I have one of their rewards, no annual fee cards (Cash or Fly) and they started me at 2,500 - that was my highest limit at the time of approval. I've only had it for 3 months so not sure about increases.
Many people here are confused about HSBC products and automatically associate all of their products with the subprime products.
You can only apply for their prime products if you have an account with them (e.g. savings/checking).
With FICO, time heals all wounds.
It's very confusing for those who are familiar with HSBC's status and reputation in the rest of the world.
When they decided to enter the US market, they bought some sub-prime portfolios (Household Bank, Orchard.) I don't know why they haven't bothered to launch some good products since then, but they seem happy with what they have. 
Same deal with Barclay's, although they seem to be doing a better job of providing some good CC's.
@haulingthescoreup wrote:It's very confusing for those who are familiar with HSBC's status and reputation in the rest of the world.
When they decided to enter the US market, they bought some sub-prime portfolios (Household Bank, Orchard.) I don't know why they haven't bothered to launch some good products since then, but they seem happy with what they have.
Same deal with Barclay's, although they seem to be doing a better job of providing some good CC's.
I agree. Many would probably be surprised to know that HSBC's market cap is over $10B higher than the biggest US bank (JPMorgan). Despite its london HQ, HSBC's strength is in emerging markets, but that doesn't mean it will give up on the US. First step would be to divest the subprime divisions you mentioned and acquire a strong regional bank in which it can expand a meaningful retail network.