In what is hopefully not the last hurrah for the famed HSBC World Elite Mastercard, we see the return of a transfer bonus to British Airways Executive Club. Starting on November 15 those of you who still hold an eligible HSBC credit card will be able to receive a 25% bonus when you convert your HSBC Rewards points to British Airways Executive Club Avios. The offer is available for transfers made by December 15, 2023.
The 25% Transfer Bonus:
To the best of my knowledge this is the lowest transfer bonus to date from HSBC to British Airways. In the past we have typically seen 30% but it has been as high as 40%. Nonetheless, a bonus is a bonus and that’s better than the standard conversion rate! That standard conversion rate is 25,000 HSBC Rewards Rewards points for 10,000 Avios which means you’ll receive 12,500 Avios with this 25% bonus.
There are minimum transfer requirements of 25,000 points from the HSBC World Elite Mastercard, HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard, or HSBC Metal World Elite Mastercard and 10,000 points from the HSBC Premier Mastercard or HSBC Premier World Mastercard.
How to transfer points
Converting your points is easy. Here’s how:
- Log on to your online banking account
- Choose your credit card account
- Click on “View more details” or “Manage”
- Click on “Reward points” and you’ll be directed to the rewards website
- Click on “Travel” and choose “Rewards for Miles”
- Select “British Airways” to redeem now.
Why transfer to British Airways?
Just as we see with RBC Avion Rewards, there are a lot of HSBC credit cardholders who rack up a lot of points and hold on to them just for this transfer bonus. The reason why is there are a lot of great reward flight options in the BAEC program. They range from round trip flights in North America for as little as 15,000 Avios. A great example of which is the upcoming return of American Airlines’ flight from Halifax to New York City (Read more about that here) Then there’s the famous Toronto to Dublin redemption for as little as 26,000 Avios round trip. And if you really want to talk big value – there’s converting your points to BA and then transferring those Avios over to Qatar Airways Privilege Club for some Qsuite business class redemptions which can be had for as little as 70,000 Avios one way out of Montreal.
Those are just some small examples of the power of British Airways Executive Club – there are lots of others like flights between the U.K. and Europe, intra-Asia flights and so many more where value can be had from this transfer bonus.
Wrapping it up
Despite being the lowest transfer bonus we have seen from HSBC Rewards to British Airways Executive Club it is one that should not be ignored. If you have been lying in wait with your HSBC Rewards points for this transfer bonus but were hoping for 30% or more its tough to say if we’ll ever see another one from them again with the RBC takeover of HSBC nearing fruition.
Yes, RBC also runs the bonuses so in the eventuality that HSBC cards and HSBC Rewards points are converted to Avion Rewards you’ll still be able to get RBC’s bonus to transfer to British Airways. However, you’d be taking the risk in losing value in whatever conversion rate is set from HSBC to RBC. If and when it does happen, conversions from HSBC to RBC most definitely will not be 1:1 and if they set it to something like 3:1 (which is quite likely since the World Elite card earned 3 or more points per dollar for most of its lifespan) you would not receive as many Avios with an RBC 30% transfer bonus as you would with the current HSBC 25% transfer bonus. Just some food for thought.
Terms and conditions of this 25% bonus transfer offer:
* This offer is available if you request to redeem your Points between November 15 at 12:01am EST and December 15, 2023, at 11:59pm EST. (the “Offer Period”). Points redeemed for Avios during the Offer period will be converted to 25% more Avios than redemptions requested outside of the offer period.
To redeem Points for Avios, you must be the primary cardholder of an HSBC Premier Mastercard®, HSBC Premier World Mastercard®, HSBC World Elite® Mastercard, HSBC Premier World Elite® Mastercard®, or HSBC Metal World Elite® Mastercard® card issued by HSBC Bank Canada (HSBC) and currently enrolled in the HSBC Premier Rewards Program, the HSBC Premier World Rewards Program, HSBC World Elite Rewards Program, the HSBC Premier World Elite Rewards Program or the HSBC Metal World Elite Rewards Program. You must also have a British Airways Executive Club account in the same name at the time you request to redeem your Points. “Points” are points earned and credited in connection with the HSBC Premier Rewards Program, the HSBC Premier World Rewards Program, the HSBC World Elite Rewards Program, the HSBC Premier World Elite Rewards Program, or the HSBC Metal World Elite Rewards Program and “Avios” are points of British Airways Executive Club.
HSBC World Elite Mastercard, HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard, or HSBC Metal World Elite Mastercard: A minimum of 25,000 Points must be converted per redemption request. The conversion rate of Points to Avios is available at rewards.hsbc.ca.
HSBC Premier Mastercard or HSBC Premier World Mastercard: A minimum of 10,000 Points must be converted per redemption request. The conversion rate of Points to Avios is available at rewards.hsbc.ca.
All Terms and Conditions of the applicable HSBC Rewards Program apply to this offer.
Please allow up to 30 business days for your Avios to be posted to your British Airways Executive Club account after your request is received. Evidence of submission is not evidence of receipt.
Points will be immediately deducted from your Rewards Account once you complete the redemption. Once you request to redeem, you cannot withdraw your request or receive a return or refund.