Best Credit Card to Start Earning Your Revenge Travel Stripes: HSBC TravelOne

Since entering the endemic phase, we can all agree that wanderlust is hitting us hard. If you haven’t made any year-end travel plans, you could start now as Google data showed that the best rates for flights and accommodation are around five months before the departure date. 

Excitement is in the air as everyone’s eagerly gearing up for upcoming trips with friends and loved ones (or maybe even solo) to neighbouring shores or far-flung lands. Whether you’re going on an epic Europe road trip or just a spontaneous weekend escape to Bali, the newly-launched HSBC TravelOne’s got your back.

Despite having so many miles credit cards available on the market, the HSBC TravelOne has already proven to be a game-changer.

Sleek design, attractive partner offerings, and instant reward redemption⁺  – are just some of its highlights despite being the new kid on the block. And it’s only going to get better from here.

Intrigued? Read on to discover why this miles credit card is the travel card of the summer (and all seasons!)

Note: “XXX mpd” refers to “miles per S$1 spend”.

See also: HSBC TravelOne Credit Card Review – Travel and Earn Rewards All on One App

#1: Instant reward redemption

The only thing worse than purchasing online is waiting for your package to arrive. Basically, no one likes waiting around for rewards, and neither does HSBC TravelOne. 

Other than being the first HSBC credit card to facilitate instant conversion of reward points to miles and hotel points, the HSBC TravelOne Credit Card also offers an extensive selection of hotel and airline partners. With just a few clicks on the HSBC Singapore app, you can seamlessly redeem your reward points into airline miles, hotel points.

Simply follow the steps below to start redeeming:

1. Log on to the HSBC Singapore app > Select HSBC TravelOne Credit Card > View More
2. Choose ‘Redeem Points’ > Select either airline miles, hotel points, or One Tree Planted
3. Enter your details + the number of points you wish to redeem + airline/hotel programme membership number (if applicable)
4. Review details > Accept T&Cs > Submit

Note: All air miles and hotel points redemptions will be completed instantly or within one business day – with the exception of Accor Live Limitless, which will take up to five business days.

Instant gratification aside, flexibility in reward redemption is important for savvy travellers too. Sometimes, an impromptu getaway is just what you need; but thanks to the array of redeemable travel privileges, travel rewards, and curated Mastercard Priceless Specials*, they definitely help to cushion some costs.

*Priceless Specials by Mastercard is categorised by countries like Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Australia, and Taiwan. Please refer to their webpage for more details.

💡Pro-tip: To maximize your perks even further, download the ENTERTAINER with HSBC app and use it to enjoy one-for-one offers locally and overseas. Also do look out for the HSBC WOW Weekend deals that feature one-for-one offers along with a wide range of categories including exclusive discounts on overseas accommodation and travel activities.

Perhaps one of the biggest selling points of HSBC TravelOne is its impressive list of (growing) airline and hotel partners.

To date, there are 12 partners currently active with HSBC TravelOne. 

By the end of 2023, HSBC aims to have more than 20 partners onboard to redeem from. 

To our knowledge, this is the largest roster of hotel and airline partners available with any miles credit card. If that isn’t the definition of spoilt for choice and having more flexibility to find the best-suited flights and hotels, we don’t know what is! After all, last-minute itinerary changes, flight delays, and trip cancellations are the worst if your bookings are non-refundable.

Also, all travel partners adhere to a 25,000 Rewards points : 10,000 miles/hotel points ratio (= 0.4 mpd) except for airasia rewards, which follows a 25,000 Reward points : 20,000 airasia points ratio (just got upgraded from the previous 10,000 airasia points ratio); Accor Live Limitless, which follows a 25,000 Reward points : 5,000 hotel points ratio (= 0.2 mpd). So depending on which hotel chain or airline carrier is up your alley, you can convert accordingly.

What’s more, HSBC Points has a relatively generous validity of 37 months, which is just over three years. You won’t be worrying about accumulating points or converting miles frantically over a short duration here!

Right off the bat, it’s evident that the HSBC TravelOne Credit Card pretty much ticks off all the boxes of what makes a good travel credit card. 

Featuring an enticing earn rate of up to 2.4 miles, when compared to the standard market rates, it ranks above average in its tier (more on that below). 

It also grants primary cardholders four complimentary access visits to over 1,300 airport lounges via Mastercard Travel Pass (MTP) in a year. For reference, the DBS Altitude Visa Signature grants cardholders 2 complimentary airport lounge visits per year.

Not to mention, its complimentary travel insurance coverage (including COVID-19) of up to USD100,000 is much appreciated given the fact that many travel insurance plans only offer COVID-19 coverage as an add-on.

Best of all, cardholders can convert their Rewards Points into air miles or hotel points for free until 31 May 2024. HSBC TravelOne doesn’t impose a cap on points and miles earned either. So essentially, you’re free to earn as many miles as you can until the end of the year; consider your hard work clocking miles now as your Christmas gift to yourself later.

💡Pro-tip: Pair your HSBC TravelOne with the Instarem amaze and HSBC Everyday Global Account (EGA) to double up the miles and cashback while locally and overseas!

Add your HSBC TravelOne to the Amaze wallet and saves on the foreign exchange fee when you transact overseas. You’ll also earn 1 InstaPoint per S$1 via Amaze wallet on foreign spend of at least S$10. Every 2,000 InstaPoints can be exchanged for S$20.     

Plus, HSBC TravelOne credit cardholders can earn an additional 1% cashback on eligible transactions when you open an HSBC Everyday Global Account (EGA)^- and qualify for the Everyday+ Rewards programme.

So there are 2 ways that you can maximize miles or cashback. It’s up to you to determine which is more valuable  (example of scenario for illustration^&): 

• Charge all your foreign currency spends directly to HSBC TravelOne and earn 2.4 miles per S$1 spent, or 
• Link your HSBC TravelOne to Instarem amaze to save on foreign exchange fee, earn both miles (at 1.2 miles per S$1 spent) and additional cashback from Instarem amaze and Everyday+ Rewards programme

See also: Ultimate Guide to Digital Multi-Currency Accounts: Revolut vs YouTrip vs Instarem vs Wise vs Wirex (2023)

Are you a fan of Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) plans? Well then, we have good news for you!

Apart from the favourable earn rates and perks, HSBC Instalment plan ensures that you’ll be able to comfortably manage travel costs and expenses across a range of flexible tenors while staying on track with your financial goals. 

You won’t have to worry about forking out a lump sum upfront just to fund your holidays. Instead, you can enjoy your holidays first and repay for your trip by monthly instalments.

Not only does this provide better peace of mind for some, but it also allows you to continue paying off your existing recurring payments (like education loan repayments or HDB mortgages) while still affording a well-deserved trip responsibly. 

See also: HSBC Personal Loan Review

Now for the final verdict: Is HSBC TravelOne really worth the hype? Hype is subjective but based on its perks and benefits awarded, it’s definitely one of the more valuable ‘everyday + travel combo’ miles cards out there.

Thankfully, this card is not just for show with its sleek and shiny exterior – it’s actually really useful.

Besides its above-average miles rate, more yearly airport lounge visits, and COVID-19 travel insurance coverage, its key highlights include having the most hotel and airline partners for any miles card (9 airlines & 3 hotel groups!) and the free points-to-miles conversion before 2023 ends. (Meanwhile, the OCBC 90°N Card is the only other card that waives the conversion fee.) 

Furthermore, the HSBC TravelOne is probably best suited if you prioritise looking for more flexibility in reward redemption to plan your holiday better.

You’ll save much more time in rewards conversion compared to other similar miles cards in its league. For instance, the DBS Altitude Card can take up to 14 working days for KrisFlyer miles redemption to go through. If you’re an avid traveller – or spontaneous flyer – time is definitely of the essence. So the last thing you’d want is for your precious points to be caught in conversion limbo and stalled in redemption.

Another point to highlight is that HSBC Rewards Points are awarded per S$1 spend, whereas DBS Points, 90°N Miles, and UNI$ are awarded per S$5 spend blocks. This makes the process of earning points – and miles conversion thereafter – for HSBC TravelOne more straightforward as opposed to its peers.

Notwithstanding that, HSBC TravelOne rewards cardholders with four complimentary airport lounge visits per year – the most number of visits out of any of the cards above.

So if you want to work smarter (not harder) for your miles both at home ground and around the globe, you should consider giving HSBC TravelOne a shot! ✈️🌍

P.S. Exclusive welcome offer: Apply now and get 20,000 air miles^~ (awarded as 50,000 reward points). Offer ends 31 August, 2023!

This article was written in partnership with HSBC.

⁺Air miles and hotel points will be completed instantly or within 1 business day. For Accor Live Limitless, it will take up to 5 business days. Please note that this list may be updated from time to time.

^# HSBC TravelOne credit card reward points programme terms and conditions apply. 

^-SGD deposits are insured up to S$75k by SDIC. HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme Terms and conditions apply.

^ Travel insurance coverage is underwritten by HSBC Life (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. HSBC Bank (Singapore) Limited is not the underwriter nor the distributor of this insurance plan. It is not an obligation of, deposit in or guaranteed by HSBC Bank (Singapore) Limited (Company Registration No. 201420624K).

^~~Welcome Gift: Applicable when you apply for a TravelOne Credit Card from 11 May to 31 August, spend at least S$800 in eligible spend within the qualifying spend period, pay the annual fee of S$194.40 (inclusive of GST) and provide marketing consent to HSBC. Please refer to full terms and conditions here

^&Here are some figures to illustrate:

Assuming you spend S$2,000 eligible spends in local currency and S$4,000 (converted from Hong Kong Dollars) in the month of July 2023,