earns 1x points on all purchases. That being said reader Nitin let us know that they run targeted bonuses on a semi frequent basis.

  • Late last year that offered a bonus 5x points per $1 spent (up to 25,000 bonus points)
  • Also sometimes offer get $25 per month for spending $xx

I think the 5x bonus usually comes around once a year from what I’ve seen.

Redeem Points

Airline Partners

HSBC has three airline partners you can transfer to, all transfer at a rate of 1:1 (unless they are offering a transfer bonus).

  • British Airways
  • Singapore Airlines
  • Cathay pacific

Transfer Bonuses

HSBC sometimes offers transfer bonuses to the above airlines. If you know of when they have occurred before, let us know in the comments below.

Travel

One of the best uses for HSBC points is travel, you can redeem your points against a travel charge in increments starting at 25,000 points (it doesn’t need to cover your full purchase). You can also get money off flights you book through their portal (seems to be the same rates as other airlines). Let’s look at these travel statement credit and discount offers.

Statement Credit

All of these get you 1.6¢ per point.

  • $200 travel statement credit: 12,500 points
  • $400 travel statement credit: 25,000 points
  • $600 travel statement credit: 37,500 points

Travel Discount

All of these also give you 1.6¢ per point, unless otherwise noted.

  • $100 Off Any Airline Ticket: 10,000 points (1¢)
  • $400 Off Any Airline Ticket: 25,000 points
  • One Free Economy-Class Ticket In The Continental USA, Up To $400: 24,000 points (1.67¢)
  • $600 Off Any Airline Ticket: 37,500 Points
  • $800 Off Any Airline Ticket: 50,000 Points
  • $1000 Off Any Airline Ticket: 62,500 Points

Card Benefits

  • Concierge Service. This card gives you access to a concierge service provided by Aspire lifestyles.
  • Identity Fraud Expense Reimbursement
  • Coverage for lost, damaged or delayed baggage
  • MasterRental Insurance

I can’t really find too much information about any of these benefits, if you know more let us know in the comments.

Our Verdict

There is a lot of moving parts with this card, I think it makes more sense to get it when they are offering a higher sign up bonus on the checking account (or at the very least a higher APY). Once you have the card, I do think it’s worth keeping (after you’ve closed the Premier checking account) as they do offer generous spending bonuses on an on going basis and the points themselves are quite valuable (either through travel statement credits or to the airline transfer partners when they have bonuses). I’ll be keeping an eye on HSBC and hope to pick this card up next time they offer something better for the checking account, although I suspect when that happens the sign up bonus on this card will drop down to 25,000 points.

Let me know your thoughts on this card, if you already hold it then share your experiences in the comments below

 

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22 Comments
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culdeus
culdeus (@guest_880461)
January 18, 2020 12:04

When i called in to apply for this card they offered me a promotional savings rate of 2.65% to 2.85% for the next three months. Not sure if that’s worth mentioning.

Kent
Kent (@guest_961946)
April 22, 2020 02:58

Those rates would be great now, but I’m guessing they’ve dropped along with the rates of most banks.

If you got this card, can you say what qualifies as travel? Curious if things like Airbnb, trains and Lyft/Uber qualify for 2x earning.

Rupert
Rupert (@guest_871380)
January 10, 2020 14:04

 William Charles FYI: The CC gives you $50 Uber/Lyft credit, BUT it comes in the form of 20% rebate up to $50 and not straight 100% up to $50

jc
jc (@guest_1021347)
July 22, 2020 22:20

Hi Rupert do you happen to have a link where this is mentioned? I’ve tried looking on their site (https://www.us.hsbc.com/) and didn’t see the 20% mentioned.

Rupert
Rupert (@guest_1021350)
July 22, 2020 22:23
  jc

It was on the benefits brochure when I got the card. Long been in the trash now.

hermitw
hermitw (@guest_632200)
August 21, 2018 23:26

all 1.6c is gone, now only 1.25

sam
sam (@guest_315180)
November 14, 2016 20:10

Hello, where the info about all HSBC’s credit card bonuses https://www.us.hsbc.com/1/2/home/personal-banking/credit-cards especially HSBC Platinum MasterCard® with Rewards credit card ?
thanks

sam
sam (@guest_316794)
November 18, 2016 15:32

Ok, strange, my local HSBC banks (New York City) has many offers……

sam
sam (@guest_316820)
November 18, 2016 18:19

they said offerS ARE ongoing now….

sam
sam (@guest_317034)
November 19, 2016 12:42

People have to call to find out, I think based on state. But I just logged in and was able to process, and representative said the offer is still there! I think they are playing games – by not giving the “apply online” (without HSBC account) and by not giving DEAD LINE date.

sam
sam (@guest_330055)
December 21, 2016 20:00

I just got new offer in mail (NYC) for $150 (15,000 points) HSBC Reward Platinum good till 02/10/2017 after I spend $500

Al
Al (@guest_273354)
July 6, 2016 10:56

Was at HSBC Branch yesterday July 5 and they said the promo was back to the original 25,000

MilesMath
MilesMath (@guest_273119)
July 5, 2016 19:05

I used to have a high yield savings account with them. A few years ago I started getting multiple phone calls at my office over many months wanting to sell me asset management services (for a 1.75% annual fee of course). After telling them no several times, I eventually just moved my savings elsewhere.

barrytuneup
barrytuneup (@guest_273095)
July 5, 2016 17:01

never had a problem with them in NYC. Used exclusively for MO deposits via MS. Got the 350 bonus a few months ago and downgraded acct. never needed to speak to a human there. They don’t seem to care about MO deposits, like other banks I use.

savemesf
savemesf (@guest_273062)
July 5, 2016 15:35

So this is a $600+ bonus if used for travel credits or airline tickets?

The US is small market for them and, at least in NYC, their in-branch customer service is pretty bad. It’s hard to believe many people with $100K balances would be choosing HSBC unless they need multi-national accounts.

Andy
Andy (@guest_272988)
July 5, 2016 10:31

HSBC premier global transfer program is one of the best for their targeted clientele. For example, when moving between Canada and the UK, my family member was able to opening current (checking) account, savings and UK domiciled credit card before even stepping into the country using her Canadian credit and banking history.

If HSBC US is capable of the same, then it’s a good credit card for new immigrants without ssn and credit scores. Along with amex global transfer, that’s way better than being stuck with the secured cards that other banks would force you to get instead.

Credit
Credit (@guest_272983)
July 5, 2016 10:15

HSBC is not a good bank. Not recommended.

Lantean
Lantean (@guest_272991)
July 5, 2016 10:44

second this. i actually closed all my checking and savings accounts there because the customer service sucked.

plus hsbc smuggled drugs from mexico to us.

Credit
Credit (@guest_272993)
July 5, 2016 11:04

And worked with the terrorists, worked around Iran sanctions. Paid hefty fines.
On a personal note there premier service call goes to manila. The people there are extremely passive aggressive. Hang up on me while transferring calls, say they will research something and call back but never do. Happened many times. Premier is their top tier service and that’s the treatment. The only saving grace is your relationship manager. But they may be trying to upsell you more services.

My impression was it is a sleazy bank, like loan sharks but working on richer clientele. Yuck

Den
Den (@guest_272994)
July 5, 2016 11:06

HSBC closed my account for no reason and explained that they have such right. Also they said that my checking account was never approved. However I funded account ($15000) set up direct deposit (3 direct deposits were successfully posted. They closed account and sent me a check. I opened it to receive a bonus. A lot of hassle and no bonus.