HSBC Premier Credit Card
Earn up to 330,000 welcome Points — worth up to 2,350
at HSBC UAE's secure site
You'll need an HSBC Premier account to apply See rates & fees.
Rewards rate
This is the rare UAE premium card that charges nothing, ever — no annual fee, free supplementary cards, and a welcome offer worth up to 2,350. The real price is upstream: you need an HSBC Premier relationship to hold it, and the lounge benefit quietly deactivates unless you keep making small foreign-currency transactions every quarter.
Earning and redeeming HSBC Points
Earning is as simple as it gets: 1 Point per 1 on every card spend, at home or abroad, with no published category exclusions or caps. Points land in the HSBC Rewards programme — the bank's replacement for Air Miles (old HSBC-earned Air Miles converted 1:1) — and the earning cycle runs on calendar months.
You view and redeem Points in the HSBC UAE app: book flights and hotels, shop on Amazon, take vouchers, or exchange into other loyalty programmes. The honest gap: HSBC doesn't publish per-point redemption values or a transfer-partner list yet, so the bank's own welcome-offer maths (330,000 Points ≈ 2,350, roughly 0.7 fils per Point) is the best public yardstick of value.
Rates and fees
- Annual fee
- 0 — no annual fee; supplementary cards free.
- Interest rate (APR)
- 44.28% fixed APR on purchases and cash withdrawals (~3.69%/month). Up to 56 days interest-free when you pay in full. Overdue accounts pay up to +0.5%/month more until regular.
- Foreign currency fee
- 2.1% (incl. VAT) on non- transactions, plus a possible card-scheme fee of up to 1.21%. International transactions billed in still pay 1.05%.
- Cash advance
- 3.15% of the amount, minimum 105 (incl. VAT). Exchange-house and quasi-cash purchases are treated as cash advances.
- Late payment fee
- 241.50 (incl. VAT) per instance.
- Over limit fee
- 288.75 (incl. VAT) per billing period while over limit.
- Minimum payment
- Broadly 5% of each balance category (or 100 if lower), plus instalments, interest and fees.
- Eligibility
- HSBC Premier account required; age 21–70; UAE resident. Premier = 40,000 monthly salary transfer, 500,000 in balances, or an 3M+ home loan.
VAT-inclusive figures from HSBC's Key Facts Statement (effective 1 Jul 2026) and Schedule of Services and Tariffs (effective 1 Aug 2026). Monthly rate shown is the published 44.28% APR divided by 12.
Card benefits
8 lounge visits a year
1,200+ lounges worldwide via the Mastercard Travel Pass app; guests USD 32. Keep it active with a USD 1+ cross-border transaction every 3 months — otherwise you're down to 1 visit a year.
Mastercard travel insurance
Travel medical and inconvenience cover (lost bags, delays, emergency evacuation) when you buy return tickets on the card. Generates Schengen-visa confirmation letters online.
BOGO cinema tickets
Free ticket with every ticket monthly plus up to 25% off cinema food and drink — if you've spent 6,000 on the card in the booking month.
Zomato Gold + Talabat
Up to 50% off dining at 4,000+ UAE restaurants with free Zomato Gold, and up to 20% off Talabat orders twice a month.
Careem Plus and roaming
12 months of Careem Plus free, one Careem airport ride a year (up to 84), and 2GB of free Airalo roaming data.
Hotel and rental discounts
15% off 5,500+ IHG hotels with late checkout, up to 10% off Agoda, 7% back at Booking.com, and Hertz Five Star status.
Pros and cons
- No annual fee and free supplementary cards
- Flat 1 Point per 1 on all spend worldwide, with no published caps
- Up to 330,000 welcome Points (worth up to 2,350) until 31 October 2026
- Complimentary Mastercard travel insurance when you buy return tickets on the card
- Strong lifestyle stack: Zomato Gold, BOGO cinema, Careem Plus, Talabat and IHG/Agoda discounts
- Requires an HSBC Premier account — 40,000 monthly salary transfer, 500,000 in balances, or an 3M home loan
- Lounge access needs a USD 1+ cross-border transaction every 3 months, or you drop to 1 visit a year
- 2.1% foreign-currency fee plus a possible scheme fee up to 1.21% — even -billed international transactions pay 1.05%
- Very high 44.28% APR if you carry a balance
- HSBC Rewards is a young programme — point values and transfer partners aren't published
Is it right for you?
Get this card if
- You already hold (or genuinely qualify for) an HSBC Premier account
- You want a no-fee everyday card with lounge visits and travel insurance
- You can put 15,000 through the card in 60 days to bank the 330,000-Point welcome offer
- You'll remember the quarterly USD 1 transaction that keeps lounge access alive
Consider skipping it if
- You don't meet Premier criteria — the account, not the card, is the barrier
- Most of your spend is in foreign currency (2.1% + scheme fees adds up)
- You want transparent point valuations or airline transfer partners today
- You ever revolve a balance — 44.28% APR is punishing
Alternatives to consider
HSBC's Skywards Infinite earns Emirates Skywards Miles directly on every spend — a better fit if your points goal is flights on one airline.
Best Emirates Skywards cards →
HSBC Live+ pays up to 6% cashback on daily spend without needing a Premier relationship — simpler value if you don't care about Points.
Best cashback cards →
Emirates NBD's Skywards Infinite delivers premium travel perks on a salary basis rather than a private-banking relationship.
Best travel cards →Not sure which way to go? Put them side by side in our card comparison tool or browse the full ranked list.
Frequently asked questions
Who can apply for the HSBC Premier Credit Card?+
You need an HSBC Premier account, to be aged 21 to 70, and to live in the UAE. Premier eligibility is relationship-based: a monthly net salary transfer of AED 40,000, or AED 500,000 in deposits/investments, or a home loan drawdown of AED 3,000,000 or more. If you stop meeting the criteria, HSBC can charge a monthly service fee (AED 210 incl. VAT) before converting your account.
Is there an annual fee?+
No. The Premier Credit Card has no annual fee, and supplementary cards are free as well.
How does the welcome offer work?+
Until 31 October 2026, new primary cardholders can earn up to 330,000 Points (worth up to AED 2,350): 200,000 for AED 15,000 of eligible spend, 30,000 for a mobile-wallet payment, 50,000 for a first supplementary card used once, and 50,000 for a non-AED transaction equivalent to AED 500 — all within 60 days of account opening. You don't qualify if you held an HSBC primary credit card in the 6 months before applying.
How do I use the airport lounge access?+
Register the card in the Mastercard Travel Pass app and book your visit there — you get 8 complimentary visits a year to over 1,200 lounges, with guests at USD 32 each. To keep access active you must make a cross-border transaction of USD 1 or more at least once every 3 months (and at least 72 hours before a visit); otherwise you're limited to 1 visit per calendar year.
What can I redeem HSBC Points for?+
Through the HSBC UAE app you can book travel, shop on Amazon, redeem vouchers or exchange Points into other loyalty programmes. HSBC Rewards replaced the old Air Miles programme, with existing HSBC-earned Air Miles converted 1:1.
Are there instalment or balance transfer plans?+
Yes — balance transfers, cash instalment plans and flexi instalment plans are available at a reducing-balance fixed APR of 0.00% to 29.88% depending on your circumstances and term, with AED 0 early settlement fees. A 2.10% fee (incl. VAT) applies only to instalment conversions of education purchases.
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank or card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.