HSBC Revamps Premier World Mastercard and Premier Travel Mastercard

HSBC Bank Malaysia has unveiled updated benefits for the HSBC Premier World Mastercard and HSBC Premier Travel Mastercard. Alongside refreshed card designs, both now feature access to over 17 airline redemption partners—signalling HSBC’s intention to play a more serious role in Malaysia’s airline miles space.

For clarity, the HSBC Premier World Mastercard is available to HSBC Premier customers with RM300,000 in assets under management (AUM).

The HSBC Premier Travel Mastercard, on the other hand, now sits firmly in the ultra-affluent tier, requiring RM3 million AUM and granting HSBC Premier Elite status.

Let’s explore what’s changed.

HSBC Premier World Mastercard

In terms of airline miles accrual, the HSBC Premier World Mastercard offers 0.53 Miles Per Ringgit (MPR) on contactless payments, 0.3 MPR on groceries and online shopping, and 1 MPR on overseas in-person transactions. On paper, these are competitive numbers.

However, the appeal fades once you factor in HSBC’s monthly points caps. This includes a particularly unusual decision to cap overseas spend points—something rare in Malaysia’s current market, where most banks are pushing cross-border usage to boost interchange revenue.

For high-spend customers, these caps mean you’ll inevitably earn fewer miles than with rival cards in the same AUM tier. This is especially evident when compared against options like the CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite and UOB Privilege Banking Visa Infinite, both of which reward higher overall spend without such restrictive limits.

Lounge access also lags behind competitors. The HSBC Premier World Mastercard grants just 6 complimentary Plaza Premium Lounge visits annually, and only at KLIA Terminal 1, Singapore, and Hong Kong—placing it firmly at the bottom for lounge benefits among AUM-focused credit cards.

HSBC Premier Travel Mastercard

Changes to the HSBC Premier Travel Mastercard are equally muted. The card retains some of the weakest MPR rates in the industry, particularly for KrisFlyer and Asia Miles, which are even outperformed by several mass-market credit cards.

In fact, we're simply reusing an old illustration, just to highlight that there are effectively zero changes.

The main update lies in lounge access. As previously reported, the HSBC Premier Travel Mastercard now comes with DragonPass privileges—12 complimentary visits annually to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide.

While this sounds impressive, context matters. Comparable cards like the Standard Chartered Priority Banking Visa Infinite (Priority Private tier) and the UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card also leverage the LoungeKey and DragonPass networks respectively but offer far more compelling propositions.

A notable drawback is the lack of supplementary and guest access—unusual and disappointing for a RM3 million AUM credit card. It's a rather embarrassing "upgrade" of sorts if you ask me.

Beyond this, the rest of the benefits fail to stand out. Perks such as a “complimentary one-night hotel stay” are simply standard Mastercard World/World Elite benefits that many other Malaysian banks also provide.

Expanded Redemptions to 17 Global Airlines and 4 Hotel Chains

HSBC Malaysia is highlighting expanded airline redemption options for both cards, now covering 17 global airlines and 4 hotel chains. Unfortunately, the excitement fades when you dig into the details.

While the move means the HSBC TravelOne Mastercard is no longer the sole HSBC Malaysia product with a broad airline partner list, the poor redemption rates remain unchanged. These rates mirror the TravelOne’s already uncompetitive conversions, which I’ve previously described as borderline gimmicky.

Put side-by-side with CIMB’s redemption rates, HSBC’s offering becomes even less attractive.

Final Thoughts

HSBC’s latest refresh feels more aesthetic than substantive. While the expanded airline partner list may look good in marketing materials, restrictive earn caps, poor MPR rates, and lacklustre lounge benefits keep both the Premier World and Premier Travel Mastercards from being truly competitive in the premium miles space.

In fact, these changes indirectly make the Standard Chartered Priority Banking Visa Infinite more appealing for affluent clients who value a global bank proposition with better lounge flexibility.

Likewise, for those seeking redemption options beyond Enrich, KrisFlyer, and Asia Miles, the CIMB Travel World Elite and the CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite now looks even sweeter—offering wider partner coverage without the punitive caps or weak earn structures seen here.

HSBC’s move may be enough to refresh interest among loyal Premier customers, but for seasoned airline miles collectors, the market still offers far stronger alternatives.