HSBC TravelOne Card extends free conversions till 31 January 2025

In November 2023, the HSBC TravelOne Card made good on its promise to offer at least 20 airline and hotel partners by the end of the year, but also took the opportunity to announce a 10,000 points conversion fee, which was meant to kick in from 25 January 2024. 

Needless to say, this wasn’t received well. It’s an absurdly expensive fee, working out to approximately S$60, or ~2.5X the price of the market at large. The uproar forced HSBC to back down on its plans, delaying the implementation till 31 May 2024. 

And now, there’s another stay of execution, because fee-free conversions will remain until 31 January 2025 at least.

HSBC extends free conversions till 31 January 2025

HSBC TravelOne Cardholders were originally looking at a 10,000 points conversion fee from 1 June 2024 onwards, which HBSC says is derived from the rate used for Pay with Points (4,000 points = S$10, hence a S$25 fee cost 10,000 points).

While I don’t doubt the math, I do doubt the value. No one in the right mind should choose Pay with Points, and if it’s all the same to HSBC, I’d rather pay the S$25!

In any case, HSBC has now kicked the can down the road even further. Per an update on its website:

The waiver on redemption fee for redeeming air miles and hotel points has been extended to 31 January 2025

This means that cardholders can continue to enjoy fee-free transfers throughout 2024 to 21 different airline and hotel partners, the widest range of any bank in Singapore.

✈️ HSBC TravelOne Airline Partners
Frequent Flyer Programme	Conversion Ratio (HSBC Points : Partner)
	50,000 : 10,000
	40,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	35,000 : 10,000
	30,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000

🏨 HSBC TravelOne Hotel Partners
Hotel Programme	Conversion Ratio (HSBC Points : Partner)
	30,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 5,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000

This includes some unique partners such as Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, Club Vistara, Air Canada Aeroplan, Hainan Fortune Wings Club, Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles and Wyndham Rewards, which are not available through any other bank in Singapore. 

HSBC TravelOne Card welcome offer minimum spend now just S$500

Last month, the HSBC TravelOne Card cut the minimum spend for its 20,000 miles welcome offer from S$1,000 to S$500, with all other criteria remaining the same. 

HSBC TravelOne Card cuts minimum spend for 20,000 miles welcome offer to S$500

HSBC’s crediting timeline for the welcome gift is 90 days, so with the extension of fee-free conversions, the latest your approval can come while avoiding the fee would be 2 November 2024.

Applying after this date leaves you open to the possibility of a 20% haircut on your welcome bonus, as that 10,000 points fee takes a huge bite out of the 50,000 bonus points. Unless, of course, HSBC delays the fee again.

You should also know that applying for a HSBC TravelOne Card does not disqualify you from counting as new-to-bank when applying for cards like the HSBC Revolution or HSBC Visa Platinum, since HSBC adopts a rather unusual (but beneficial for customers) definition of new and existing cardholders. 

Conclusion

The HSBC TravelOne Card has extended its fee-free transfer period till 31 January 2025, which means cardholders will enjoy free conversions to 21 airline and hotel programmes for the rest of 2024.

It’s certainly good news, but the bigger question is why HSBC doesn’t just commit to keeping the TravelOne Card fee-free indefinitely. In a way, they’ve kind of shot themselves in the foot with this whole 10,000 points conversion thing, because they could have just stayed mum and played the hero every time the fee-free conversions got extended.

As it is, everyone’s just waiting for the other shoe to drop.