What are the travel benefits for UK World Elite Mastercard holders?

Over the weekend Rob covered the Santander Select World Elite Mastercard and the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard.

As well as the specific benefits that come with each of these cards, there are some that are generic to all World Elite Mastercard products.  The main one is airport lounge access via LoungeKey which is available simply by showing your World Elite credit card at the door of any of the 870 participating lounges.

In the UK, MasterCard has negotiated a separate package of special benefits for its World Elite cardholders.  Both HSBC and Santander are poor at letting their customers know what they can claim, so we have put together this round up of the benefits.

Holiday benefits

Abercrombie & Kent

5% booking discount on all holidays, ski chalets and villas

VIP status including priority upgrades where possible

Personal invitations to private events and dinners

Access to award-winning guides when travelling

Own Private Client Manager, a dedicated consultant to design your holiday requirements year-round

Hotel benefits

Corinthia Hotels

Complimentary WiFi

Room upgrade at time of arrival, subject to availability

Early check-in upon arrival 10.00, subject to availability

4pm late check-out, subject to availability

Two complimentary bottles of still water on arrival

Fruit basket

Chef’s Treat on selected hotels that varies by property

Spa voucher on selected hotels

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts

Room upgrade (subject to availability on arrival)

Complimentary breakfast

$25 resort credit (valid for all hotels)

Late check-out until 16:00 on Saturdays and Sundays

Green Pearls

Complimentary local experience when staying at a selected Green Pearls Property

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group

Complimentary daily breakfast for two

Room upgrade at time of arrival, subject to availability

Early check-in upon arrival, subject to availability

3pm late check-out, subject to availability

Special Amenity that varies per property

Oasis

VIP welcome basket

£150 savings per stay

Raffles Hotels

Room Upgrade (on arrival)

Daily complimentary breakfast

Confirmed late check-out to 15:00

Complimentary welcome drink

Small Luxury Hotels of the World

3 nights for the price of two (paticipating hotels)

24 months Loved membership

Immediate Status Upgrade to “Loved” status

Complimentary room upgrades

Continental daily breakfast for two

Late check-out

Swissotel

Room upgrade (subject to availability on arrival)

Complimentary breakfast

Free internet

Late check-out until 16:00

Endless Weekend package with confirmed room upgrade, daily breakfast until 2pm and late check-out until 4pm

Leading Hotels of the World

Free daily continental breakfast for two

Free internet access

One-category room upgrades (subject to availability)

Welcome gifts at check-in

Special Leaders Club rates

Early check-in and late check-out

Invitations to Leaders Club events

Car hire benefits

Hertz

Free one class upgrade with every booking, subject to availability

Up to 15% discount off best available rates worldwide including Hertz Collections.

900 Gold Plus Rewards bonus points valid for a free weekend rental day

Free additional driver (spouse or civil partner)

Sixt

Up to 15% discount on Sixt rent a car and Sixt rent a truck

20% discount on Sixt limousine (chauffeur) service in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

10% discount on limousine service in other countries

Other UK World Elite benefits

Belstaff – complimentary monogramming leather jacket

Chic Outlet Shopping Villages – 10% off at selected boutiques, 15% off shopping packages

Mastercard Airport Concierge – 15% off airport meet and greet services

Gieves and Hawkes – £50 off £500 spend

The Hackett Membership Club – Join 65B club without a purchase

Turnbull & Asser – £50 off £500 spend

As you can see, there is an interesting mix of benefits here.  I doubt that anyone will be using the majority of them, but even if only one or two would be useful it could swing your decision as to whether you should apply (subject to income criteria etc) for HSBC Premier World Elite (see my main article here) or Santander Select (see our main article).

Full details of the benefits are here.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2025 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review