I've watched this card periodically and always thought it was a striking card with the HSBC Lion logo. Today, I looked at the card again and the first thing that caught my eye was an apparent design change. IMO, they ruined it! 
But you be the judge.
In terms of substance, it looks like there was a favorable change in the credits. If I'm not mistaken you could previously claim only $200 in airline fee credits back against the $395 AF. Apparently, you can now claim "up to $400 in credits when you book your travel through HSBC Travel." It appears that could completely reimburse the AF! 
The card still has a 50K point SUB that is "worth up to $750 in airfare" for spending at least $4K in the first three months. And it still offers the TSA Global Entry Reimbursement. Overall, the change in travel credits combined with the other benefits could be very valuable.
If anyone familiar can see any other feature and benefit changes, please post them below.
On the downside, to get the card (and to KEEP it) you have to have a committed "Premier" relationship with HSBC which requires at least one of the following:
- $75K or more in deposits
- Monthly direct deposits of $5K or more
- Mortgage with initial loan value of $500K or more
Also I've read about a few members having some customer service issues with them, so I suggest doing a little homework if you're interested in this card. But if you already bank with them and are satisfied, this might be an even better premium card option to consider!
@FinStar wrote:.. if you noticed half the posts disappearing, they went to Smorgasboard. As you all know, discussions of aesthetics, texture, designs, images, etc., belong to that part of the subforum. Anything else, can continue on this thread 😊
Gotcha, @FinStar . Not completely surprised. I thought about posting the design change in Smorgasboard but the changes also appeared to change the substance of the card, so I put it all here.
You may be one of only a handful on the forum who already have this card. Thoughts to pass along? Is my assumption correct that you can claim $400 in credits against the $395 AF? Any other feature and benefit or fee changes they announced to you than you could pass along to us?
*For those of you wanting to comment on the design changes above, this is the new link:
@Aim_High wrote:I've watched this card periodically and always thought it was a striking card with the HSBC Lion logo. Today, I looked at the card again and the first thing that caught my eye was an apparent design change. IMO, they ruined it!
In terms of substance, it looks like there was a favorable change in the credits. If I'm not mistaken you could previously claim only $200 in airline fee credits back against the $395 AF. Apparently, you can now claim "up to $400 in credits when you book your travel through HSBC Travel." It appears that could completely reimburse the AF!
If anyone familiar can see any other feature and benefit changes, please post them below.
On the downside, to get the card (and to KEEP it) you have to have a committed "Premier" relationship with HSBC which requires at least one of the following:
- $75K or more in deposits
- Monthly direct deposits of $5K or more
- Mortgage with initial loan value of $500K or more
Also I've read about a few members having some customer service issues with them, so I suggest doing a little homework if you're interested in this card. But if you already bank with them and are satisfied, this might be an even better premium card option to consider!
I recall reading about these changes. The one thing that killed it for me was the fact that you'd have to spend ~$8000 a year in travel (specifically through their own travel portal (that I think is provided by Priceline...?) - ie you'd receive $100 in credit for every $2000 spent through their travel portal).
A weird side about this is that the card already has a benefit (as well as the card in the tier below) of 10% off hotel bookings on Expedia (which I feel could be a competing benefit on the card).
If you have Premier status though, I'd definitely recommend the Premier World Mastercard. It has no annual fee, comes with that same Expedia benefit, and gives $50-a-year in Uber/Lyft credits (earned by spending ~$250 through the year between the two merchants).
@cardme wrote:
@Aim_High wrote:... you can now claim "up to $400 in credits when you book your travel through HSBC Travel."
I recall reading about these changes. The one thing that killed it for me was the fact that you'd have to spend ~$8000 a year in travel (specifically through their own travel portal (that I think is provided by Priceline...?) - ie you'd receive $100 in credit for every $2000 spent through their travel portal).
A weird side about this is that the card already has a benefit (as well as the card in the tier below) of 10% off hotel bookings on Expedia (which I feel could be a competing benefit on the card).
If you have Premier status though, I'd definitely recommend the Premier World Mastercard. It has no annual fee, comes with that same Expedia benefit, and gives $50-a-year in Uber/Lyft credits (earned by spending ~$250 through the year between the two merchants).
Thanks for that clarification, @cardme. That made me go back and review the website and I found that dialogue box with the terms and conditions. It could change the usefulness of the credit for someone who doesn't regularly spend a lot on travel.
Travel Credit: You will receive an automatic $100 Travel Credit for every $2,000 in cumulative travel purchases (minus returns, credits and adjustments) booked through HSBC Travel powered by Priceline, up to a maximum of $400 per calendar year. Travel booked with Points is not eligible for Travel Credit. Your Travel Credits will post automatically to your credit card statement in 1-2 billing cycles. To receive the Travel Credit your HSBC Elite credit card must be open and in good standing.
The World Mastercard can definitely be a better value for some members. Yes, no AF but $95 for non-Premier clients. I don't see any mention of the UBER/LYFT credits on the World card so perhaps that was nerfed? The Elite still mentions a LYFT benefit: If you take 5 rides per month, you get a $10 credit, so it appears the Elite card can get $120 per year total for LYFT.
However, the Premier does give a lot of the same travel benefits such as no FTF, up to $1Million in travel accident insurance, trip cancellation insurance, lost luggage insurance, baggage delay insurance, hotel burglary insurance, and Mastercard Airport Concierge. It also reimburses TSA Precheck (but doesn't give you an option of either Precheck or Global Entry like many cards.) It provides cellphone coverage of up to $600 per claim.
For someone that travels often and plans to use the card frequently, the Elite may still be a better choice than the Premier, but it depends on lifestyle and spend. The chance to now earn all the $395 AF back if you spend at least $8K on travel by itself makes the card worthwhile for the high spender. Plus, you're earning 3x points on travel (vs 2x points on Premier) and 2x points on dining (vs 1x points on Premier.) The Elite card gives you access to the World Elite Concierge service. The Elite has the extra 150K points on the SUB. There's a choice of reimbursement for TSA Precheck (or) Global Entry. And unlimited, complimentary access to over 1,000 airport LoungeKey locations for cardholder and one guest. Cellphone coverage is provided at a higher $800 per claim vs $600 per claim on Premier.
Like with most cards, value lies in how you will use the cards and whether you'll be able to use the perks. For example, I know many completely discount TSA Precheck or Global Entry valuation since they have it on multiple cards already.
@cardme wrote:I feel that HSBC has been making an effort to make their cards better or more appealing, but they've definitely stumbled quite a bit. The additional perk of Lounge Access (without having to pay-per-visit after 2 visits) is nice, but for the amount of assets and/or spend, it kind of just brings them up to par (if not a little less-than-par) with competitors, in my opinion.
Yes, I think they have but they still are lagging behind. Globally, they are in the top ten world banks and comparable in assets with Chase and Bank of America. But the credit card market in the US has become much more competitive and cards here outshine what's offered in many other countries. HSBC is hesitant to go "all-in" with the biggest US banks (Chase, Citi, BofA) or with AMEX in terms of credit card rewards and perks. They could be a much larger player here if they wanted. They apparently have other priorities.