I have the hsbc master card, I applied for it and recieved it but never activated it. Well the started sending me invoices stating I was 30 days late. I was under the impression that prior to activation I was not obligated. Ignorance on my part. So anyways, I called to cancel the card and the offered to cut the annual in half, and the second year charge nothing. The also bumped my CL from $300 to $600. I decided to keep it at that point. I also have the best buy master card. I have had for about 6 months now, I am going to see if I can get them to drop the annual fees on that one as well. Over all, HSBC has been good to me so far. I have several CO and CA. They refinanced my auto loan last year from cap1 @ 18% down to 13% after four months of on time payments. I traded my car in and financed through Chase, and hsbc sent me an invite to reapply, I dont think they will match my current rate though. My only complaint about chase is the $10 fee to pay from my checking account. Thats like paying an extra point on the interest rate.