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HSBC Premier raises its income requirements

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As part of an overhaul of its ‘premium’ proposition, which will also see the HSBC Premier World Elite credit card relaunched, HSBC Premier has changed its entry requirements.

This is important for anyone thinking of getting one of the HSBC Premier credit cards to earn airline miles, because you need the current account first.

The old requirements for HSBC Premier were:

HSBC Premier raises its income requirements
  • £50,000 invested with HSBC, either in a savings account or via an investment product, or
  • you earn over £75,000, paid into your HSBC Premier account, AND have a HSBC mortgage or an investment or insurance product

This was always a bit messy, especially for those qualifying via salary. The new system is cleaner:

  • £100,000 invested with HSBC, either in a savings account or via an investment product, or
  • you earn over £100,000, paid into your HSBC Premier account

The removal of the need to hold another product will make it easier to apply via salary. Whilst the jump from £75,000 to £100,000 seems steep, I suspect that it is in line with inflation since the last change.

To learn more about the credit cards, our review of the free HSBC Premier Mastercard is here and our review of the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard is here.

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Category

HSBC Premier Mastercard

Comments (32)

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

  • CheshirePete says:
    10 Sep10 September 04:40

    You also get 2000 points worth €40.

    • Rob says:
      10 Sep10 September 08:00

      Sure? Last year there was a special offer for 2,000 points but I don’t think its part of the package normally.

      • CheshirePete says:
        10 Sep10 September 09:22

        It was in my renewal email anyhow!

        Your ALL PLUS Voyageur card expires on 30 Sep
        2024. Renew your subscription to keep enjoying your benefits.
        To thank you for your loyalty, you will be credit
        2000 Reward points (equivalent to 40€ discount on your next stay) if your renewal is confirmed until the end of the month.

  • Stuart says:
    10 Sep10 September 05:43

    I do find Accor hotels very good on the status benefits. I spent a few years as a silver and got quite a few upgrades out of it.

  • Duncan says:
    10 Sep10 September 05:58

    What are the income requirements for a HSBC Premier joint account? Do both applicants have to have an income of £100k or don’t they care as long as the total going in is the equivalent of a single £100k salary?

    • Matt B says:
      10 Sep10 September 06:08

      If you click the link in the article to the product, there is then a link to the eligibility criteria with the exact definition.

      • Duncan says:
        10 Sep10 September 06:35

        For anyone else reading along, the answer is: one of the applicants must have an individual income of £100k+

        • Froggee says:
          10 Sep10 September 08:00

          It is worth adding that I was told by HSBC, and it has certainly remained the case for Mrs Froggee and me, that by “linking” a couple with a joint account both get granted premier status on their individual accounts.

          So we have a joint account that a nominal sum is paid into each month which household bills are paid out of. Otherwise our financial affairs are separate although apparently what is mine is ours and what is hers is hers.

          But the result of this joint account was Mrs Froggee getting matched to my HSBC status.

    • Tom says:
      10 Sep10 September 14:04

      Note that HSBC “Premier” really does not get you very much. The separate areas in branches have largely vanished – went away during Covid and never came back.

      Then again it is “free”, other than the opportunity cost of typing up a large amount in sub-par savings accounts.

      • Darren says:
        10 Sep10 September 14:15

        The travel insurance is the main reason that I have it.

        • Matt says:
          10 Sep10 September 15:36

          +1 comprehensive worldwide family travel insurance inciting winter sports is a pretty good perk for a free account. Conservatively, a genuine saving of a couple hundred quid a year?

          • BBbetter says:
            10 Sep10 September 15:56

            It’s better to get a cover that suits your requirements for a couple of hundred quid, than rely on a free packaged product.

          • Matt says:
            10 Sep10 September 16:17

            I’ve claimed twice and it’s been relatively hassle free both times (once for lost items and once for medical bills). Have you had a different experience and feel the need to pay for insurance on top of the HSBC premier one?

          • modestpointscollector says:
            10 Sep10 September 19:19

            Yeh the travel insurance sorted me out amazingly twice during covid no questions asked, and for a fairly sizeable chunk of cash the 2nd time. Worth keeping for that alone.

  • RV says:
    10 Sep10 September 06:47

    For clarity the new income criteria doesn’t apply to existing HSBC Premier customers.

    From the HSBC website:
    If you opened a Premier Account, or submitted your application for a Premier Account, on or before 4 September 2024, the previous eligibility criteria will still apply. These are: (1) an income of £75,000, and hold another eligible product, or (2) have £50,000 in savings or investments with us, or (3) hold and qualify for HSBC Premier in another country or region.

  • Dominic says:
    10 Sep10 September 07:23

    “In-line with inflation” but entirely out-of-line of salary increases, I presume…

    • mark says:
      10 Sep10 September 07:55

      While indeed, I’m not sure many people got a 33% payrise, enough people moved into the 75k+ bracket to warrant “raising the bar” – at least in how HSBC view their product anyway.

    • JDB says:
      10 Sep10 September 07:59

      That would be an incorrect presumption!

    • Rob says:
      10 Sep10 September 08:01

      Time for a new job Dominic! If you work for HfP you get at least an RPI pay rise – it’s only fair.

      • Numpty says:
        10 Sep10 September 08:27

        Although my employer doesn’t follow this approach it is the approach I’m taking to justify the payments on a new car

      • Dominic says:
        10 Sep10 September 09:00

        I’d like to confirm that my ME salary means that I’m not too worried! But a general observation from industry.. most of the reasonable pay increases seem to have been in law firms.

        But yes, agreed RPI pay rises are the fair way to go, but seem to be more of a privilege than an expectation.

      • TGLoyalty says:
        10 Sep10 September 13:29

        The whole market didn’t move with RPI is the point not individual salaries.

        You can see the data all over the web it’s not secret. In fact wages rising with heavy periods of price inflation actually compound the issue which is why jobs, salary and inflation data is taken into account for base rate rises.

        • TGLoyalty says:
          10 Sep10 September 13:42

          RPI since Jan 21 is about 30% while median wages have risen from 31,285 to 34,963 (2023 data) which is about 12% I’m guessing this year will probably end up somewhere in the mid to late 35k but still only max 15% increase.

  • Roy says:
    10 Sep10 September 10:17

    I got the Voyageur card for €80 last month! I assume that offer was targeted…

    • kevinchoi says:
      10 Sep10 September 12:59

      Yes same. I got an email which says that as a All Plus Ibis subscriber, I could then also purchase the Voyageur card for 80 Euros only

  • Deek says:
    10 Sep10 September 10:33

    The T&C’s for the IHG promo on the website call this the Miles & More 5X Miles (September 2024) promotion – you sure it’s 10x @Rob?

  • tillyedwards1 says:
    10 Sep10 September 19:38

    hi, I have a Barclays premier account… I have 100k going through it each year not via salary but just transfers in and out if the account each month so that it looks like I have there salary each month… never been contacted by Barclays.. always get the same email saying benefits will continue as I’m meeting the terms

    Is HSBC premier account strict … will the allow the account if its just based on transfers in and out each month or does it have to be salary based ?

    • Jimbob says:
      10 Sep10 September 19:48

      Never had a problem with maintaining HSBC premier account using transfers every month

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

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