HSBC’s current offer for their World Elite Mastercard has been out since March and we have learned it will be changed back to their standard offer on August 18. This means you still have a few days to apply for the HSBC World Elite Mastercard and
get up to 60,000 bonus HSBC Rewards Points along with having the first
year $149 annual fee waived on the primary card. The bonus is awarded as follows:
- 20,000 Point Welcome Bonus on your first purchase
- 40,000 when you spend $5,000 in the first 180 days
The 60,000 points once achieved are worth $300 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. The points convert as follows:
- 2.5 points to 1 Avios
- 3 points to 1.35 KrisFlyer Miles
- 3 points to 1.2 Asia Miles
This means the sign up bonus is worth 24,000 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 eight cards in Canada that has 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.
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 60,000 points worth $180 for cash back rebates.
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: