HSBC TravelOne Card launches up to 33,600 miles welcome bonus

The HSBC TravelOne Card has launched a new welcome offer worth up to 33,600 miles, valid for applications submitted by 30 June 2025. This represents a 40% increase from the previous 24,000 miles welcome offer which lapsed at the end of March. 

The minimum spend has also risen from S$800 to S$1,000, but this is proportionately less than the increase in the welcome bonus, so each dollar of spend now earns a greater return. 

The HSBC TravelOne Card offers solid value for its first year, with perks like 8x airport lounge visits, instant points conversions with no admin fees, and the widest range of transfer partners in Singapore (though it’s not a great card if you insist on using KrisFlyer exclusively).

HSBC TravelOne Card offering up to 33,600 miles welcome bonus

Apply

From 1 April to 30 June 2025, customers who apply for a HSBC TravelOne Card will receive a welcome bonus of up to 33,600 miles, as summarised in the table below.

Cardholders must meet a minimum spend of S$500 or S$1,000 to receive the bonus miles. For the avoidance of doubt, they can choose to spend just S$500 to receive 25,000 miles (new) or 13,000 miles (existing), or S$1,000 to receive 33,600 miles (new) or 21,600 miles (existing).

In addition to meeting the minimum spend all applicants must also:

• Pay the first year’s S$196.20 annual fee
• Provide consent to receiving marketing and promotional materials during application (an important step that people often forget!)

The welcome bonus is in addition to the base miles that HSBC TravelOne Cardholders usually earn, namely 1.2 mpd for local currency spend, and 2.4 mpd for foreign currency spend.

For example, a new-to-HSBC cardholder who spends the full S$1,000 in foreign currency will receive a total of 36,000 miles (33,600 bonus, 2,400 base). This is the assumption that HSBC makes in its marketing materials, hence the advertised 36,000 miles figure.

Who is eligible?

HSBC defines new and existing cardholders as follows:

• New cardholders: Customers who do not hold any existing principal HSBC credit card, and have not cancelled a principal HSBC credit card in the past 12 months
• Existing cardholders: Customers whose most recent principal HSBC credit card was issued more than 12 months ago, and have not cancelled a principal HSBC credit card within the past 12 months

While other banks define an existing cardholder as anyone who doesn’t meet the new cardholder definition, HSBC does things a little differently.

To meet the “existing cardholder” definition, at least 12 months must have passed since your last principal HSBC credit card was approved, and you must not have cancelled any principal HSBC credit card in the past 12 months.

For example:

• John has a HSBC Revolution Card approved <6 months ago. He will not be eligible for the HSBC TravelOne Card’s existing cardholder welcome bonus
• Jack has a HSBC Revolution Card approved >12 months ago, and a HSBC Live+ Card approved >12 months ago. Last month, he cancelled his HSBC Live+ Card. He will not be eligible for the HSBC TravelOne Card’s existing cardholder welcome bonus either

Therefore, when it comes to HSBC, it’s possible that you’re neither new nor existing!

Is it worth it?

Given the S$196.20 annual fee, here’s the cost per mile for new and existing cardholders, depending on the minimum spend met.

If you’re a new cardholder who meets the S$1,000 minimum spend, your miles have a cost of just 0.58 cents each— a price I find highly attractive. 

Keep in mind that the annual fee doesn’t just get you the miles; it also gets you up to eight airport lounge visits in your first membership year, so you should assign some value to that as well.

What counts as qualifying spend?

Cardholders must make a minimum qualifying spend of S$500 or S$1,000 by the end of the month following card approval.

This means that you have anywhere between 1-2 months to meet the minimum spend, depending on when your card is approved. If you have concerns about meeting the minimum spend, try to get approved early in the month so you have more time. 

Qualifying spend includes all online and offline retail transactions, excluding those found at 3.5.1 of the T&Cs.

The key exclusions to note here are insurance, utilities, education, government transactions as well as CardUp/ipaymy payments.

When will bonus miles be credited?

The welcome bonus will be credited in the form of HSBC rewards points within 120 days from the card account opening date.

Terms & Conditions

The terms & conditions of this welcome offer can be found here.

What can you do with HSBC points?

HSBC points earned on the TravelOne Card can be transferred to 20 airline and hotel partners. The conversion ratios are provided in the table below.

✈️ HSBC TravelOne Airline Partners
Frequent Flyer Programme	Conversion Ratio (HSBC Points : Partner)
	50,000 : 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
	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

🏨 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

The crucial thing to know here is that not all partners share the same transfer ratio. Therefore, the effective earn rate and size of the welcome offer depends on the partner you choose.

For example, the HSBC TravelOne Card’s welcome offer for new cardholders is 84,000 HSBC points. That is equivalent to 33,600 miles only if you choose a partner with a 25,000 points = 10,000 miles transfer ratio, like British Airways Executive Club or EVA Air Infinity MileageLands. If you choose KrisFlyer, where the ratio is 30,000 points = 10,000 miles, then the new cardholder welcome bonus is equivalent to 28,000 miles instead.

Likewise, the HSBC TravelOne Card’s advertised earn rates of 1.2/2.4 mpd also assume a transfer partner with a 25,000 points = 10,000 miles transfer ratio. Otherwise, it can go as low as 0.6/1.2 mpd on the other end of the spectrum, if you pick a partner with a 50,000 points = 10,000 miles transfer ratio.

All conversions must be done via the HSBC Singapore app (Android | iOS) and are processed instantly, with the exception of the following:

• Hainan Fortune Wings Club: Within 5 business days
• Japan Airlines Mileage Bank: Within 10 business days

Transfers are free of charge until further notice, and HSBC points are pooled across cards. 

While the minimum transfer block is 10,000 miles/points (Accor: 5,000 points), the subsequent block is just 2 miles (Accor: 1 point). In other words, you could choose to transfer 10,002 miles or 20,958 miles, which helps you avoid orphan points. 

Other card benefits

Four complimentary airport lounge visits

Lounge Benefit T&Cs

Principal HSBC TravelOne Cardholders enjoy four complimentary airport lounge visits per year, provided via DragonPass. These visits can be shared with a guest, so if you visit with one guest you’ll have two visits deducted from your balance.

Allowances are awarded by calendar year, which allows you to use eight visits in your first membership year. For example, if your card is approved in April 2025, you will be awarded:

• On date of approval: 4x visits (expires 31 December 2025)
• On 1 January 2026: 4x visits (expires 31 December 2026)

Allowances cannot be rolled over to the following year, so be sure to fully utilise your visits by the end of the calendar year. For the avoidance of doubt, using the second calendar year’s allotment does not preclude you from cancelling the card at the end of the first membership year, if that’s what you wish to do.

Here’s how to start enjoying the benefit:

Entertainer with HSBC

ENTERTAINER with HSBC

Principal HSBC TravelOne Cardholders receive a complimentary ENTERTAINER with HSBC app membership, 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

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 travel insurance

HSBC TravelOne Cardholders receive complimentary travel insurance when they:

• Use their TravelOne Card to purchase air tickets, or
• Use their TravelOne Card to pay for the taxes and surcharges on a ticket redeemed with airline miles

This provides coverage of S$75,000 for accidental death, S$150,000 for overseas medical expenses, S$1 million for emergency medical evacuation, as well as coverage for travel inconveniences like flight delays and lost luggage.

Do note that there is no coverage for personal liability or rental vehicle excess, so you may need to purchase supplementary coverage if this is important to you.

Conclusion

Apply

The HSBC TravelOne Card has launched a new welcome bonus of up to 33,600 miles, though the actual number of miles depends on:

1. Whether you’re a new or existing cardholder
2. What frequent flyer programme you choose

With regards to (1), it’s important to remember that HSBC applies a stricter definition of existing cardholders, and any approval or cancellation of another principal HSBC credit card in the past 12 months will disqualify you.

With regards to (2), HSBC raised the cost of KrisFlyer miles conversions in January 2025. Other banks in Singapore offer more favourable earn rates for KrisFlyer, so stick to them if that’s your goal. 

All that said, the HSBC TravelOne Card still offers a generous eight lounge visits to cardmembers in their first membership year, as well as a wide variety of transfer partners with instant, fee-free conversions. If you want to explore the sweet spots of EVA Air Infinity MileageLands or Flying Blue, for example, then this card would open some doors.