Who are the HSBC Premier credit card airline and hotel transfer partners?
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18 months ago, HSBC Premier undertook a substantial upgrading of its credit card transfer partners.
What was a bit of a laughing stock – although Avios was also partner – suddenly became a real contender, at least for the airline partners.
Even better, transfers to airline and hotel partners are instant and there is no minimum points transfer.
The only snag is that the HSBC Premier credit card is a faff to get. You need to sign up for free to HSBC’s Premier current account (£75,000 income and a HSBC investment product required) in order to apply for the free Premier credit card and the paid-for Premier World Elite credit card.
The two HSBC credit cards earn as follows:
The free HSBC Premier card, reviewed here, earns 1 HSBC point per £1 spent, which translates to 0.5 airline miles or hotel points.
The representative APR is 23.9% variable.
The £195 HSBC Premier World Elite card, reviewed here, earns 2 HSBC points per £1 spent, which translates to 1 airline mile or hotel point. There is a sign-up bonus of 80,000 points, worth 40,000 airline miles or hotel points, albeit this is spread over two years.
The representative APR is 100.2% variable, including the annual fee. The representative APR on purchases is 29.9% variable.
How to transfer points to travel partners
Annoyingly, it is not possible to make points transfers via the HSBC app. You need to log in to the HSBC UK website using your HSBC Premier details.
One bit of positive news is there are no transfer minimums.
2 HSBC points will get you 1 airline mile or 1 hotel point.
Transfers to some partners are instantaneous
Yes, instant. In the UK points market, this is still rare.
You aren’t at risk of missing out on a redemption by waiting for your HSBC points to go across.
Who are the HSBC Premier credit card travel partners?
Here are the HSBC airline transfer partners:
Here are the hotel partners:
Are these transfers good value?
There are two ways of looking at this:
- Are airline and hotel scheme transfers good value compared to redeeming for shopping gift cards etc?
- If they are, are any of the airline or hotel options significantly better or worse?
Are miles and points transfers good value compared to the alternatives?
Yes. Unlike many credit cards, airline miles are excellent value compared to taking shopping vouchers which is the only other option.
1,500 HSBC points gets you 750 airline miles or £5 of vouchers (Amazon, Costa, M&S, John Lewis, Tesco etc) so you are ‘paying’ just 0.66p per airline mile.
Are any of the airline or hotel options significantly better or worse?
Since we always value airline miles at around 1p, at least as long as they are used for premium cabin flight redemptions, we can say that they are a good use of your HSBC points. Compared to taking shopping vouchers, you are ‘paying’ 0.66p per mile which is a great deal.
However, the hotel transfer ratios stink.
The exchange rate from HSBC to hotel points is 2:1 – the same rate as used for airline miles. This is shocking value because, using a very broad generalisation, airline miles are worth double what hotel points are worth.
For example, I value an IHG One Rewards point at 0.4p. This means that 2 HSBC points gets you 0.4p of IHG One Rewards points – but would also get you 0.66p of shopping vouchers! Avoid – unless you need the points immediately, since the transfer to IHG is instant.
Conclusion
HSBC Premier has now established itself as the clear leader in the Visa / Mastercard space for anyone who wants a ‘convertible currency’ that could be moved to multiple travel rewards schemes.
For 10 of the 11 partners (Avios being the exception) it is the only way of earning these points from Visa or Mastercard spend.
(If you DO want Avios, which as this is HfP is likely, then forget HSBC Premier. You are far better off with the free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard or the paid-for Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard which has a 25,000 Avios bonus.)
The snag is that you need a HSBC Premier current account to apply for these cards, which requires a £75,000 income and the holding of a HSBC mortgage, insurance or investment product – albeit Premier has decent benefits, including full travel insurance, and is free.
Our full review of the free HSBC Premier credit card is here.
Our full review of the HSBC Premier World Elite credit card is here.
PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.
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
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