HSBC Points & Bonus: Timing

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Hi all,

I got a the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard end of February.

There is annually a bonus that runs in May(?) that gives you higher conversion to Avios (via Qater if you want to end up in BA).

I am looking at getting the signing bonus and probably cancelling next year, however that would be before May.

Can I “stash” my points somewhere else with HSBC (for free) or will they disappear if I do so (i.e. I would have to transfer without the bonus) or is it likely the bonus will come around again once more before then?

I did some digging but some of the URLs I found are dead now…