LOL | HSBC Malaysia Raises the Annual Income Requirement of ALL Credit Cards!

Dear oh dear, this might just be the most bizarre piece of credit card news you’ll hear all week.

Following The Milelion’s recent scoop on HSBC Singapore raising the annual income requirement for its credit cards, I thought—surely HSBC Malaysia wouldn’t follow suit. I mean, come on, there’s no way… right?

Wrong. With zero fanfare, no flashy emails, and not even a courtesy notice on its website, HSBC Malaysia has decided to quietly raise the annual income requirement of every single one of its credit cards (yes, even the Amanah lineup) to RM102,000. Let that sink in.

No notices on raised annual income requirement as of 26/9 5pm (MY time)

Snippets from HSBC Malaysia's Official Product Pages

You’ll now need to be earning six figures a year just for the privilege of getting RM15 cashback on groceries with the HSBC Amanah MPower Visa Platinum. Bravo, HSBC. Truly groundbreaking stuff.

Now, let’s not forget that a few months ago, Standard Chartered Malaysia already tried this stunt, hiking all its credit card income requirements to RM96,000. That was already laughable enough, given that none of their cards (save for the SC Journey) even come close to justifying that threshold. Spoiler alert: HSBC’s lineup doesn’t exactly fare much better.

As per The Milelion, HSBC Singapore has a handful of cards that actually make sense with higher income requirements, and they even tiered the requirements between “banked” and “unbanked” customers. In Malaysia though? It feels more like HSBC took a dart, threw it at the wall, and landed on RM102,000.

The Malaysian Context

I’ve covered HSBC Malaysia’s credit card ecosystem extensively—from their so-called “airline miles” strategy to the half-hearted revamps of the HSBC Premier World and Travel World Mastercards. And if there’s one conclusion I keep coming back to, it’s this: HSBC Malaysia’s cards simply aren’t competitive enough to justify higher barriers to entry.

My Previous Articles:

• Are HSBC Credit Cards Still Relevant for Airline Miles in Malaysia?

• HSBC Revamps Premier World Mastercard and Premier Travel Mastercard

Let’s break down some of the “stars” of their portfolio:

• HSBC TravelOne Mastercard

  • Launched with much fanfare, this card has some of the worst MPR (Miles Per Ringgit) rates in the entire industry. The only reason it’s still somewhat relevant is the supplementary lounge access—but even then, you can do far better elsewhere.

  
  

• HSBC Visa Signature

  • With laughably low caps on overseas spend, this card makes you wonder if HSBC thinks Malaysians only travel once every leap year.

  • Spend RM20,000 on your holiday abroad and watch as the bank rewards you with… roughly RM2,000 worth of points. Talk about daylight robbery.

  
  

• HSBC Premier World & Travel World

  • On paper, these revamped cards look better. More transfer partners, higher FX MPR rates, and bigger caps.

  • The catch? You’ll need RM300,000 and RM3 million in AUM to even qualify.

  • For context, UOB gives you the same 12X DragonPass access for RM500K AUM on its Privilege Banking Visa Infinite—plus a guest benefit thrown in. Meanwhile, HSBC wants RM3 million for a card that doesn’t even get you Plaza Premium First access.

Final Thoughts

It’s no secret that HSBC Malaysia has the numbers. In terms of sheer cardholders, they’re likely one of the heavyweights in the market—and that’s hardly surprising. Their marketing is consistently top notch, with flashy product launches, influencer collabs, and high-profile campaigns that ensure everyone knows the name “HSBC.”

Add to that the fact that Malaysians tend to associate HSBC with a higher brand image—polished, international, premium—and it’s easy to see why many willingly sign up.

The problem? Most don’t realize they’re getting shockingly poor value out of the rewards. It’s the credit card equivalent of buying a luxury handbag, only to find out it’s made of cardboard.

By raising the annual income requirement to RM102,000 across the board, HSBC is banking (pun intended) on its brand image to carry them through. But when you peel back the shiny marketing, what you’re left with are credit cards that simply don’t stack up to the competition.

So yes, the brand might scream “premium,” but the benefits whisper “meh.” And for those of us who actually run the numbers, this move feels less like an upgrade and more like a joke at our expense.