HSBC launches travel rewards: Transfer points to 15 airlines, 5 hotels

HSBC India's new travel rewards programme lets cardholders transfer points to 20 airline and hotel partners at 1:1 ratio. It is available from April 1, 2025, via the HSBC India Mobile App.

HSBC India has rolled out a new travel rewards programme, enabling credit cardholders to transfer their reward points to 20 international airline and hotel loyalty schemes. This benefit is now available across three of the bank’s credit card products — HSBC Privé, HSBC Premier, and HSBC TravelOne.

 

According to the official terms and conditions, cardholders can now convert their accumulated reward points into air miles or hotel loyalty points. Most airline partners, including Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, British Airways Executive Club, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, and Air India’s Flying Returns, offer a 1:1 transfer ratio. This means one HSBC reward point is equal to one air mile with the partner airline. In some cases, the ratio differs, for example, AirAsia points transfer at a 1:3 ratio, while Turkish Airlines and United Airlines convert at 2:1.

 

 

Effective from April 1, 2025, the programme includes 15 airline partners such as Emirates, Etihad, Qantas, Japan Airlines, and Vietnam Airlines, as well as 5 hotel loyalty programmes like Marriott Bonvoy, IHG One Rewards, Accor Live Limitless, Shangri-La Circle, and Wyndham Rewards. Transfers to hotel partners are also mostly at a 1:1 ratio, except Shangri-La, which requires 5 HSBC points for 1 hotel point.

 

According to HSBC, Premier Credit Card and TravelOne Credit Card transfer partners and the transfer ratio are listed below. 

 

Airline	Programme name	Transfer ratio
Air India	Air India Maharaja Club	1:1
Air Asia	Airasia Rewards	1:3
Air France – KLM	Flying Blue	1:1
British Airways	The British Airways Club	1:1
Etihad Airways	Etihad Guest	1:1
EVA Air	Infinity Mileage Lands	1:1
Hainan Airlines	Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club	2:1
Japan Airlines	JAL Mileage Bank	1:1
Singapore Airlines	Singapore Airlines Krisflyer	1:1
Qantas Airways	Qantas Frequent Flyer	1:1
Qatar Airways	Qatar Airways Privilege Club	1:1
Thai Airways	Royal Orchid Plus	1:1
Turkish Airlines	Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles	2:1
United Airlines	United MileagePlus	2:1
Vietnam Airlines	Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles	1:1

   

Hotel group	Programme name	Transfer ratio
Accor	Accor Live Limitless (ALL)	1:1
IHG Hotels & Resorts	IHG One Rewards	1:1
Marriott International	Marriott Bonvoy	1:1
Shangri-La	Shangri-La Circle	5:1
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts	Wyndham Rewards	1:1

 

Each HSBC credit card under this programme has its own reward earning rate. For example, the HSBC Privé Card gives 1 point for every ₹30 spent, while the HSBC Premier Card gives 3 points for every ₹100 spent on eligible categories. The HSBC TravelOne Card earns 1 point for every ₹50 spent, with double points available on travel-related categories like airlines, foreign currency transactions, and travel aggregators. These bonus points are subject to a monthly cap.

 

There are also clear exclusions. HSBC does not award reward points for spending in specific categories such as fuel, jewellery, utility bills, education payments, government services, and cash advances. The full list of excluded Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) has been published by the bank.

How to transfer reward points?

 

According to the notice on HSBC website, from April 1, 2025, cardholders can redeem reward points exclusively through the HSBC India Mobile Banking App.

 

To transfer points to an airline or hotel loyalty programme, cardholders must first register with the respective programme. At the time of redemption, they will need to provide their membership number and other required details.