The welcome offer on the HSBC Elite World Elite Mastercard has now increased to 75,000 HSBC Points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months. Based on HSBC’s current published redemption value, those points can be worth up to $900 toward travel when used through HSBC Travel. The biggest selling point of this card is still 5x on travel purchases, plus an annual $400 HSBC Travel Credit, $120 Rideshare Credit, and Priority Pass airport lounge access. It is currently HSBC’s most benefit-rich premium credit card. However, the application requirement is a bit unusual: you must first have a U.S. HSBC Premier Checking account before you can apply for this credit card.

This is a pretty solid offer, and I have also added it to our ranking!

HSBC Elite World Elite Mastercard Overview

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Full review

HSBC Elite Card

A great card for frequent travelers, with $660 in various annual credits!

  • Rewards: 5x on qualifying travel purchases; 2x at restaurants and on other travel; 1x on other purchases
  • Redemption: Redeem through HSBC Travel at 1.2¢/point; can also transfer to airline miles and hotel points
  • Annual fee: $495
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Benefits

  • 5x on travel purchases: Eligible travel purchases can earn 5x HSBC Points, including certain airfare, hotel, and car rental purchases. This is the card’s core selling point. It is equivalent to up to about a 7.5% return on travel.
  • Priority Pass airport lounges: The primary cardholder gets unlimited access to Priority Pass airport lounges, and can bring up to 2 guests for free each visit. In addition, the Priority Pass membership that comes with this card is the full version and includes airport restaurant credits.
  • Up to $120 reimbursement for Global Entry / TSA PreCheck / NEXUS: You can receive up to a $120 statement credit once every 4.5 years, usable for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, TSA PreCheck by CLEAR, or NEXUS.
  • Cell phone protection: If you pay your monthly cell phone bill with this card and your phone is stolen or damaged, you can receive up to $800 in coverage per claim. The specific deductible and limitations are subject to the Mastercard Guide to Benefits.
  • Car rental and travel insurance: Includes MasterRental Coverage, travel insurance, and more. For the exact coverage, it is still best to review the latest Guide to Benefits before traveling.
  • Purchase protection: Most new items purchased with this card are covered for theft or accidental damage within 90 days of purchase, up to $1,000 per claim.

Various Credits

This card has a high annual fee of $495, so whether it is worth keeping long term mainly depends on whether you can actually use the following credits.

  • Up to $400 HSBC Travel Credit each year: When you book eligible flights, hotels, and car rentals through HSBC Travel, you can receive up to a $400 credit each year. This is the card’s most important credit. If you already have travel needs and do not mind booking through HSBC Travel, this effectively reduces the $495 annual fee to $95.
  • Up to $120 Rideshare Credit each year: Taxi, cab, and rideshare purchases can automatically receive up to a $10 statement credit each month, up to $120 per year. This is issued monthly and cannot be used all at once.
  • Instacart benefit: New Instacart+ users can receive 3 months of free membership, and the second eligible order each month can get $10 off. HSBC lists the maximum annual value of this benefit as $140.
  • Lyft Take 3, Get $5: Each calendar month, after completing 3 eligible Lyft rides with this card, you can receive a $5 Lyft App Credit, up to once per month.

HSBC Points Program Overview

  • Point value: The simplest way to use HSBC Elite Points is still booking flights, hotels, and car rentals through HSBC Travel. The Premier card can redeem at up to about 1.25 cents per point, while the Elite can redeem at up to about 1.5 cents per point. The actual redemption value is subject to what is shown in your HSBC Rewards account.
  • Point transfers: HSBC Rewards for Miles now has 11 airline partners and 2 hotel partners. For airlines, Emirates Skywards is 1:1; Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Avios, Iberia Plus, Flying Blue, Avianca LifeMiles, EVA Air Infinity MileageLands, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, TAP Miles&Go, and Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles are all 1.25:1, meaning 1,250 HSBC Points = 1,000 miles. For hotels, Wyndham Rewards is 1:1, and Accor ALL is 2.5:1, meaning 2,500 HSBC Points = 1,000 ALL Points.
  • My quick take: HSBC’s transfer partner ecosystem is certainly not as strong as AMEX MR or Chase UR, but it is now much more complete than before. British Airways / Iberia / Aer Lingus cover Avios, Flying Blue gives you access to SkyTeam redemptions, Avianca / Turkish can be used for Star Alliance, and there are also Qatar and Emirates. If you are already an HSBC Premier customer, these points are definitely interesting to play with.

My Thoughts

For the HSBC Elite, I think the most interesting part is not all the small credits, but rather 5x on travel purchases. There are quite a few premium travel cards now, but not many directly offer 5x on eligible travel purchases. If you spend a lot on flights and hotels, this earning rate is quite attractive. As for the annual fee, $495 is certainly not low, but the card comes with a $400 HSBC Travel Credit each year. If you would already use HSBC Travel to book flights or hotels, this $400 should be fairly easy to use, effectively leaving a $95 annual fee. Then you also get a $120 Rideshare Credit each year and Priority Pass access that lets you bring 2 guests, so on paper it is not hard to offset the annual fee with benefits.

Of course, the issues are also obvious. First, the $400 credit does not apply to just any travel purchase; it must be used through HSBC Travel. Second, you cannot apply for this card directly—you must first have a U.S. HSBC Premier Checking account. These days, HSBC Premier Checking does not necessarily require you to keep $100,000 on deposit. To waive the $50 monthly account maintenance fee, you can meet any one of the following requirements: have $100,000 in total HSBC deposits and investments, receive at least $5,000 in direct deposits each month, hold an eligible HSBC U.S. residential mortgage, or have HSBC Private Bank status.

So if you are already an HSBC Premier customer, I think this Elite card is worth taking a look at: the 75,000-point welcome offer is good, and 5x travel also gives it long-term value. If you have no HSBC relationship at all and would be opening a Premier Checking account just to apply for this credit card, then you should calculate whether you can consistently meet the Premier monthly fee waiver requirements and whether you can fully use the $400 HSBC Travel Credit each year.

HSBC Private Bank customers are a special case. If you maintain an eligible Private Bank relationship at the time of application and on each card anniversary thereafter, HSBC currently waives the $495 annual fee for the primary card. For people who already bank with HSBC Private Bank, the value proposition of this card becomes completely different.

Application

  • You must first have a U.S. HSBC Premier Checking account before you can apply for the HSBC Elite World Elite Mastercard.
  • If you are already an HSBC Premier customer, you can apply by logging in to online banking; Private Bank customers can contact their Relationship Manager.

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