Review: the HSBC Premier Mastercard credit card

This is our review of the HSBC Premier Mastercard credit card.

It is part of our series of articles looking at the major UK loyalty credit cards and discussing whether or not they are worth applying for. These articles are linked to the relevant sections of the ‘Credit Cards‘ area of the menu bar. Our other UK airline and hotel credit card reviews can be found here.

Key link: HSBC Premier Mastercard application form

Key facts: No annual fee, card only available to HSBC Premier current account holders

The representative APR is 23.9% variable.

Reward credit cards generally have high interest rates and are not suitable for anyone who does not pay off their full balance each month. If you do not clear your balance, you should look for a non-rewards credit card with a low interest rate.

About the HSBC Premier credit card

The HSBC Premier Mastercard is issued by HSBC.

There are two versions of the card. This review covers the free version. There is also a more generous, premium version called the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard which I review here.  You cannot have both versions of the card at the same time.

It is a bit of an oddity amongst all of the other credit cards covered in this series because the card can only be obtained if you have a HSBC Premier bank account. HSBC Premier has tough eligibility criteria.  See here and scroll down for the criteria.

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 earn over £75,000, you qualify if you just have a HSBC mortgage or any investment or insurance product. The minimum investment in an ‘investment product’ is just £100. You can see the range of HSBC investment funds here.

What is the HSBC Premier Mastercard sign-up bonus?

The card has no sign-up bonus.  There are very occasional promotions offering bonus HSBC points or a small cashback incentive, but no more than once per year.

Any other benefits?

The HSBC Premier bank account and credit card, between them, offer a range of financial and insurance benefits – see the website for details.  These include 0% interest on balance transfers for 18 months from account opening (2.99% fee) and 0% interest on purchases for nine months from account opening.

Other benefits include:

• the ability to buy airport lounge access via LoungeKey for £20 per visit per person
• two years extended warranty on selected household items

What is the HSBC Premier Mastercard annual fee?

There is no annual fee.

There is also no fee for the HSBC Premier bank account, as long as you meet the eligibility criteria above. If you currently pay for a ‘packaged’ current account with another bank you may save money by moving across.

What do I earn per £1 spent on the card?

The HSBC Premier rewards scheme gives 1 point for every £1 spent in the UK and 2 points for every £1 spent abroad. Each point is worth 0.5 airline miles or hotel points. You are therefore getting 0.5 miles or points per £1 spent in the UK and 1 mile per £1 spent abroad.

You can transfer your HSBC Premier points into the following airline schemes:

• Asia Miles
• British Airways Executive Club
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest
• EVA Air MileageLands
• Finnair Plus
• Flying Blue (Air France KLM)
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• TAP Miles&Go

These are the two hotel partners:

• IHG One Rewards
• Wyndham Rewards

Do HSBC Premier points expire?

Yes.

There is a ‘hard’ three year expiry. By ‘hard’, I mean that your points will expire three years after they were earned, irrespective of whether you are still earning. It is different to the Avios / Marriott etc expiry rules where, as long as your account is active, the expiry rules don’t apply.

Don’t start building up a points pot for retirement because you will be in for a nasty surprise.

What are HSBC Premier credit card points worth?

We wrote a full article on what HSBC Premier credit card points are worth, which you can read here.

Airline miles are the most valuable option, well ahead of shopping vouchers or cases of wine. Those are your only options.

At 1 HSBC point per £1 spent, worth 0.5 airline miles, you are getting roughly 0.5% back on UK spending and 1% back on overseas spending.

Is this the best way of earning Avios from a Visa or Mastercard?

No.

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two Avios earning credit cards with big sign-up bonuses. The free card earns 1 Avios per £1 (apply here) which is twice as much as the free HSBC Premier credit card. The paid card earns 1.5 Avios per £1 (apply here).

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 30th May, the sign-up bonus on the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard is doubled to a crazy 50,000 Avios! Apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 30th May, the sign-up bonus on the free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard is doubled to 10,000 Avios. Apply here.

How does this compare to a cashback credit card?

The majority of UK credit cards offering ‘retail rewards’ – those from Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Sainsburys, John Lewis etc – give you 0.1% to 0.25% back on what you spend.

For an average spender, the HSBC Premier Mastercard offers at least twice the value. If you believe that you can get 1p or more from your Avios points then HSBC points are worth 0.5p each, so a 0.5% return on your spending. The ability to transfer to other airlines and two hotel schemes as a back-up adds extra value.

The problem for HSBC is that the new free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard is twice as good as their card. You get 1 Avios per £1 which we would value at 1p.

Is this a good card to use when travelling?

As the HSBC Premier Mastercard adds a 3% foreign exchange fee, you might want to get a separate free credit card to use abroad.

Unfortunately there are no credit cards with 0% foreign exchange fees worldwide which earn airline or hotel points. (The Virgin Atlantic credit cards have 0% FX fees in the Eurozone.)   One option is to get a free card from Currensea. Currensea is a simple but clever idea. You pay abroad with your Currensea Mastercard debit card. Currensea translates the cost to Sterling with just a 0.5% fee (83% less than HSBC charges) and withdraws the money from your bank account. You can find out more by clicking here. Currensea is free so there is no risk in giving it a try.

How else can you earn miles from a UK card?

Here are three good alternatives to the HSBC Premier card for the airlines it covers:

The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold credit card offers 20,000 Membership Rewards points for signing up and is free for the first year.  As well as Avios, these convert 1:1 into Asia Miles, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Finnair Plus, Flying Blue and Qantas Frequent Flyer, and 3:2 into Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.

The American Express Platinum credit card usually offers 30,000 Membership Rewards points for signing up.  As well as Avios, these convert 1:1 into Asia Miles, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Finnair Plus, Flying Blue and Qantas Frequent Flyer, and 3:2 into Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.  It has a £575 fee, refunded pro-rata if you cancel.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 13th June, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card is doubled to 60,000 Membership Rewards points – and you get £200 to spend at Amex Travel too! Apply here.

The Marriott Bonvoy American Express credit card usually offers 20,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for signing up. These convert to 6,667 miles in 40+ different airlines including Avios. It has a £75 fee, refunded pro-rata if you cancel.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 30th May, the sign-up bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card is doubled to 40,000 Bonvoy points – and you get a free night voucher too! Apply here.

Conclusion

Since Barclaycard launched the free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard (apply here, review here) earning 1 Avios per £1, the HSBC Premier Mastercard has little value to the Avios collector.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 30th May, the sign-up bonus on the free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard is doubled to 10,000 Avios. Apply here.

If you collect points with HSBC’s other partners, it is the only Visa or Mastercard in the UK which allows you to earn miles in these programmes and it is worth jumping in. Unfortunately, the tough eligibility criteria for HSBC Premier mean only some Head for Points readers can apply.

The application form for the HSBC Premier Mastercard can be found here.

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. The site discusses products offered by lenders but is not a lender itself. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as an independent credit broker.

(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’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)