Get a 25% bonus on HSBC Premier credit card points conversions to Avios

HSBC runs fairly regular 25% bonuses on conversions of HSBC Premier credit card points to Avios.

As we trailed a couple of weeks ago, a new bonus is now live.

There doesn’t seem to be any mention of it online but readers have confirmed it is working. If you want proof, send a very small test transfer and see if the 25% bonus is added.

What are the rules for the HSBC Premier Avios bonus?

Click here and you will download a PDF document from the HSBC website containing the details.

The offer will run from 14th to 28th February 2025.

You will receive a 25% bonus on all transfers from HSBC Premier credit cards to Avios. Your base Avios will arrive instantly as with all other HSBC airline and hotel transfers. In theory the bonus Avios take 14 days to arrive, but in previous years the bonus turned up instantly or very quickly.

Are the HSBC Premier credit cards a good way of earning Avios?

The two HSBC Premier credit cards are very generous.  The snag is that you need to have a HSBC Premier current account to get them.  Whilst Premier is free, the income and/or savings requirements are high as you can see here.

The free HSBC Premier Mastercard, reviewed here, earns 1 HSBC point per £1 spent (2 HSBC points per £1 spent abroad) and these convert at 2:1 into airline or hotel points.  This means that you are getting 0.5 airline miles or hotel points per £1 spent in the UK. Don’t get confused by the HSBC earning rate and the equivalent airline miles and hotel points earning rate.

The £290 per year HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard, reviewed here, earns 3 HSBC points per £1 spent in the UK (1.5 airline mile or hotel point per £1) and 4 HSBC points 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

There are two hotel partners:

• IHG One Rewards
• Wyndham Rewards

All conversion rates are 2:1 from HSBC points. This means that the IHG and Wyndham transfer rates are terrible value. A hotel point is generally worth about 2/3rd less than an airline mile, but HSBC requires 2 HSBC points irrespective of which partner you choose.

The £290 World Elite credit card also comes with airport lounge access via Priority Pass.  The World Elite card is less good for families who want lounge access than American Express Platinum as your HSBC card only gets the main cardholder into an airport lounge.

You can pay £60 to give your partner a supplementary card for a year to get them in, but there is no way to get children into airport lounges for free.  American Express Platinum, on the other hand, gets a family of four into a lounge.

You also get comprehensive travel insurance as part of the HSBC Premier current account, which makes this an interesting alternative to The Platinum Card from American Express for couples or solo travellers.

Conclusion

HSBC Premier’s semi-regular annual Avios conversion bonus is back.

Remember that there is a ‘hard’ 3-year expiry on HSBC credit card points. If you have any coming up for expiry, this is one way of using them up.

If you can’t see it mentioned online or in the app, feel free to do a small test transfer to prove to yourself that it is working.

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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