Review: HSBC Visa Infinite Card

Here’s The MileLion’s review of the HSBC Visa Infinite, launched in October 2011 at a glitzy party hosted at Avalon. I believe the idea was that just like Avalon, you needed to be on an exclusive guest list to get this card, whose membership was strictly by-invitation only with a minimum income requirement of S$250,000.

But exclusivity is a fickle mistress. Avalon has long since shuttered and made way for the next big thing, and the HSBC Visa Infinite has thrown open its doors to the unwashed masses- or at least, as unwashed as S$120,000 a year can be.

And yet it’s still the most expensive card in the entire $120K segment, which begs the question: is this a club you want to be part of?

HSBC Visa Infinite
🦁 MileLion Verdict
☐ Take It ☑ Take It Or Leave It ☐ Leave It
What do these ratings mean?
The HSBC Visa Infinite offers excellent travel benefits, though its mediocre earn rates and lack of transfer partners hold it back.
👍 The good	👎 The bad
Unlimited lounge access for main cardholder and up to five supp. cardholders Up to four free airport limo rides each year, with additional rides unlockable for a relatively low spend Comprehensive travel insurance, including COVID-19 coverage 1% bonus cashback with HSBC EGA	Regular earn rates are mediocre; step-up rates require a hefty S$50K annual spend to unlock No miles offered with annual fee payment from 2nd year onwards No points for CardUp/ipaymy Points don’t pool with other HSBC cards Only two transfer partners
💳 Full List of Credit Card Reviews

Overview: HSBC Visa Infinite

Let’s start this review by looking at the key features of the HSBC Visa Infinite.

Apply Here
Income Req.	S$120,000 p.a.	Points Validity	37 months
Annual Fee (Including GST)	S$492.56 (HSBC Premier) S$656.08 (Regular)	Min. Transfer	25,000 points (10,000 miles)
Welcome Gift	35,000	Transfer Partners	SIA Cathay
FCY Fee	3.25%	Transfer Fee	S$43.20 per yr.
Local Earn	Up to 1.25 mpd	Points Pool?	No
FCY Earn	Up to 2.25 mpd	Lounge Access?	Yes
Special Earn	N/A	Airport Limo?	Yes
Cardholder Terms and Conditions

The HSBC Visa Infinite is part of the so-called $120K segment, a group of premium credit cards that offer upgraded travel and lifestyle benefits. However, unlike most $120K cards it has yet to switch to metal card stock (though it’s made from 85.5% recycled plastic, for those of you who care about that sort of greenwashing).

If you have the kind of fragile masculinity that can only be placated by the resounding thud of an embossed piece of metal, you might want to consider other alternatives like the Citi Prestige or OCBC VOYAGE Card.

How much must I earn to qualify for a HSBC Visa Infinite?

The HSBC Visa Infinite’s initial S$250,000 income requirement has since been pared down to S$120,000 p.a.

If you don’t meet the income requirement, HSBC does offer a secured version of this card, with a minimum fixed deposit of S$30,000.

How much is the HSBC Visa Infinite’s annual fee? 

	Principal Card	Supp. Card
First Year	S$656.08 (S$492.56 for HSBC Premier)	Free
Subsequent	S$656.08 (S$492.56 for HSBC Premier)	Free

The HSBC Visa Infinite has an annual fee of S$656.08, reduced to S$492.56 for HSBC Premier customers. The annual fee is strictly non-waivable, regardless of how much you spend per year.

Up to five supplementary cards are free for life, which is great because they enjoy perks like unlimited lounge access (see below for more details).

Cardholders receive 35,000 miles for paying the first year’s annual fee, which works out to:

• Regular customer: 1.87 cents per mile
• HSBC Premier customer: 1.41 cents per mile

While this is a decent price (more for HSBC Premier customers than regular ones), it’s only available in the first year.  HSBC does not officially award any miles for paying subsequent years’ annual fees (you can call up to appeal, but nothing is guaranteed).

How many miles do I earn?

🇸🇬 SGD Spend	🌎 FCY Spend	⭐ Bonus Spend
Regular: 1 mpd Step-up: 1.25 mpd	Regular: 2 mpd Step-up: 2.25 mpd	–

SGD/FCY Spend

HSBC Visa Infinite cardholders normally earn:

• 2.5 HSBC Rewards Points per S$1 spent locally (1 mpd)
• 5 HSBC Rewards Points per S$1 spent overseas (2 mpd)

An enhanced step-up rate can be unlocked for the second year if a cardholder charges at least S$50,000 within the previous 12-month membership year:

• 3.125 HSBC Rewards Points per S$1 spent locally (1.25 mpd)
• 5.625 HSBC Rewards Points per S$1 spent overseas (2.25 mpd).

That’s more competitive, but S$50,000 is a very high threshold to meet, and would almost certainly involve diverting spend away from 4-6 mpd opportunities.

Moreover, you’re stuck with the mediocre regular earn rates for the first 12 months at least, which would place the HSBC Visa Infinite near the bottom of the $120K pile.

💳 Earn Rates for General Spending Cards (income req.: S$120K)
Card	Local Spend	FCY Spend
UOB VI Metal Card	1.4 mpd	2.4 mpd
DBS Vantage	1.5 mpd	2.2 mpd
OCBC VOYAGE	1.3 mpd	2.2 mpd
Citi Prestige	1.3 mpd	2 mpd
Maybank Visa Infinite	1.2 mpd	2 mpd
HSBC Visa Infinite	1 mpd | 1.25 mpd^	2 mpd | 2.25 mpd^
SCB Visa Infinite	1 mpd | 1.4 mpd*	1 mpd | 3 mpd*
AMEX Plat. Reserve	0.69 mpd	0.69 mpd
^With min. S$50,000 spend in the previous membership year *With min. S$2,000 spend per statement month

All overseas transactions are subject to an FCY transaction fee of 3.25%, which means that using your card overseas represents buying miles at:

• Regular rate: 1.63 cents/mile
• Step-up rate: 1.44 cents/mile

When are HSBC Points credited?

HSBC Points are credited when your transaction posts, which generally takes 1-3 working days. 

How are HSBC Points calculated?

Here’s how you can work out the HSBC Points earned on your HSBC Visa Infinite.

Regular rate

Local Spend	Multiply spend by 2.5, round to the nearest whole number
FCY Spend	Multiply spend by 2.5, round to the nearest whole number, then multiply by 2

The minimum spend required to earn points is S$0.20 (local & FCY).

Step-up rate

Local Spend	Multiply spend by 2.5, round to the nearest whole number. Multiply spend by 0.625, round to the nearest whole number. Add both figures
FCY Spend	Multiply spend by 2.5, round to the nearest whole number, then multiply by 2. Multiply spend by 0.625, round to the nearest whole number. Add both figures

The minimum spend required to earn points is S$0.20 (local & FCY).

Unlike some cards which award points for every S$5 spent (such as the OCBC VOYAGE and UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card), the HSBC Visa Infinite has much smaller earning blocks, allowing it to outperform ostensibly higher-earning cards for smaller transactions. 

	HSBC Visa Infinite Earn Rate: 1.0 mpd	UOB VI Metal  Earn Rate: 1.4 mpd
S$5	5.2 miles	6 miles
S$9.99	10 miles	6 miles
S$15	15.2 miles	20 miles
S$19.99	20 miles	20 miles
S$25	25.2 miles	34 miles
S$29.99	30 miles	34 miles

If you’re an Excel geek, here’s the formulas you need to calculate points: 

Regular rate

Local Spend	=ROUND((X*2.5),0)
FCY Spend	=ROUND((X*2.5),0)*2
Where X= Amount Spent

Step-up rate

Local Spend	=ROUND((X*2.5),0)+ROUND((X*0.625),0)
FCY Spend	=ROUND((X*2.5),0)*2+ROUND((X*0.625),0)
Where X= Amount Spent

For the full list of formulas that banks use to calculate credit card points, do refer to these articles:

• General Spending Cards
• Specialised Spending Cards

What transactions aren’t eligible for HSBC Points?

A full list of transactions that do not earn HSBC Points can be found at point 4 of the T&Cs.

I’ve highlighted a few noteworthy categories below:

• Charitable Donations
• Education
• Government Services 
• GrabPay top-ups
• Insurance
• Professional services providers (e.g. Google & Facebook Ads, AWS)
• Real Estate Agents & Managers
• Utilities

Do note that HSBC excludes CardUp, ipaymy and RentHero transactions from earning points.

What do I need to know about HSBC Points?

❌ Expiry	↔️ Pooling	💰 Transfer Fee
37 months	No	S$43.20 for 12 months of unlimited conversions
⬆️ Min. Transfer	✈️ No. of Partners	⏱️ Transfer Time
10,000 miles	2	<1 week

Expiry

HSBC Points expire at the end of 37 months following the month they were earned.

For example, any points awarded in August 2022 will expire on 30 September 2025.

Pooling

HSBC Points do not pool across cards. If you have 10,000 HSBC Points on the HSBC Revolution, and 15,000 HSBC Points on the HSBC Visa Infinite, for example, you won’t be able to combine the two when redeeming.

Since points do not pool, you will have to transfer all your HSBC Points before cancelling the HSBC Visa Infinite, or else forfeit them. 

However, HSBC tells me that points pooling is on the roadmap, so hopefully this will no longer be the case in the future.

Transfer Partners & Fees

HSBC’s marketing materials suggest the HSBC Visa Infinite has more than 40 airline partners: 

You’ll get 35,000 air miles redeemable with over 40 airlines

This is decidedly misleading, because HSBC Rewards Points can only be transferred to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. Points transfer at a 5:2 ratio, with a minimum transfer block of 10,000 miles. 

Frequent Flyer Programme	Conversion Ratio (HSBC Points: Partner)
	25,000: 10,000
	25,000: 10,000

Where does the “over 40 airlines” figure come from? Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific are part of Star Alliance and oneworld respectively, and HSBC is counting the total number of airlines in these two alliances, plus Singapore Airlines’ partnerships with Alaska Airlines, Virgin Australia etc.

While it’s technically true you could redeem miles with more than 40 airlines, it’s not the same as having all 40 airlines as transfer partners. Different frequent flyer programmes have different sweet spots; for example, British Airways Executive Club members can redeem Avios for good value short-haul awards. This is not available to someone holding Asia Miles.

You may be aware that the recently-launched HSBC TravelOne Card has access to many more airline and hotel partners, such as British Airways Executive Club, Qantas Frequent Flyer and Marriott Bonvoy. At the moment, these are not yet available to HSBC Visa Infinite Cardholders, but according to HSBC they eventually will be. 

Instead of charging a fee per conversion, HSBC instead charges cardholders an annual S$43.20 Mileage Programme fee, which covers unlimited conversions over a 12-month period. Alternatively, they can pay 9,000 HSBC Points for a programme fee waiver (please don’t- it’s better to pay cash).

Even though HSBC Points do not pool, you will only pay a single Mileage Programme fee regardless of how many HSBC credit cards you have. This covers transfers to both KrisFlyer and Asia Miles.

Other card perks

Entertainer with HSBC

ENTERTAINER with HSBC

All principal HSBC cardholders receive a complimentary copy of The Entertainer, which includes:

• 1-for-1 dine-in offers at more than 150 merchants across Singapore, including Sushi Jiro @ PARKROYAL COLLECTION, Bangkok Jam, Paul Bakery and more
• 1-for-1 takeaway offers at more than 50 merchants including Canadian 2 For 1 Pizza, Andersen’s of Denmark and more
• Up to 50% off leisure, attraction and wellness offers at BOUNCE Singapore, Spa Infinity, Virtual Room and more
• 1-for-1 stays in rooms at over 175 hotels around the world

As a premium HSBC card, Visa Infinite cardholders enjoy access to a wider range of merchants, as well as three offers per merchant (versus 2 for standard cards).

You’ll need an activation key to start using your ENTERTAINER membership. This should have been emailed to you; if not you’ll need to call 1800 4722 669 to get it from customer service

Complimentary airport limo & expedited immigration clearance

HSBC Visa Infinite cardholders receive:

• Regular: Two complimentary airport limo transfers and expedited immigration clearances per calendar year
• HSBC Premier:  Four complimentary airport limo transfers and expedited immigration clearances per calendar year

One additional ride and expedited clearance can be unlocked by spending S$2,000 per calendar month, capped at 24 per calendar year (including the complimentary entitlements).

This is one of the lowest spending requirements on the market, and a genuine competitive advantage for the HSBC Visa Infinite. With the cost of airport limo services rising, one hopes they can continue to maintain the current minimum spends.

💳 Airport Limo Benefits (income req.: S$120K)
Card	Qualifying Spend	Cap
HSBC Visa Infinite	S$2K per month for 1 ride*	24 per year
Maybank Visa Infinite	S$3K per month for 1 ride	8 per year
Citi Prestige	S$12K per quarter for 2 rides	2 per quarter
OCBC VOYAGE	S$12K per quarter for 2 rides	2 per quarter
AMEX Plat. Reserve	N/A	N/A
DBS Vantage	N/A	N/A
SCB Visa Infinite	N/A	N/A
UOB VI Metal Card	N/A	N/A
*First 2 (Regular customer) or 4 (HSBC Premier) per membership year are free

Earned limo rides can be utilised from the start of the following month after which the minimum spend criteria was met, up till the end of the calendar year. This gives them a validity of up to 12 months, though some will be valid for as little as 1 month.

All limo bookings must be made at least 24 hours ahead of the pickup time, and a maximum of three passengers (including the cardholder) can share one vehicle. A full list of FAQs can be found here.

The benefits of expedited immigration clearance may be less apparent in a place like Singapore where everything runs like clockwork, but seasoned travellers will know of airports where it can be the difference between a five minute and multi-hour wait. 

These fast track services are available at more than 30 airports across the Asia Pacific region, including Bali, Colombo, Dubai, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur and Seoul. 

Unlimited complimentary lounge visits

HSBC Visa Infinite cardholders enjoy unlimited airport lounge access to more than 1,100 airport lounges worldwide via LoungeKey. This benefit is available regardless of what airline or cabin you’re flying in, so you can access the lounge even when flying with a low cost carrier. 

No separate Lounge Key card is required; cardholders need only present their HSBC Visa Infinite Credit Card and boarding pass and mention LoungeKey at reception. 

A guest fee of US$32 applies (US$35 from 1 October 2023), but the good news is that up to five supplementary cardholders can enjoy the same benefit, free of charge. Therefore, an entire family could access the lounge for free, assuming the principal cardholder issues supplementary cards to his/her spouse and children. 

As far as cards in the $120K segment go, this is pretty competitive- especially since the LoungeKey network used by HSBC is much wider than the Plaza Premium network used by OCBC.

Card	Lounge Network	Free Visits (Per Year)
		Main	Supp.
HSBC Visa Infinite	LoungeKey	∞	∞
OCBC VOYAGE	Plaza Premium	∞	∞
Citi Prestige	Priority Pass	∞ + 1 guest	N/A
UOB VI Metal Card	Dragon Pass	∞ + 1 guest	N/A
DBS Vantage	Priority Pass	10	N/A
SCB Visa Infinite	Priority Pass	6	N/A
Maybank Visa Infinite	Priority Pass	4	N/A
AMEX Plat. Reserve	N/A	N/A	N/A

Up to 50% off dining

HSBC Visa Infinite Cardholders can save up to 50% off the bill when dining at Goodwood Park Hotel or Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel.

Hotel	Participating Venues
Goodwood Park Hotel	Coffee Lounge Gordon Grill Min Jiang
Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel	Crossroads Buffet Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant
Fairmont Singapore & Swissotel The Stamford	Asian Market Cafe Mikuni Prego The Eight CLOVE Kopi Tiam

The discount scales depending on the number of diners, as shown below. 

Number of Diners	Discount on Food Bill
Card member	25%
Card member + 1 guest	50%
Card member + 2 guests	33%
Card member + 3 guests	25%
Card member + 4 or more guests	20%

What’s particularly noteworthy is that at the discount applies to beverages as well at the Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel. It’s rare to see such an offer extended, and the opportunity to save up to 50% off on alcohol could be very attractive indeed.

HSBC Everyday Global Account

HSBC Everyday Global Account

HSBC Visa Infinite Cardholders can earn an additional 1% cashback on all eligible transactions when they open an HSBC Everyday Global Account (EGA) and meet the qualifying criteria for the Everyday+ Rewards programme.

This involves:

1. Depositing the following fresh funds into an EGA each calendar month:
   1. HSBC Personal Banking: S$2,000
   2. HSBC Premier: S$5,000
2. Performing at least five eligible transactions of any amount each calendar month on their card

Eligible transactions simply refer to anything not on the exclusions list (Point 3 of T&Cs), such as GrabPay top-ups, government transactions, insurance premiums, utilities bills. All other retail spend (e.g. dining, groceries, clothing and apparel) is fair game.

Cardholders who meet the eligibility criteria will earn 1% cashback, capped at S$300 per month for HSBC Personal Banking and S$500 per month for HSBC Premier.

This means your effective return for spending will be:

• Local Spend: 1.2 mpd + 1 % cashback
• Overseas Spend: 2.4 mpd + 1% cashback

All this requires is a one-time setup of the EGA, plus a recurring instruction to transfer the minimum fresh funds every month. 

Complimentary travel insurance

Accidental Death	US$2 million
Medical Expenses	S$100,000
Others	Trip Cancellation: S$10,000 Travel Delays: S$1,000 Rental Car Excess: S$2,000
Policy Wording

HSBC Visa Infinite cardholders (and their immediate family) will enjoy complimentary travel insurance when they charge their airfares to the card. Travel insurance is also activated when a cardholder redeems airline miles, and charges the taxes and fees component to his/her HSBC Visa Infinite card.

The travel insurance policy features coverage of up to:

• US$2 million for accidental death, or total and permanent disablement 
• S$100,000 for overseas medical expenses
• S$10,000 for post medical expenses in Singapore
• S$5,000 for overseas hospitalisation allowance
• S$10,000 for trip cancellation
• S$1,000 for travel delays
• S$2,000 for rental car excess
• S$100,000 for personal liability

In terms of coverage, it’s one of the most comprehensive policies I’ve seen offered by a credit card. Complimentary insurance policies by other cards may not cover travel inconvenience (e.g. flight and luggage delay, luggage damage, missed flight connections), rental car excess, or personal liability, but HSBC’s policy includes all of this and more. 

This policy even covers COVID-19 medical expenses up to the following limits:

• S$100,000 for overseas medical expenses (per family)
• S$5,000 for overseas hospitalisation allowance (per family)
• S$10,000 for trip cancellation (per family; individual cap is S$2,000)
• S$5,000 for trip curtailment or rearrangement (per family)

Other Visa Infinite benefits

HSBC Visa Infinite Cardholders will enjoy the following benefits provided by Visa Infinite:

• Avis President’s Club status
• 50% off weekday golf at 50 participating golf clubs across Southeast Asia
• 50% off weekday golf at Sentosa Golf Club
• Visa Luxury Hotel Collection

Summary Review: HSBC Visa Infinite

Apply

🦁 MileLion Verdict

☐ Take It ☑ Take It Or Leave It ☐ Leave It

The HSBC Visa Infinite is something of a mixed bag. 

On the one hand, it struggles with fundamentally unattractive earn rates, which you’re stuck with for at least the first year. Spending S$50,000 in local currency to attain the step-up tier in the second year would entail an opportunity cost ranging from 25,000 miles (assuming your alternative was the 1.5 mpd DBS Vantage) to 150,000 miles (assuming you could have put that spend on various 4 mpd earning cards). Moreover, you don’t get any miles for paying the annual fee in the second year, which seems stingy compared to what other $120K cards are offering.

On the other hand, the HSBC Visa Infinite has some serious travel credentials, with unlimited lounge access for the main cardholder and up to five supplementary cardholders, a relatively low limo spending requirement (+ 2-4 free rides each year), and complimentary travel insurance that’s comprehensive enough to be your main source of coverage. There’s also a free copy of The Entertainer, and you can offset the mediocre earn rate somewhat if you’re willing to jump through hoops with the HSBC EGA. And, if you believe what HSBC says, things will get even better in the future when points pooling is added and the TravelOne’s transfer partners are made available to all HSBC cards. 

The question then is whether this is substantially better than what other $120K cards can offer, and for that you should read the annual $120K card showdown article. I’d personally be more inclined to get this card if I were a HSBC Premier customer (to enjoy lower annual fees and four free limo rides), though I’d have to think long and hard about ditching it in the second year when there’s no renewal miles. 

So that’s my review of the HSBC Visa Infinite. What do you think?