HSBC India launches HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points – its accelerated rewards portal in partnership with
Hopper. Through this portal, you can book flights, hotels, and car rentals while earning accelerated reward points on your HSBC credit card. You can also redeem your reward points also.
Eligible Credit Cards
- HSBC Privé
- HSBC Premier
- HSBC TravelOne
- HSBC Visa Platinum
- HSBC RuPay Platinum
How to Access the Portal?
- Log in to the HSBC India app and select your credit card.
- Tap on “View More” → “Redeem Points”.
- Select “Redeem Points Now” to enter the Rewards Marketplace.
- Go to the Travel with Points tab.
- Search and book flights, hotels, or car rentals using your available Reward Points, or pay with your HSBC credit/debit card.
Accelerated Reward Points Earning Rate:
| Card Name | Flight | Hotel | Car Rentals |
|---|
| HSBC Privé Credit Card | 6X (30 points per ₹150) | 12X (60 points per ₹150) | 2X (10 points per ₹150) |
| HSBC Premier Credit Card | 6X (18 points per ₹100) | 12X (36 points per ₹100) | 2X (6 points per ₹100) |
| HSBC TravelOne Credit Card | 4X (16 points per ₹100) | 6X (24 points per ₹100) | 2X (8 points per ₹100) |
| HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card | 4X (8 points per ₹150) | 6X (12 points per ₹150) | 2X (4 points per ₹150) |
| HSBC RuPay Platinum Credit Card | 4X (8 points per ₹150) | 6X (12 points per ₹150) | 2X (4 points per ₹150) |
Effective Reward Rate:
Here’s where things get really interesting — depending on which HSBC card you hold, the “Travel with Points” portal gives you different effective reward rates across flights, hotels, and car rentals.
| Card Type | Base Reward Rate | Flights (Effective) | Hotels (Effective) | Car Rentals (Effective) |
|---|
| HSBC Privé Credit Card | 1 RP per ₹30 (3.33%) | 6X → 20% | 12X → 40% | 2X → 6.67% |
| HSBC Premier Credit Card | 3 RP per ₹100 (3%) | 6X → 18% | 12X → 36% | 2X → 6% |
| HSBC TravelOne Credit Card | 2 RP per ₹50 on travel (4%) | 4X → 16% | 6X → 24% | 2X → 8% |
| HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card | 1 RP per ₹75 (0.67%)* | 4X → 2.67% | 6X → 4% | 2X → 1.33% |
| HSBC RuPay Platinum Credit Card | 1 RP per ₹75 (0.67%)* | 4X → 2.67% | 6X → 4% | 2X → 1.33% |
Notes & Valuations
- Assumed 1 Reward Point = ₹1 for TravelOne, Premier, and Privé Cards.
- Assumed 1 Reward Point = ₹0.50 for Platinum & RuPay Platinum Cards.
- TravelOne, Premier & Privé → 1 RP = 1 Airmile (generally) OR 1 RP = 1 Accor Point.
- Platinum & RuPay Platinum → 2 RP = 1 Airmile OR 1 Accor Point (much weaker conversion).
- Accor Points = the hidden gem → ~1 Accor Point ≈ ₹2.02 (since 2000 Accor = €40).
- Meaning, transferring rewards to Accor can literally double your effective reward rate.
This means if you’re smart about redemptions, HSBC Privé and Premier become beasts for hotel bookings (up to 80% effective return 😳), while TravelOne shines on balanced travel spends.
Interesting & Useful Features of the Portal
- Best Price Guarantee – If you find a lower rate within 24 hours of your booking, the difference will be refunded as travel credit in your Travel with Points wallet, usable for future bookings.
- No Foreign Exchange Fees – All bookings are priced in INR, ensuring zero forex charges.
- Cancel for Any Reason – Flexibility to cancel flights or hotels up to 3 hours before departure/check-in and get up to 100% refund.
- Price Drop Protection – Flight prices are monitored for 10 days after booking. If fares drop, you’ll be refunded the difference (up to ₹1,500) as travel credit.
- Premium Disruption Assistance – Get re-booked quickly on any airline at minimal fees in case of flight delays or cancellations.
Key Terms
- Accelerated Reward Points are capped at 18,000 points per cardholder per calendar month (For all eligible cards).
- Base reward points remain uncapped.
- Accelerated Reward Points will be credited within 10 days of transaction settlement.
Convenience Fees on Flight Bookings
- ₹300 per customer per leg (one-way) on domestic flights.
- ₹700 per customer per leg (one-way) on international flights.
Payment Options
- Bookings can be paid using HSBC Reward Points and/or eligible HSBC credit cards to earn accelerated reward points.
- Payments can also be made entirely using HSBC Reward Points or HSBC Debit/Credit Cards.
- There are no restrictions on the percentage split between Reward Points and card payments.
- Reward Points Value: 1 Reward Point = Rs. 1 (For TravelOne, Premier, and Privé Cards) & 1 Reward Point = Rs. 31 (For Platinum Cards)
Customer Support (Hopper)
- Toll-free (India): +91 80008 20206
- Overseas: +44 20 4623 5225
This is honestly a solid platform launched by HSBC India for its cardholders. It’s not just about booking flights, hotels, or car rentals and earning accelerated reward points – here you can also redeem your reward points directly while booking flight or hotel.
On top of that, the portal comes packed with some really useful travel-friendly features like price-drop protection, best price guarantee, free cancellations, and even premium disruption assistance. These are benefits you rarely see bundled together in a card rewards portal.
If you’re holding an HSBC TravelOne, Premier, or Privé Credit Card, this is no doubt one of the best platforms out there for booking revenue flights or hotels – both from a rewards-earning and convenience perspective.
The only thing missing right now is an accelerated rewards option for gift card purchases. If HSBC adds that, it will directly take on HDFC SmartBuy and possibly beat it at its own game.
