HSBC Rewards

HSBC credit cards have been discontinued and are unable to be applied for (11/2023).

HSBC Rewards is HSBC’s in-house rewards program. This program gives you the opportunity to earn points solely from HSBC credit cards and redeem them for a variety of options, including travel.

Let’s look at how you can quickly earn and redeem HSBC Rewards points for the maximum value towards your next vacation.

Earning HSBC Rewards Points

HSBC Rewards points can be earned via two methods: credit card welcome bonuses and organic credit card spending. Points are automatically deposited in your HSBC Rewards account when earned.

Credit Card Bonuses

Similar to other bank loyalty programs, the quickest way to earn HSBC Rewards points is through credit card sign-up or welcome bonuses. There are three HSBC credit cards in Canada that earn HSBC Rewards points.

The HSBC World Elite Mastercard is the premium card in the HSBC Rewards lineup as it comes with an annual travel enhancement credit and no foreign currency exchange fees. The annual travel enhancement credit can be turned into cash with the refundable hotel trick.

The HSBC Travel Rewards Mastercard is a great option if you are looking for a way to earn HSBC Rewards with no annual fees.

The HSBC +Rewards Mastercard has a $25 annual fee and is the least rewarding of the HSBC Rewards credit cards available to Canadians.

Credit Card Spending

HSBC Rewards points are also earned for all eligible organic spend on any HSBC Rewards credit cards. You can earn the most points possible by maximizing specific category spending on the correct HSBC Rewards earning credit card.

As a premium card, the HSBC World Elite Mastercard has the best earning rates out of the three cards.

HSBC World Elite Mastercard:

• 6 HSBC Rewards points for every dollar spent on travel purchases (up to $50,000 per calendar year).
• 3 HSBC Rewards points for every dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.

On the other hand, as a no annual fee credit card, the HSBC Travel Rewards credit card shines in its earning rates:

HSBC Travel Rewards Mastercard:

• 3 HSBC Rewards points for every dollar spent on eligible travel purchases (e.g. car rentals, vacations, hotels, flights).
• 2 HSBC Rewards points for every dollar spent on eligible gas and daily transportation purchases.
• 1 HSBC Reward point for every dollar spent on all other eligible everyday purchases.

Redeeming HSBC Rewards Points

Cardholders can redeem HSBC Rewards points via four methods: travel expenses, transferring points to airline loyalty program partners, a statement credit, and gift cards or merchandise.

The best redemption value you should aim to get from an HSBC Rewards point is 0.5 cents per point which is possible with a few of the methods below.

Travel Expenses

The best way to redeem HSBC Rewards points, both in value and ease, is to redeem them towards travel expenses that you charge to your card. This means you can book your own flights, hotels, and other travel expenses on your HSBC Rewards credit card and then apply points within 60 days of the transaction date. When redeeming with this method, 1 HSBC Reward point is 0.5 cents. This means that 10,000 HSBC Rewards points are worth $50.

When redeeming for travel expenses, a minimum of 25,000 HSBC Rewards points must be redeemed and past that, points must be redeemed in increments of 10,000 HSBC Rewards points. This means that the minimum redemption is for $125 in travel expenses, and then that value increases in $50 increments ($175, $225, $275, etc.).

If you are looking to redeem HSBC points for travel expenses, visit the HSBC Rewards website. Log into your HSBC account and select the “Travel Rewards” option. This will display a list of valid travel expenses and will allow you to select the relevant transaction and how many points you wish to apply toward the expense. Once applied, the credit should appear on your credit card within the next few business days.

Transfer Points to Airline Loyalty Program Partners

Similar to other flexible rewards programs such as RBC Rewards, HSBC Rewards has a few airline loyalty program partners that you can transfer your points to. You can see the current transfer ratios, including any bonus promotions, by viewing our Miles & Points Transfer Partner Tool.

HSBC Rewards points can be transferred to the British Airways Avios program at a ratio of 25 HSBC Rewards to 10 Avios (25:10). The British Airways Avios loyalty program presents some interesting redemption opportunities, including Qatar Airways QSuites which can get you to Maldives for only 85,000 Avios.

HSBC Reward points can be transferred to the Singapore Airlines Krisflyer program at a ratio of 25 HSBC Rewards to 9 Krisflyer miles (25:9). Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles are hard to earn as a Canadian, and often require entering the US credit card market. 

However, Singapore Airlines business class redemptions were recently added to the Aeroplan program meaning this may not be as valuable a transfer option when it comes to spending your HSBC Rewards as it once was.

Finally, HSBC Reward points can be transferred to the Cathay Pacific Asia Miles program at a ratio of 25 HSBC Rewards to 8 Asia miles (25:8). The Cathay Pacific loyalty program has a few unique redemption options, but the program is not overly strong.

Similar to the option to redeem towards travel expenses, you must redeem a minimum of 25,000 HSBC Rewards points, and past that, points must be redeemed in increments of 10,000 HSBC Rewards points.

There is not a set cents per point value that you will get out of your points with this redemption option since it ultimately depends on the flight redemption that you end up making with the partner loyalty program.

That being said, this is a strong option to consider especially if you already have a significant points balance in any of these partner airline programs and are looking to top-up your balance to make a redemption.

HSBC Financial Rewards

Similar to many other financial institutions, HSBC Reward points can be applied towards a few HSBC personal finance options including:

• A Canadian HSBC residential mortgage account credit (5,000 points = $20 credit)
• A statement credit on your HSBC credit card account (5,000 points = $15 credit)
• A Canadian HSBC personal savings account credit (5,000 points = $15 credit)

When redeeming points towards a mortgage account, you can expect to receive a 0.4 cents per point valuation. On the other hand, when redeeming towards a credit card or savings account credit, you can expect to receive a 0.3 cents per point valuation.

These valuations are not great compared to other options, such as redeeming towards travel expenses, and as such, it would be recommended to not redeem HSBC Rewards points in this manner.

Gift Cards & Merchandise

Similar to many other bank loyalty programs, HSBC Rewards program members are able to redeem points for gift cards and merchandise. This is not a recommended way to use your points since the redemption rates are often abysmal compared to the value you could otherwise extract from your points using other redemption methods.

Frequently Asked Questions

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