Earn up to 70,000 bonus points and get your first year free on the HSBC World Elite Mastercard

 

HSBC revealed a new offer for their HSBC World Elite Mastercard that is better than the standard welcome offer we've seen since the middle of April. The new offer provides up to 70,000 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
• 20,000 points when you spend $5,000 in the first 180 days 
• 10,000 points when you add an authorized user
• 20,000 points on your card's first year anniversary
  

This offer sees HSBC take various points bonuses we have seen with some other travel rewards cards and combine them all into one. You have the 40,000 points for your first purchase and meeting the minimum spending requirement (this is the same as the offer we saw for Q1 of this year) then you have a bonus for getting an additional or supplementary card and finally an additional anniversary bonus when you hold onto to the card for a year.

The 70,000 points once achieved are worth $350 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 welcome bonus is equal 28,000 Avios in British Airways' Executive Club although I would only convert them when HSBC runs their transfer bonus promotion which we several times per year. The last transfer bonus was in November of 2020 and it offered a 35% boost.

Here are some options to check out that you can utilize 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 card also features No Foreign Transaction fees which is a big deal right now if you do a lot of online shopping from the U.S. plus it also comes with a $100 annual travel enhancement credit (to use on bag fees, seat selection etc) and like all 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 

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 70,000 points worth $210 in cash back rebates. 

This 70,000 point offer for this card runs through to September 27, 2021.

Learn more about and/or apply for the HSBC World Elite Mastercard here.

I would also recommend reading our review of the card.  

For those living in Quebec the offer is slightly different as they can't offer it first year free:
Welcome Bonus of 20,000 Points (up to $100 value) PLUS apply by September 27th and get 50,000 Points (up to $250 in value) if you keep your account open and active for 6 months*, earn 10,000 Points ($50 travel value) for adding your 1st Authorized User*, and receive an additional 20,000 Points (up to $100 in value) as an Anniversary Bonus*