Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

What do we think of the new HSBC Premier World Elite credit card benefits?

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

HSBC has announced details of its refreshed Premier World Elite Mastercard credit card, to take effect from 23rd September.

It has aggressively increased the earning rate for Avios and other airline miles BUT at the expense of a sharp increase in the annual fee and a halving of the sign-up bonus.

Let’s take a look.

There are two things you need to know about the HSBC Premer World Elite Mastercard before we start:

New HSBC Premier World Elite benefits
  • it is only available to HSBC Premier current account holders
  • some of the benefits often mentioned, such as free travel insurance, are actually current account benefits and NOT credit card benefits – you get them just because you have a (free) HSBC Premier account

HSBC Premier has tough eligibility criteria.  See here and scroll down to see the criteria.

As well as opening a HSBC Premier current account, you must ALSO have £50,000 invested with HSBC, either in a savings account or via an investment product.

Alternatively, if you earn over £75,000, you qualify if you just have a HSBC mortgage or any investment or insurance product. The minimum investment in an ‘investment product’ is just £50. You can see the range of HSBC investment funds here.

Getting the card is therefore a substantial faff, given the need for a HSBC Premier current account, compared to applying for any other credit card.

What is changing with the HSBC Premier World Elite credit card?

The big changes are:

  • the annual fee increases from £195 to £290
  • the earn rate, assuming you choose to take airline miles, increases from 1 mile per £1 to 1.5 miles per £1
  • the rate for overseas spend (2.99% FX fee) remains at 2 miles per £1
  • the sign-up bonus drops from 40,000 points in Year 1 and 40,000 points in Year 2 (if you spent £12,000 in Year 1) to a one-off 40,000 points in Year 1

The unimportant changes are:

  • fast track security benefits at selected airports via Mastercard World Elite
  • additional ‘non travel’ reward partners, which are only worth 1p per £1 spent and therefore far (far far) worse than taking 1.5 airline miles

There are no real changes to the list of airline and hotel partners which I discuss in this article. Qatar Airways is joining, but as they use Avios it is a non-event, with BA already a partner.

The key benefit which remains is:

  • free Priority Pass airport lounge access, which (unlike American Express) includes airport restaurant partners

The big snag with the Priority Pass benefit is that no guests are allowed, unless you pay £60 to get a supplementary credit card for someone. Children cannot be covered because they cannot hold supplementary credit cards.

New HSBC Premier World Elite benefits

Where can I use fast track security?

Last time we looked at this topic (2022), you could get free Fast Track security passes for the following airports:

  • Aberdeen
  • Glasgow
  • Liverpool
  • London Gatwick
  • Luton
  • Newcastle
  • Southampton

It didn’t work for Belfast, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Derry, Doncaster Sheffield, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Humberside, Inverness, Isle of Man, Jersey, Leeds Bradford, London City, London Heathrow, London Stansted, Manchester, Newquay, Norwich, Southend or Teesside.

(EDIT: the comments below imply that it is now offered more widely, although not at Heathrow)

Note that some Curve and Currensea cards qualify for a reduced version of this benefit (3 passes per 12 months) and you may want to try to register any other Mastercard cards you have – this article explains the benefit in more detail. You do NOT necessarily need to pay £290 to HSBC to get it.

Are these changes good value?

Let’s assume the only thing you care about is the airline miles, and that you value an Avios or other mile at 1p.

The break-even point is £19,000 of spending per year:

  • if you spend more than £19,000 per year, the value of the extra Avios you earn (assuming 1p per Avios) is greater than the £95 rise in the annual fee
  • if you spend less than £19,000 per year, the value of the extra Avios you earn (assuming 1p per Avios) is lower than the £95 rise in the annual fee

I’m not saying that you should definitely close your card if you spend under £19,000 per year. It depends on what value you get from the other card benefits.

New HSBC Premier World Elite benefits

How does the card compare to competing cards?

Comparing HSBC Premier World Elite to British Airways American Express Premium Plus

The American Express card remains the best deal, and in truth would be impossible to beat unless HSBC increased its mileage earn rate to something like 3 miles per £1. The value of the 2-4-1 companion voucher on the Amex card is so high that HSBC’s changes make no impact.

Comparing HSBC Premier World Elite to Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Again, HSBC hasn’t done enough to move the needle here. If anything, its position has weakened. The Barclaycard earns 1.5 Avios per £1 from a £240 annual fee AND offers an annual upgrade voucher. HSBC gives you 1.5 Avios per £1 from a £290 annual fee and offers no annual voucher. HSBC only becomes interesting if you’d use the airport lounge benefit heavily.

Comparing HSBC Premier World Elite to The Platinum Card from American Express

This is more interesting. The Platinum Card fee is £360 more than the HSBC fee, but you earn fewer miles – 1 per £1 vs 1.5 per £1. Both have an equivalent list of airline transfer partners (Amex is better with hotel partners).

HSBC’s airport lounge benefit includes airport restaurant credits, but you’d need to pay £60 to include your partner and you can’t include children at all. Amex Platinum lets you bring four people into a lounge, adults or children. Both offer travel insurance, but you get this from HSBC simply by opening a HSBC Premier account – there is no need to get a credit card at all.

With Amex Platinum offering £300 per year of dining credit and £100 per year of Harvey Nichols credit, Platinum still has the edge because of its other benefits (hotel elite status, Fine Hotels & Resorts credits, Eurostar lounge access etc).

Conclusion

I suspect that most people who have the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard spend more than £19,000 per year on it.

As £19,000 of spending is basically the break-even point for these changes, the majority of cardholders will be better off. If you already have the card, are happy with it and spend over £19,000 per year, there is no reason to cancel.

That said, the card is NOT a no-brainer and there are good reasons to prefer the main competing products – British Airways Premium Plus American Express, Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard and The Platinum Card from American Express.

HSBC Private Banking and HSBC ex-Jade clients will continue to receive the card for free. These are the only people for whom I would unequivocably say ‘go for it’.

We will update our card review nearer to the changeover date of 23rd September.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

best travel rewards credit cards

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2025 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Category

HSBC Premier Mastercard

Comments (118)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Nigel says:
    21 Aug21 August 06:25

    Just on the fast track security, I tried logging in with my Natwest Premier Black CC, to find it allows 12 x fast track vouchers per year which includes a guest!

    • Stan says:
      21 Aug21 August 07:33

      Interesting – Where do you see this? I’ve tried the premier benefits app and DragonPass app and can’t see it… would be great benefit

    • DF says:
      21 Aug21 August 13:18

      Same here! Nice perk to have

  • Kowalski says:
    21 Aug21 August 06:55

    This is brilliant news, very happy with it! Just as Amex devalue transfers to Emirates, HSBC do the opposite! Time to cancel my Amex Platinum. I predominantly used it for transfers to Singapore Airlines and Emirates. Both of which are now very poor value.

  • patrick C says:
    21 Aug21 August 06:57

    Is tjere an official press release?
    Would still be interested in the other non travel perks.
    The hsbc card obviously has one big benefit compared to American express which is that it is a Mastercard and thus much more widely accepted. The real competitor is the barclaycard

    • Rob says:
      21 Aug21 August 06:58

      No. Perhaps next month.

    • Matt says:
      21 Aug21 August 07:30

      I’d recommend not to dismiss Amex. Amex customer service I’ve found to be great and I have faith that they’ll deal with chargeback / dispute claims effectively. However HSBC was terrible with a recent dispute. It was a legit dispute involving Bamboo Airways cancelling my flight without refund and ignoring all comms, but HSBC made it extremely difficult, lengthy and time consuming to me to get my money back (eventually did after 8 months but I wasted hours and hours on the phone to them). I’ve vowed going forward to book all big ticket and travel bookings on Amex.

      • John says:
        21 Aug21 August 09:09

        Well I had the opposite experience, terrible dispute handling by Amex (though they eventually compensated me adequately) and good service from HSBC

        • meta says:
          21 Aug21 August 10:03

          +1 for the HSBC vs Amex. Amex used to be really great but in the last five years the service has gone downhill. HSBC handles disputes and chargebacks faster and although not part of the card offer, insurance claims are also handled faster (days instead of weeks as with Amex).

      • DK says:
        21 Aug21 August 12:26

        That used to be the case one year ago; Amex support being good. Things have gone downhill since then. When did you last interact with them? They are now easily one of the worst card providers for customer service (perhaps only Curve is now worse).

        • meta says:
          21 Aug21 August 12:49

          Actually we’ve now come to the point where I am thinking that Curve CS is better than Amex as they resolved some issues I had quite quickly recently.

  • t0m says:
    21 Aug21 August 07:13

    Perhaps you shouldn’t be so dismissive of the Fast Track benefit. Now looks like it also covers Bristol, East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Stansted.

    • Rob says:
      21 Aug21 August 07:26

      I’m dismissive because:

      a) it’s unlikely I would ever use it (HSBC Premier customers are probably disproportionately Heathrow customers and/or Business Class or status passengers)

      b) you can pay for Fast Track at the airports you listed above for £6ish so it doesn’t eat into the £90 fee increase much

      c) my Curve card triggers it anyway!

      • t0m says:
        21 Aug21 August 14:24

        When I travel from Heathrow I generally get FastTrack with my BA silver status. I value FastTrack from the regional airports (especially Bristol, which I use frequently). It’s a genuine perk for the non-Londoners.. and for those in the SE it’s decent having Stansted, Gatwick AND Luton so you don’t have to pay for FastTrack when flying on a low-cost airline.

        I don’t like the fee increase but but I can swallow it with the improvement to earning rate + this (and I keep the card for lounge access because Amex Plat is outrageously expensive). It’s the BAPP price rises I struggle with.

      • Chas says:
        21 Aug21 August 18:26

        @Rob – how do you Fast Track via Curve? I’m Metal, and that’s a benefit that I’m not aware of…

        • Rob says:
          21 Aug21 August 20:05

          The link is literally in the article 🙂

          • Chas says:
            21 Aug21 August 21:28

            Sorry – missed that para…. 🙄. As the linked article suggests, it’s very hit and miss, with my Curve metal card being declined (and all my other Mastercards too) ☹️

  • Alan J says:
    21 Aug21 August 07:32

    Closed my card yesterday as approaching the renewal date and round directives spending yo other cards

  • Alan J says:
    21 Aug21 August 07:34

    Would direct spending to *

  • Axel says:
    21 Aug21 August 07:36

    I think its good for niche flyers i.e. Emirates and KrisFlyer.

    There is also a 10% discount with Expedia but debatable if a true discount.

    Some or all Ex- Jade customers now need to pay the fee,.

  • Bernard says:
    21 Aug21 August 07:41

    I know this site is headforamex and carries a certain sample bias but in assessing this card the article fails to put any value on;
    £18 airport dining vouchers where a regular monthly traveler gets £216 benefits per year
    The 10% off hotels booked through Expedia/agoda. At higher hotels at say £500 a night that’s say a £350 benefit over a week.
    There’s huge value is not being tied to BA only but having a choice of redemption schemes
    The (effective) 1pct cash back via vouchers on retail is generous too (as there is no cap to it).

    Ok I get it: HSBC is selective on who gets this and probably doesn’t provide the kick backs that Anex, BA and Barclays give the author but the article seems very selective in its assessment.

    There’s no 241 but with add on cash elements a commercial fare will often beat BA 241 prices – like (in extreme) tye Lufthansa deal today

    • Rob says:
      21 Aug21 August 07:56

      The Expedia discount isn’t real because it doesn’t trigger credits from reward sites, and few HfP readers are using it (perhaps more now Hotels.com is screwed).

      UK dining credits didn’t exist 8 months ago and it’s not clear what the take up is. I would never use one if I had the lounge alternative.

      • Bernard says:
        21 Aug21 August 08:28

        Many prefer a decent meal to a chaved out lounge, so just because one person doesn’t see that doesn’t mean they don’t have value!
        Next time you use it, ask the establishment how much they see them used: the answer might surprise you.

        • Rob says:
          21 Aug21 August 08:49

          I would be surprised, because if you’re in the UK few have access to them! Restaurants are not queueing up to take part so something about the maths isn’t right.

          • Bernard says:
            21 Aug21 August 14:14

            Perhaps best to leave the Amex bias and speculation?
            The maths are right – it’s a huge benefit and personally I’m glad it’s not overused/abused by the Amex plebs. That way I get to keep it as do others.

    • Maples says:
      21 Aug21 August 08:29

      Airtime Rewards as well, which some people may be able to benefit from.

    • meta says:
      21 Aug21 August 10:07

      Amex still has a wider range of travel partners than HSBC, but HSBC are closing in. They should really add Hyatt and ANA as that would make them take over Amex. It’s a simple thing to do.

      • Lady London says:
        21 Aug21 August 17:50

        I would guess Hyatt has a conflict… soon, in say up to the next year or so.

    • Numpty says:
      21 Aug21 August 10:18

      There is indeed more value to the card than just the avios collection. The PP restaurant credit has been a great perk, followed by moving onto a lounge for a drink – this applies whether on a budget carrier or in a premium cabin with airline lounge. At a few airports now we have done this now; restaurant then onto a PP lounge. Also at the airports which have the Starbucks credit have been able to stock up for the flight/downroute.

      Adding fast track is a bit hit and miss for me in terms of true value as EDI isnt listed – but multi storey parking provides free fast track.

      The size of the fee increase is irksome, as only held the card for over a year, but the fees for other cards have moved too.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Get 25,000 Avios with the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

GET A SIGN-UP BONUS OF 18,000 VIRGIN POINTS!

Latest Forum Posts

Get 80,000 bonus points (worth 80,000 Avios) and £400 of dining credit with The Platinum Card (Offer ends 27th May)

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get up to 10,000 bonus Hilton Honors points

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? GET THE ONLY FREE SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT CARD WHICH CAN EARN AVIOS

Get points worth 30,000 Avios with 'first year free' American Express Gold (ends 27th May)

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!