Get £500 for switching your current account to HSBC Premier

On Friday we updated our review of the free HSBC Premier Mastercard and our review of the £290 HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard.

These cards are a good choice for many people, primarily those who want to earn miles at a good rate with airlines other than British Airways. The Avios transfer rate is also excellent if HSBC continues to offer its regular conversion bonuses, such as this one in February.

The snag, of course, is that you have to move your current account to HSBC Premier to get the credit cards.

If you earn £100,000 (the HSBC Premier threshold) you might as well use a ‘premium’ current account service. HSBC Premier is free and comes with comprehensive travel insurance, so it’s worth thinking about.

(Of course, most HfP readers will prefer Barclays Premier with Barclays Avios Rewards, which costs £12 per month but gives you 1,500 Avios per month and an annual Avios upgrade voucher. Click here to learn more about that.)

To persuade you to join HSBC Premier, HSBC is currently offering a whopping £500, in the form of a Selfridges gift card, to switch.

You need to do a full switch (moving your salary and at least two direct debits) by 12th August. Existing HSBC and first direct customers cannot apply.

Note that, if you are self employed or otherwise paid gross, you should be able to get away with earning less than £100,000. HSBC only looks to see that the NET equivalent of £100,000 gross goes into your account, which would be £70,000.

Full details are on the HSBC Premier website 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 70,000 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? – June 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 15th July 2025, the sign-up bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card is TRIPLED to 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. This would convert into 25,000 Avios or into 40 other airline schemes. It would also get you at least £300 of Marriott hotel stays based on our 0.5p per point low-end valuation. Other T&C apply and remain unchanged. Click here for our full card review and click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th August 2025, the sign-up bonus on the Hilton Honors Plus debit card is TRIPLED to 30,000 Hilton Honors points. You will also receive Gold Elite status in Hilton Honors for as long as you hold the card. Click here for our full card review and click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card

30,000 Avios and the famous annual Companion Voucher voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 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:

The American Express Business Platinum Card

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

The American Express Business Gold Card

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 0.8 Avios per £1 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card

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