HSBC is expanding their credit card portfolio for the everyday Canadian with the launch of the HSBC Travel Rewards Mastercard®. We say everyday Canadian as up until a few years ago most of their credit card offerings were limited to HSBC customers or those with high net worth. That changed when they launched the awesome travel rewards HSBC World Elite Mastercard and then followed it up with the low interest rewards card the HSBC +Rewards Mastercard. As of this week they have now added a third card that is open to anyone applying for it and it also marks the bank's entrance into the no fee rewards card space.
As already mentioned the HSBC Travel Rewards Mastercard® is a no annual fee rewards card. Typically your no annual fee rewards cards are more entry level cards and this card fits right into that spot. It is great introduction to HSBC and the HSBC Rewards program for those who may not be at the income level to get the HSBC World Elite Mastercard or are simply wanting to fill a Mastercard position in their wallet with a no fee card.
To celebrate the launch of the card the bank is offering a welcome bonus of 20,000 HSBC Rewards points when you spend $2,000 within 6 months of account opening. Those 20,000 points are worth $100 towards any travel that you book. That's the beauty of the HSBC Rewards program - you simply book travel with whomever you want whenever you want and then you redeem your points against the charge. Points are 0.5 cents each towards travel thus those 20,000 points are worth $100.
In terms of everyday spending here are the earn rates for the HSBC Travel Rewards Mastercard:
- 3 points for each dollar you spend up to $6,000 on eligible travel (like car rentals, hotels and flights and even ‘outdoorsy’ travel like RV rentals and campground fees)
- 2 points for each dollar you spend on gas, everyday transportation (like subways, trains and taxis).
- 1 point per dollar on (almost) everything else you buy with your card.
Right away you can see the card provides a 1.5% return on your travel spending up to $6,000 annually, a 1% return on gas and select transportation and then 0.5% on all other spending. These are relatively average earn rates when comparing the card to other no fee cards in the market. The travel earn rate is definitely strong and the gas/transit earn at a 1% return is also good. It's the everything else earn rate that is the tough sell here. True, a lot of no fee cards have a 0.5% return as their base earn rate but there are no fee cards in the market that provide double that or more as their base earn rates. It will take some spend calculations on the prospective customer's side to see if the several accelerated earn rates on this card make up for the difference in base earn rates.
UPDATE: Just received a confirmation from HSBC that the no fee card DOES NOT participate in the Rewards for Miles portion of HSBC Rewards.
What this card also has, which isn't common for no annual fee cards is the ability to convert points to airline partners. Just like all the higher end Mastercards issued by HSBC this card's points can be converted to British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. It is only the second no annual fee card in Canada with the ability to convert to British Airways and Cathay Pacific and is the only no fee card with a direct conversion option to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.
Now, you also have to take into consideration what else this cards offers, and that's a small insurance package that isn't very typical of a no annual fee card (outside of the no fee World Elite Mastercards that have high income requirements and now minimum spend requirements). What's not typical about this card's insurance? It's that HSBC choose to offer some travel related insurances that you don't usually find on no fee travel rewards cards and those are Baggage Delay Insurance, Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance and the most unusual one for a no fee card - trip interruption. That last one is almost exclusive to fee based cards. The card also has your standard extended warranty and purchase assurance coverage.
Wrapping it up
Despite the Canadian credit card market being over saturated it is actually nice to see a new no annual fee travel rewards card enter the market. Especially so as it is one that provides great flexibility like it's older sibling in that you are fully in charge of your travel bookings and how you want to redeem for them. When I look at the No Fee category in our Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards only two of out the top five provide the similar flexibility and both are American Express cards so if you are looking at a very flexible no fee non-Amex card without high income requirements this card can fit that bill.
Click here to learn more about and apply for the HSBC Travel Rewards Mastercard.
Here are the card details:
Primary Cardholder Annual Fee: $0
Authorized User Annual Fee: $0
Annual interest rate: 20.99% on purchases and 22.99% on funds advances and balance transfers.
Apply for an HSBC Travel Rewards Mastercard® by May 2, 2022 and earn 20,000 points ($100 travel value) when you spend $2,000 within 6 months of account opening.
- 3 points for each dollar you spend up to $6,000 on eligible travel (like car rentals, hotels and flights and even ‘outdoorsy’ travel like RV rentals and campground fees)
- 2 points for each dollar you spend on gas, everyday transportation (like subways, trains and taxis).
- 1 point per dollar on (almost) everything else you buy with your card.Flexible travel rewards – Simply use your card to pay for your trip – like car rentals, flights, hotels and rail tickets – then redeem your points
- Flexible travel rewards – Simply use your card to pay for your trip – like car rentals, flights, hotels and rail tickets – then redeem your points for a statement credit. You can even book your trip with points.
- Gift cards and merchandise – Choose from 100+ options from popular retailers and restaurants at rewards.hsbc.ca
- Redeem to pay down or save up – Use your points for a credit towards your residential mortgage account, or credit card account, or to top up your savings account
*Terms and Conditions apply
®/TM Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. Used pursuant to license.
This offer is only available to residents of Canada other than the province of Quebec (Quebec residents eligible for separate offer)