Curious to know if you qualify for the HSBC Premier Mastercard, and whether it’s a credit card worth having? Read up on this MoneySmart review to see what it takes to be eligible for this premium credit card.
| HSBC Premier Mastercard at a glance: | |
| Primary card annual fee | Waived |
| Supplementary card annual fee | Waived |
| Monthly interest rate | 3.10% |
| Eligibility requirement | Minimum Total Relationship Balance (including deposits, investments, and insurance held) of 4,000,000 PHP or its foreign currency equivalent |
No annual fees
One of the benefits of having an HSBC Premier Mastercard credit card is not having to pay for annual fees for life. That’s thousands of pesos in savings every year, especially if you have a few supplementary cards.
Accelerated rewards
With the Accelerated Rewards program, you can earn as much as 4x Bonus Points with every 20 PHP you spend abroad.
When you shop or dine at local establishments, you can earn 3 Bonus Points for every 20 PHP spend.
For all other spending, you earn 1 Bonus Point for every 20 PHP spend.
The maximum accumulated spend for the HSBC Premier Mastercard is 60,000 PHP per month. Once you go over this amount, you earn 1 Bonus Point for every 20 PHP spend.
Free flights
You can redeem free flights with your Bonus Points. For 5 Bonus Points, you can redeem 1 Asia Mile or KrisFlyer Mile, and then 6 Bonus Points for 1 Mabuhay Mile.
Once you’ve hit 5,000 Bonus Points, you can start redeeming 1,000 Asia Miles or 1,000 KrisFlyer Miles.
If you’re going to redeem Mabuhay Miles, you can do so with 9,000 Bonus Points to get 1,500 Mabuhay Miles.
Simply choose ‘Credit to Mileage Account’ under the Redemption Type in the online HSBC Rewards Redemption Form.
Free travel accident insurance and travel inconvenience coverage
If you pay for your trip with your HSBC Premier Mastercard, you are covered by free travel insurance of up to 10 million PHP. Your spouse and children are covered up to 5 million PHP and 500,000 PHP respectively.
Inconveniences like trip cancellation, trip curtailment, travel delays, missed connecting flights, loss or damage of bag/personal effects, and baggage delays are covered as well.
To be eligible for this benefit, principal or supplementary cardholders and their spouses must be below 75 years old and dependent children should be under 24 years of age.
This travel insurance coverage also provides 24/7 travel and medical emergency assistance.
iPass
With your HSBC Premier Mastercard, you get complementary and exclusive travel benefits like free premium and unlimited Wi-Fi via iPass.
Get huge savings on international roaming fees when you travel abroad, and connect easily to hotspots all around the world. You can also avail of premium inflight coverage on select flights via iPass.
Access to LoungeKey
Having the Premier Mastercard also gives you access to over 850 airport lounges worldwide at 27 USD per visit.
You can avail of retail, dining, and beauty and wellness offers from select airport merchants as well.
If you want to stay at a particular lounge, simply present your Premier Mastercard with your boarding pass.
There’s a mobile app that you can download to check for participating lounges. Simply look for Mastercard Airport Experiences in the apps store and sign up for an account. You will be able to view your benefits, visit history, offer codes, and available exclusive offers from there.
HSBC Premier Privileges and Rewards Catalogue
Get a sample of unique dining, shopping, travel, health and beauty, and leisure offers here and abroad with HSBC Premier Privileges.
You can also redeem from the Rewards Catalogue in different categories. Some of the items that you can redeem include but are not limited to:
Shopping Rewards
10,000 Bonus Points = 500 PHP SM Gift Certificate
10,000 Bonus Points = 500 PHP Rustan’s Gift Certificate
4,000 Bonus Points = 200 PHP Lazada e-Wallet credits
4,000 Bonus Points = 200 PHP Zalora e-Gift code
20,000 Bonus Points = 1,000 PHP Automatic Centre Gift Certificate
Travel and Lifestyle Rewards
Cuisinart 3-Cup Mini Prep Processor = 74,250 Bonus Points
Cuisinart 4-Slice Belgian Waffle Maker = 93,750 Bonus Points
Dowell Oven Toaster DOT-603 = 12,700 Bonus Points
Earl Grey Chocolate Caviar Tea (100g) = 28,800 Bonus Points
Samsonite Nomandy 55 cm. = 139,300 Bonus Points
Charity Donations
5,000 Bonus Points = 250 PHP Donation to ChildHope Asia Philippines
5,000 Bonus Points = 250 PHP Donation to World Wildlife Fund
Other features of the HSBC Premier Mastercard:
- 0% interest for up to 36 months on instalment plans at participating partner merchants
- Worldwide card safety and security
HSBC Premier Mastercard promotions:
If you’re going to Japan anytime soon, you can enjoy a ¥200 discount on Legoland Discovery Center, Legoland Japan Nagoya, and Madame Tussauds admission tickets.
Book in advance and pay with your HSBC Premier Mastercard and type in the promo code for the discount.
You can also take advantage of ¥500 discount on admission tickets to Robot Restaurant.
If you’re headed to Singapore, spend a minimum of 350 SGD and receive a 20 SGD ION Orchard shopping voucher. And if you spend 5,000 SGD, you can receive a complimentary limousine airport transfer. Simply show your passport and same-day receipts/charge slips (maximum of 4) at the concierge counter located at Level 1. Promo runs until December 31, 2019.
Conclusion:
The HSBC Premier Mastercard is a great card to earn Bonus Points because of its rewards program. You also earn more Bonus Points when you spend abroad.
There are a lot of options if you want to redeem your Bonus Points depending on your tastes, priorities, or needs.
But if there’s anything about the HSBC Premier Mastercard that will make you have second thoughts, it’s that Bonus Points expire and only have a validity of 3 years. Unlike other cards from the likes of BPI or Citi that offer non-expiring points, when your HSBC points expire, you will no longer see your Bonus Points on your statement, nor will they be reinstated to your account. The HSBC Premier Mastercard also has a tough eligibility criteria. You should have a current or savings account, as well as investment products with HSBC amounting to at least 4 million PHP.
Are you impressed by this premium credit card from HSBC? Do you plan on getting one anytime soon, or do you have your sights on another card? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!