If you are a resident of Quebec, you can get:

• A welcome bonus of 20,000 points after the first purchase (a value of $100 in travel rewards)
• Receive an additional 110,000 Points ($550 travel value) if you keep your account open and active for 180 days

On the other hand, the first-year annual fee is $149.

This is an offer never seen for Quebec to get 130,000 points (or $650), or 52,000 Avios miles without minimum spending required. And don’t forget the $100 Annual Travel enhancement credit!

We value this offer at $601!

Knowing that travel is uncertain for the next few months, this is a credit card to get now while waiting for better days! Especially since it does not require any minimum expenses: the welcome bonus will be released in time to book your future trips!

For more information or to apply for it, click here!

If you are not a resident of Quebec, you can get:

• A welcome bonus of 20,000 points after the first purchase (a value of $100 in travel rewards)
• Spend $5,000 in the first 180 days to earn an additional 80,000 Points ($400 travel value)
• 1st Year Annual Fee Rebate for the Primary Cardholder for the first year

We value this offer at $601!

Here you will get the first-year free. And given the current situation, HSBC gives you 6 months (instead of the usual 3 months) to charge $5,000 to the card (an average of $833 per month).

For more information or to apply for it, click here!

With the HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^®, you can earn:

• 6 points per 1 dollar on all eligible travel purchases (= 3% in travel rewards)
• 3 points per 1 dollar on all other eligible purchases (= 1.5% in travel rewards)

The HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® is one of the best credit cards for travel purchases, but also everyday purchases. Few cards offer 3% on travel and 1.5% on everyday purchases.

With this Card, you can transfer your points to airline partners. You’ll find below a mileage earning table based on purchases charged to the HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^®:

So if you earn HSBC Rewards points to transfer them into Avios miles from British Airways Executive Club, it’s like you’re accumulating:

• 2.4 avios miles per dollar for your travel purchases
• 1.2 avios mile per dollar for all your purchases

It is much better than RBC’s British Airways credit card! And that’s not taking into account conversion promotions between HSBC Rewards and airline loyalty programs (up to 35% bonus)!

By transferring your HSBC Rewards points into Avios miles during a 35% conversion promotion, it’s like you’ve earned:

• 3.4 avios miles per dollar for your travel purchases
• 1.62 avios miles per dollar for your other purchases

It’s exceptional for a credit card in Canada!

Redeeming HSBC Rewards points for travel rewards will be the best possible use of your points earned by the HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^®.

130,000 HSBC Rewards points have a value of $650 in travel rewards.

To redeem your HSBC Rewards points, charge any travel purchase on your HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® (and earn 6 points per dollar).

Then you can go to the HSBC Rewards portal to apply your points on your travel purchases and get a statement credit.

For example, here an Air Transat flight I’ve recently bought on my HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^®:

Or for purchases on Airbnb or Hotels.com:

To redeem HSBC Rewards points, it works with a chart starting at 25,000 points ($125):

Therefore, you will need to have a minimum of 25,000 points to get a statement credit. With 130,000 points, you’ll have a $650 statement credit available!

In Canada, few institutions offer the ability to convert travel points into airline loyalty programs (American Express, RBC and HSBC).

HSBC Rewards is a partner with three airline loyalty programs:

• Asia Miles – Cathay Pacific
• Krisflyer – Singapore Airlines
• Executive Club – British Airways

Here is the HSBC Reward Points to miles conversion ratio:

If you want to convert into miles your 130,000 points earned as a welcome bonus, here’s what you could get:

A great perk of the HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® is the $100 Annual Travel enhancement credit. This annual travel credit is available as soon as you apply for the HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® and renewed on the account anniversary date.

If you think about it: your HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® annual fee is, therefore, virtually reduced from $149 to $49. Unbelievable for a World Elite Card! So you can keep it year after year.

To use this credit, just:

• book a plane ticket,
• buy extras for seats, luggage
• buy airport lounge passes

After that, you will have 60 days to use your Annual Travel enhancement credit on it. You can apply it on several small transactions like this:

HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® holders have free and unlimited access to Wi-Fi through Boingo (more than one million access points around the world).

To take advantage of this free benefit, register at this address with your HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® number.

Then, you will have a Boingo account you can use worldwide. Boing usually charges US$14.99 per month for this!

Swiss, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines are among the few airlines that offer Boingo on board their aircraft. I have already been able to use it on board, as well as in many airports and public places.

HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® holders receive a 10% discount for their prepaid hotel bookings with Expedia or Agoda.

To benefit from this, you will need to register:

• On Expedia’s website
• On the Agoda website

Finally, HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® holders receive a complimentary membership to Mastercard Airport Experiences Provided by LoungeKey.

However, there will be a charge of US$32 per person for each visit. You can, of course, use your annual $100 Travel enhancement credit to cover it.

With a “World Elite Mastercard” level, the HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® provides a wide range of insurance, especially for travel.

Regarding the Emergency Travel Medical insurance, the HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® provides coverage of up to $1,000,000 per insured person:

• the primary cardholder
• Spouse
• dependent children

Coverage extends to 31 days per trip for people under age 65.

Beware though: travel in Cuba is not covered by this insurance.

Regarding Baggage Delay or Loss insurance, you are covered to a maximum of $750per insured person (maximum of $500 per item) with the HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^®.

It covers:

• Loss or damage
• Theft
• Burglary
• fire or transport hazards

You are also covered for up to $200 per trip for the purchase of necessities if your checked baggage is delayed by the carrier for 12 hours or more en route to your destination.

Regarding trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption/Delay insurance, the HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® covers up to $2,000 per insured person ($5,000 per trip). You have to charge at least 75% of your eligible travel expenses to your card.

This includes all non-refundable expenses (prepaid trips) in the event of cancellation as well as costs incurred for the change of ticket or the cost of a ticket to return home early.

Regarding car rental insurance, the HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® covers up to 31 consecutive days. You have to charge at least 75% of the cost of the rental vehicle to your card.

This includes collisions or damage up to the full value of the damaged or stolen rental vehicle, as well as towing or loss of use charges.

Car Rental insurance also includes Personal Effects and Car Rental Accidental Death and Dismemberment insurance coverage.

Be careful, like all the other credit cards providing car rental insurance, liability insurance is not included.

Finally, regarding Purchase Assurance and Extended Warranty Insurance, when you use your HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® to purchase eligible items, Purchase Protection provides coverage in the event of loss, damage or theft for 90 days from the purchase date.

Extended Warranty coverage automatically doubles the original manufacturer’s warranty for up to one additional year when you use your HSBC World Elite Mastercard to purchase most items.

The HSBC World Elite Mastercard is a card I like for several reasons:

• No foreign transaction fees
• Points redemptions flexibility (either used in travel credit or transferred to airline partners)
• The fact that it is a Mastercard, it is accepted everywhere (including at Costco)
• Its ability to earn points for travel purchases(6 points per dollaror 3% )
• Its earning rate for all other purchases(3 points per dollar or 1.5% )

Also, there is a 10% discount for select hotel purchases with Expedia and Agoda and unlimited access to Wi-Fi through Boingo.

It’s a card I keep because its annual $100 Travel enhancement credit largely offsets the annual fee.

During our family trip around the world, we used it a lot to save on our foreign currency transaction fees and to redeem points for Airbnb rentals!