[REVIEW] HSBC Premier World Elite MasterCard
I have been quite tough on HSBC for a while now, because of their lack of creativity. I was caught by surprise to see that they have introduced a new Premier World Elite MasterCard. Below are the highlights of the credit card:
- $149 annual fee
- No annual fee for supplementary cardholders
- Receive $100 annual travel credit
- Earn 6 HSBC points for every $1 spent on travel purchases
- Earn 3 HSBC points for every $1 spent on all other purchases
- Receive a Boingo membership
- No foreign transaction fees
Annual fee
The annual fee may seem a little steep on the surface, but when you look at the benefits associated with the card, it can be worthwhile. First off, no fee for supplementary cardholders means that you can pool your points more easily.
Furthermore, if you are a HSBC client, you can get push for some or all of the fee waived.
$100 annual travel credit
You can use the travel credit on seat upgrades, baggage fees or airport lounge passes
Points
Every point is worth at least 0.5 cents a piece. So 6 points is essentially worth 3 cents.
You can redeem your points for travel, gift cards, merchandise, financial rewards or redeem for miles. So make sure that when you redeeming your points, you are receiving at least 0.5 cents per point.
No foreign transaction fees
For me, waiving foreign transaction fees is what pushes this credit card over the top. Finally Chase and Rogers have some competition.
Conclusion
I am extremely pleased with the introduction of this new credit card. If you are a HSBC banking client, or planning on being one, this is a no-brainer travel credit card to have in your wallet.
Welcome to the big leagues HSBC!
Wow, that is VERY appealing. What are the odds that they’ll offer some kind of signup promotion in the near future?
They have a sign up bonus on the banking side. Your guess is as good as mine…
Too bad you have to be an HSBC Premier member to apply for the card…
There is a $500 sign up bonus right now: http://www.hsbc.ca/1/2/personal/special/chequing-account-cash-offer?WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=HBCA_102106_09NOPRODe032911&gclid=CKn_3aKkhdYCFZKzswodfwQPew&gclsrc=ds
True, but in order to be a Premier member, which is required to get this card, you need to have a total of $100,000 deposited or invested with HSBC. That’s quite a barrier for most people.
That is just to get the $50 credit back on the annual fee.
Just got this card in Canada, having had the UK one for some time. As a premier customer they gave me $50 off the fee. The downside to this vs the Uk one is that the sign up bonus is considerably less and the lounge key has to be paid for at each visit. But from my understanding all FX transactions generate 6 reward points per dollar, making this a great card!
Thanks for sharing your experience Tom!
There’s a higher offer on the banking side now of up to $700
Thanks for the heads up!
Also, there is a referral bonus of $200 if you have been referred by an hsbc account holder. The referrer and referrer will both get $200 if you open a premier bank account at HSBC. This is indeed stackable with the higher offer on the banking side. In other words you get up to $900 cash rebate (700 + 200).
Thanks for sharing the tip!