HSBC Rewards

No. HSBC Canada was acquired by RBC, and the transition concluded on March 28, 2024. All HSBC Rewards cards were migrated to equivalent RBC products: the HSBC World Elite Mastercard became the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege, and other cards were converted to RBC cards. Cardholders received emails explaining the conversion of their existing points—generally to the RBC Avion Rewards program, but at a significantly reduced conversion ratio. The HSBC Rewards program as it existed, with its transfers to airline partners, is no longer offered in Canada.

Before the acquisition, Milesopedia valued an HSBC Rewards point at approximately 0.60¢. On the World Elite Mastercard, 25,000 points gave a $125 travel credit, 35,000 points $175, and 45,000 points $225. For HSBC Premier World Elite or World Elite cardholders, transfers to airline partners (Asia Miles, KrisFlyer, British Airways) could push the value up to 1.2¢ per point on certain strategic business class redemptions in the Asia-Pacific region. It was also one of the only Canadian programs to offer direct transfers to KrisFlyer, making HSBC particularly attractive for travelers to Asia.

The HSBC World Elite Mastercard and the HSBC Premier World Elite provided access to three transfer partners: Asia Miles (Cathay Pacific), Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, and British Airways Executive Club (Avios). Ratios were fixed but not very generous: 25,000 HSBC points typically converted to 8,000 to 10,000 miles depending on the partner, an approximate ratio of 2.5:1 or 3:1. This may seem low, but on high-value redemptions—such as Toronto-Hong Kong in Cathay Pacific business class via Asia Miles—the effective value could exceed 2¢ per HSBC point, making it one of the best yields on the Canadian market at the time.

The HSBC World Elite Mastercard was considered the best card in the lineup: 6 points per dollar on eligible travel purchases, 3 points per dollar on all other purchases, and access to the three airline transfer partners. The HSBC Premier World Elite offered Premier banking benefits (private wealth management, multi-currency accounts) in addition to the Rewards program but required a deposit of $100,000 or more. For the majority of consumers, the standard World Elite offered the best benefit-to-fee ratio. All these cards have now disappeared, replaced by their RBC Avion equivalents during the integration finalized in March 2024.

During the transition to RBC, cardholders’ HSBC Rewards points were transferred to the RBC Avion Rewards program at a ratio of approximately 1 HSBC point to 0.36 RBC Avion point, communicated directly to customers via email and letter. However, RBC partially compensated for this reduction by boosting the redemption value of the transitional points, up to 1.5¢ per point for simple travel bookings (compared to the usual 1¢). Cardholders also had the option to use their HSBC points before the transition date to avoid any conversion. Today, former HSBC customers find themselves in the RBC Avion Rewards ecosystem, which offers its own transfer partners (British Airways Executive Club, Asia Miles, Cathay Pacific, etc.) and its own redemption methods. For those looking for an alternative to the old HSBC program today, RBC Avion Rewards has de facto become the solution.

For those seeking the international flexibility of HSBC, the most comparable current options are: the American Express Cobalt^® Card, which offers 7 transfer partners including British Airways Executive Club, Asia Miles via Cathay Pacific, and several others; the CIBC Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card, focused on the 28 Star Alliance partners; and the Scotiabank Passport^® Visa Infinite +* Card, ideal for international travelers thanks to the absence of foreign transaction fees. No current Canadian card exactly reproduces the HSBC combination, but the Cobalt comes closest for those who frequently travel to the Asia-Pacific region.