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.

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

• September 23rd, 2017 – Current: 35,000 points after $3,500 in spend (also came with addition of $50 Uber/Lyft annual statement credit)
• July 4th – September 23rd, 2017: 40,000 points after $2,500 in spend
• ?? – July 4th: 25,000 points after $2,500 in spend

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.

• July 1st – July 31st, 2016: 30% Transfer Bonus to British Airways

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