HSBC Premier drops its income requirement to £75,000 – can you now get the best Avios-earning Mastercard?

I have covered the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard extensively in articles like this.  It is a VERY attractive Mastercard product if you want to earn Avios.

There is a £195 annual fee but you will receive 40,000 Avios points for spending £12,000 in the first year.  20,000 Avios (via 40,000 HSBC points) are credited if you spend £2,000 within 90 days and a further 20,000 Avios (via 40,000 HSBC points) are credited at the end of your first year if you have hit the £12,000 spending target.

You earn an unbeatable 1 Avios per £1 (via 2 HSBC points per £1) on the World Elite Mastercard AND get access to 500 airport lounges worldwide via LoungeKey.  Other perks include a £20 Uber credit each time you charge £500 to an airline.  Full details can be found on the HSBC website here.

(The representative APR is 59.3% including the annual fee based on a £1200 credit limit.  The APR on purchases is 18.9%.)

The standard HSBC Premier Mastercard is also attractive.  As you can see here, the card is free – albeit there is no sign up bonus – and you earn 0.5 Avios for every £1 you spend.

You can also transfer your points to Etihad Guest, Asia Miles or Singapore Airlines Krisflyer at the same rates or use them for non-travel rewards.

Join HSBC Premier

The only snag with these cards is that you must have a HSBC Premier current account.

HSBC Premier has always had tough eligibility criteria.  See here and click on the Eligibility button to see the details.

As well as opening a HSBC Premier current account, you must ALSO have £50,000 invested with HSBC, either in a savings account or via an investment product.

Alternatively, if you have a high income, you qualify if you just have a HSBC mortgage or any investment (such as an ISA) or insurance product.

The income requirement has historically been £100,000 per year.  From today, it falls to £75,000 per year.  This opens it up to a lot more people.

Once your Premier bank account is open, you will be able to apply for either the HSBC Premier or HSBC Premier World Elite credit cards and start earning Avios, or other airline miles, via a Mastercard at the generous HSBC rates.

(Want to earn more miles and points from credit cards?  Click here to visit our dedicated airline and hotel travel credit cards page or use the ‘Credit Cards Update’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points and do not consider interest rates, service levels or any impact on your credit history.  By recommending credit cards on this site, I am – technically – acting as a credit broker.  Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a credit broker.