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HSBC charges zero foreign transaction fees for any of its cards— not even for its non-travel products.
This is fairly unusual as most providers will only waive this fee for travel products. Non-travel products often come with a foreign transaction fee of 3% on every purchase made abroad or on a foreign website.
Check out this handy table of HSBC cards to determine what kind of card might work best for you:
Card | Why you should get it | Why you shouldn’t get it |
---|---|---|
HSBC Gold Mastercard® credit card | Excellent intro APR on purchases and balance transfers | No rewards |
HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card | Unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases | No intro APR on purchases |
HSBC Platinum Mastercard® with Rewards Credit Card | 1x points on all purchases | Other cards offer better rewards |
HSBC Advance Mastercard® credit card | 2x points on dining and select entertainment and 1x points on everything else | $45 annual fee starting the second year (waived for qualifying accounts) |
HSBC Premier World Mastercard® credit card |
| $95 annual fee starting the second year (waived for qualifying accounts) |
HSBC Elite Credit Card |
| $395 annual fee |
Around half of HSBC’s cards have no annual fees. These are decent choices if you mostly only care about having no foreign transaction fees.
If a card has an annual fee, consider whether you’ll get sufficient value from its signup bonus, rewards and additional benefits.
With a few of HSBC’s cards, you can have the ongoing annual fee waived if you have a qualifying US HSBC checking account. Otherwise, you’ll need to pay the annual fee starting the second year.
Check each card’s terms to see which checking account qualifies you for a fee waiver.
Consider where you spend the most money and see if your purchases line up with each card’s bonus categories.
The HSBC Premier World Mastercard® credit card and HSBC Elite Credit Card have higher annual fees, but they offer more benefits such as travel credits. Using these credits can help offset the annual fee.
Although HSBC usually falls short on extending the best rewards, it offers some very competitive signup bonuses.
You might like a point-based signup bonus if you frequently travel. It can offer healthy value when redeemed through HSBC Rewards. Otherwise, you might like a cashback signup bonus.
HSBC may increase all of your APRs to a steep penalty APR if you make a late payment.
Only the HSBC Gold Mastercard® credit card has no penalty APR.
None of HSBC’s credit cards have foreign transaction fees. This gives you lots of leeway to choose a card with great rewards, signup bonus or other benefits.
If you’re unsure an HSBC credit card is right for you, compare cards with no foreign transaction fees from other providers.
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