Amazing new welcome offer for the HSBC World Elite Mastercard - Up to 100,000 points with first year free! (Quebec gets 130,000 points with fee)

HSBC has just come out with their biggest and best offer yet for the HSBC World Elite Mastercard and in fact the bonus for Quebec residents, in terms of the number of points, is now the highest ever credit card sign up bonus ever seen in Canada. The offer for all of Canada sans Quebec is up to 100,000 points which ties the highest ever points offer outside of Quebec. The PC Optimum World Elite Mastercard and ATB Gold My Rewards Mastercard have both offered 100,000 in the past but those two offers were only worth $100. On top of the 100,000 point bonus on the HSBC World Elite Mastercard this current welcome bonus also provided no annual fee in the first year for the primary cardholder. Those 100,000 points are worth $500 towards any travel and as that first year annual fee is waived you get the full value of that $500! Since Quebec doesn't allow the first year free waiver the offer there is a whopping 130,000 points worth $650 towards travel but you do have to pay the annual fee so you end up with $501 in travel value.

The bonus outside of Quebec is awarded as follows:

• 20,000 Point Welcome Bonus on your first purchase
• 80,000 points when you spend $5,000 in the first 180 days

The 100,000 points once achieved are worth $500 in travel rewards but this card isn't just a travel points card, it is actually a Hybrid Card. This means points can also be converted to partners outside of HSBC Rewards. In this card's case, they can be transferred to British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and this new welcome bonus is very attractive for those people looking to boost their accounts in these frequent flyer programs. 

The points convert as follows:

• 2.5 points to 1 British Airways Executive Club Avios
• 3 points to 1.35 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles 
• 3 points to 1.2 Cathay Pacific Asia Miles 

This means the sign up bonus is worth 40,000 Avios in British Airways' Executive Club which if you have followed us for sometime now know that is a good amount for a lot of various redemptions.

Here are some options to check out with British Airways:

• How to get select Canada to U.S. award flights faster by utilizing British Airways' Executive Club 
• How you can easily get a free flight between Toronto and Dublin, Ireland (pre taxes/fees) or 4 flights for $240+fees 

The sign up bonus isn't the only good feature about this card however. It is one of only nine cards in Canada that have No Foreign Transaction fees, it also comes with a $100 annual travel enhancement credit (to use on bag fees, seat selection etc) and like most World Elite Mastercards in Canada it has airport lounge access membership via LoungeKey, free Boingo WiFi and more.

Recommend Reading: No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards for Canadians  & The Ultimate No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Card Portfolio

Now, with travel being curtailed due to the Coronavirus pandemic you may be more interested in cash back options to help with your financial situation and this card does have that option. The points can also be redeemed for many other non-travel items like merchandise, experiences, gift cards, HSBC financial products and even for any purchases made on the card. HSBC calls this last option their Cash Back Rebate and is 25,000 points for a $75 statement credit. That works out to a 0.9% to 1.8% return (based on 3 points for everyday spending and 6 points for travel) and also makes the welcome bonus of 100,000 points worth $300 for cash back rebates which is pretty decent still!

Learn more about and/or apply for the HSBC World Elite Mastercard here.

I would also recommend reading our review of the card. 

Here are the most current details for this card:  

Today also sees an increased welcome bonus for HSBC's low interest card the HSBC +Rewards Mastercard of 20,000 points with no annual fee in the first year on the primary card.