CONFIRMED: Get a 25% bonus on HSBC Premier credit card points conversions to Avios

We now have confirmation that HSBC has launched a 25% bonus on conversions of HSBC Premier credit card points to Avios.

We covered this story over the weekend after readers reported seeing a mysterious 25% uplift in their points transfers.  It wouldn’t have been totally unexpected as HSBC ran similar bonuses from 1st to 31st August in 2018 and 2019, although this one didn’t seem to start until 16th August.

We now know that the offer is live.

This box may appear when you go into online banking:

There is also a full set of terms and conditions available online.  You can find them here.

The offer ends on 19th September as you can see from the box above.  There is no restriction on the number of transfers you can make.

Are the HSBC Premier credit cards a good way of earning Avios?

The two HSBC Premier credit cards are very generous.  The snag is that you need to have a HSBC Premier current account to get them.  Whilst Premier is free, the income and/or savings requirements are high as you can see here.

The free HSBC Premier Mastercard, reviewed here, earns:

• 0.5 Avios
• 0.5 Asia Miles
• 0.5 Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles or
• 0.5 Etihad Guest miles

…. per £1 spent in the UK.  This rate is double for overseas spending.

Note that the credit card earns 1 HSBC point per £1 spent (2 HSBC points per £1 spent abroad) and these convert at 2:1 into airline miles.  Don’t get confused by the HSBC earning rate and the equivalent airline miles earning rate.

The £195 per year HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard, reviewed here, earns 1 mile per £1 spent in the UK (2 HSBC points per £1) and double this when abroad.

The card also comes with airport lounge access via LoungeKey.  The World Elite card is less good for families who want lounge access than Amex Platinum as your HSBC card only gets the main cardholder into an airport lounge.

You can pay £60 to give your partner a supplementary card for a year to get them in, but there is no way to get children into airport lounges for free.  Amex Platinum, on the other hand, gets a family of four into a lounge.

You also get comprehensive travel insurance as part of the HSBC Premier current account, which makes this an interesting alternative to The Platinum Card from American Express for couples or solo travellers.

Is it worth a transfer?

Potentially yes.  In the worse case scenario, you can convert 1.25 Avios into 2 Nectar points, worth 1p.

You are therefore cashing out your HSBC points for a minimum of 1p each, albeit 1p in Sainsbury’s, eBay or Argos credit.  This isn’t bad.

On the other hand, if you already have a large Avios stash, I would think twice.  I would rather retain the flexibility to pick up some Singapore Airlines or Etihad miles – letting me fly to places where Avios may have no availability – rather than topping up an already large Avios pile.

You have until 19th September to decide what to do.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 2021 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our November 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus. 

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the top current deals:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers.

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending:

Barclaycard Select Cashback Credit Card

1% cashback and no annual fee Read our full review