HSBC points are arguably the most valuable rewards currency in Singapore, with 20 airline and hotel partners, conversion blocks as little as two miles, instant conversions, and no conversion fees.
There’s just one big problem: they’re not easy to earn.
Therefore, outside of welcome bonuses, you’ll usually be earning miles the slow way through general spending cards. But there’s actually an additional way to accelerate your earning: HSBC’s Travel with Points portal.
Despite what the name suggests, you don’t have to spend points here (nor should you, with the poor rate on offer). Instead, you can earn up to 7.5 mpd on airline, hotel and car bookings in selected countries.
HSBC cardholders can earn up to 7.5 mpd when they book flights, hotel stays and car rental bookings through the Travel with Points portal.
This is provided the flight, hotel stay or car rental is in one of the so-called “Premier Destinations”, as defined in the table below.
While the booking must be paid for during the promotion period, the actual travel date can be after. For example, on 15 October 2025 I could book a hotel in London for 3 April 2026, and still earn the bonus.
The table below shows the earn rate by card and booking type. As you might expect, the reward for hotels is more generous than flights or car rentals, given the higher commissions payable.
The T&Cs are silent as to whether this bonus is offered on top of the usual credit card rewards, though there’s a data point in The MileLion Community that no base points were awarded, so take note of that.
Travel with Points can only be accessed through your mobile phone, via the steps below.
Points from this promotion will be credited within 30 days after the transaction is posted.
Travel with Points offers HSBC cardholders the option of offsetting the cost of their booking with HSBC points.
The regular rate is 400 points = S$1, but from now till 31 December 2025, the rate has been upsized to 250 points = S$1.
Please don’t do this. Even with the promotional rate, the value on offer is a measly 1 cent per mile, which is a very poor return on your HSBC points.
With portals that offer bonus miles, the risk is always that you end up overpaying, and effectively “buy miles” based on the additional spread.
Therefore, you should make a point of comparing the prices offered through Travel with Points with the official website or other OTAs. In my experience, you’ll usually find that the mark-ups on flights will be modest or non-existent, whereas hotel mark-ups can be considerable.
Now, Travel with Points supposedly has a best price guarantee, which says that if you find a lower rate within 24 hours of booking, you’ll get the difference refunded in travel credits that can be used towards your next booking. In my experience, however, best price guarantees tend to be denied for the most inane of reasons, so I wouldn’t put too much weight on this.
HSBC Points can be transferred to 20 airline and hotel partners at the ratios shown in the table below.
The crucial thing to understand is that not all partners share the same transfer ratio. Therefore, the effective earn rate depends on the partner you choose.
All conversions must be done via the HSBC Singapore app (Android | iOS) and are processed instantly, with the exception of the following:
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.
HSBC’s Travel with Points portal offers a way for cardholders to accumulate bonus HSBC points on airline, hotel and car rental bookings, provided they’re travelling to a participating destination.
With earn rates of up to 7.5 mpd, this can be potentially lucrative. However, you should make a point of comparing prices with other OTAs or the official website, to make sure you’re not overpaying for the privilege.
In your opinion, is it still worth doing it via Travel with points by paying 10% more to get more miles or is it better off to buy at Expedia in the above example.
Watch out: If a person already has an HSBC card (e.g. HSBC Revolution) and apply for another HSBC card, HSBC will split his credit limit into two sub-limits, one for each card. This limits his flexibility in spending and earning points/miles on desired merchants of each card.
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