It was not by accident that the HSBC TravelOne Credit Card was introduced in India. It is a strategic reaction to a premium credit card ecosystem that is changing quickly. There is a glaring void in the mid-to-upper travel rewards market due to Axis Bank Atlas's volatility, HDFC's restrictions on eligibility for its super-premium cards, and the industry's frequent reward devaluations.

HSBC TravelOne places itself right in the middle of that gap.

It's not a mass-market card. It is designed for users who are familiar with milestone triggers, transfer ratios, forex economics, and the distinction between marketing value and extractable value, as opposed to cashback hunters.

This review assesses the card based on those precise criteria, emphasising real cash value, pure maths, and unambiguous, uncompromising decisions.

Fees and Year-One Economics: The Net Cost Reality

Joining and Renewal Fees: ₹4,9991

GST @ 18%: ₹899

Total: ₹5,899

HSBC does not offer renewal reward points, unlike several of its premium rivals. Rather than recurrent retention benefits, the TravelOne card's long-term economics are solely dependent on spend-based arbitrage and stringent fee waiver thresholds.
HSBC India is offering a targeted upgrade deal for existing cardholders (such as HSBC Live+ and Platinum) to move to TravelOne. Eligible users get 50% off the joining fee, paying ₹2,500 + GST instead of ₹4,999 + GST, making the upgrade materially more attractive than a fresh application.

Welcome Benefits (Year-One Acquisition Arbitrage)

HSBC’s current acquisition strategy is unusually aggressive and is clearly designed to attract users migrating away from recently devalued premium card programs.

Year-One Outcome

• Extractable Value: ~₹11,000–₹12,000

• Net Gain (Year 1): ~₹5,000–₹6,000

Key Insight:
The first year is profitable only if reward points are transferred to high-value partners like Accor. Treating vouchers as cash equivalents materially overstates their value.

Fee Waiver Rule

• Annual Spend ≥ ₹8,00,000: Annual fee fully waived

• Annual Spend ₹7,99,999 or less: Full ₹5,899 charged

• No partial waiver or pro-rata relief

Why This Matters

For a user spending ₹4,00,000 annually:

• The annual fee creates a 1.47% drag on total spend

• This erodes most of the card’s base reward value

Reward Structure: Pure Math

Earn Rates

• Travel, Airlines & Forex: 4 Reward Points per ₹100 (capped at 50,000 RP per month, effective up to ₹12.5L spend)

• Base Domestic Spends: 2 Reward Points per ₹100

• HSBC Travel Portal (Hopper-powered) (capped at 18,000 RP per month):

  • Hotels: up to 24 RP per ₹100 (≈ ₹75,000 spend)

  • Flights: up to 16 RP per ₹100 (≈ 1,12,500 spend)

💡 One practical advantage HSBC TravelOne holds over Axis Atlas is its treatment of third-party travel platforms. Bookings made on aggregators like MakeMyTrip or Cleartrip continue to earn full reward points on HSBC TravelOne. For hotel stays, this opens up a stacking opportunity, where card rewards can be combined with OTA discounts and offers, improving overall value.

Forex Math

HSBC TravelOne applies a 3.5% forex markup along with 18% GST on the markup, resulting in a total effective cost of 4.13% on foreign currency transactions.

On standard terms, foreign spends earn 4 Reward Points per ₹100, but this alone is usually insufficient to fully offset the markup for average redemptions, making the card inefficient as a default forex option.

💡 HSBC is currently offering a 3.5% cashback on all foreign currency transactions, which largely neutralizes the markup. When combined with the reward points earned on forex spends, this turns foreign usage into a net-positive proposition during the offer period. The cashback offer is valid until 20 January 2026 and requires registration by sending HSBCFX to 575750.

The ₹12L Sweet Spot 🎯

On HSBC TravelOne, value concentrates around specific spend thresholds. The most meaningful of these is ₹12 lakh annually, where multiple benefits align.

• Annual Spend: ₹12,00,000

• Bonus: 10,000 Reward Points

• Additional Benefit: ₹5,899 saved via annual fee waiver

The ₹12L mark is where HSBC TravelOne transitions from a decent travel card to a high-efficiency transfer platform.

Zero-Reward Categories (Exclusions)

You earn no reward points on spending in the following categories: bail and bond payments (9223), education and government (9399, 8299, 8220, 8211, 8241, 8244, 8249, 9222, 9402, 9211, 9405), e-wallets (6540), financial institutions (6010-6012), fuel (5541, 5983, 5172, 5542, 5552), insurance (6300, 5960), jewellery (5944, 5094), money transfers (4829), non-financial institutions (6051), real estate agent and managers (6513), tax payments (9311), utilities (4900).

For many users, these categories can represent 15–25% of annual spending, all of which earns no rewards.

Transfer Partners: The Card’s Core Strength

The real value of HSBC TravelOne lies in its transfer flexibility, not just earn rates. In a market moving toward penalized ratios, HSBC’s largely 1:1 transfer structure keeps the card relevant for both flight and hotel redemptions.

Below is the list of available airline and hotel transfer partners with their conversion ratios.

Reward Point Valuation: Three Personas

The value of HSBC TravelOne reward points depends entirely on how they are redeemed. Unlike cashback cards, there is no single “correct” valuation. To reflect real-world usage, returns are modelled across three common user personas.

• The conservative case reflects users who redeem without optimisation, resulting in returns similar to basic reward cards.

• The reasonable case represents most airline redemptions across programs such as Air India, KrisFlyer, Avios, and Etihad, where value varies by route and cabin but remains consistently higher than cashback cards.

• The optimistic case uses Accor as a valuation anchor due to its fixed, cash-equivalent redemption model. This represents the upper bound of predictable value rather than a default recommendation.

In practice, HSBC TravelOne’s strength lies not in a single redemption path but in its flexibility. Users who actively transfer points to airlines or hotels can achieve materially higher returns than flat-rate cashback cards, while casual redemptions significantly dilute the card’s value.

Additional Benefits

Travel convenience

• Best Price Guarantee with travel credits up to ₹1,500

• Bookings are priced in INR with no forex charges on the booking amount

• Low convenience fees: ₹300 (domestic) and ₹700 (international) per leg

• Optional Cancel for Any Reason up to 3 hours before travel

Disruption support

• Premium assistance for flight delays or cancellations

• Rebooking allowed across airlines at a minimal fee

• 24/7 dedicated customer support in India and overseas

Lifestyle perks on the District app by Zomato

• Enjoy up to 10% off events with promo code HSBCTOEVENTS, and dining with promo code HSBCTODINING

• Buy 1 Get 1 movie tickets twice a month with promo code HSBCTOMOV.

Golf benefits

• 4 complimentary rounds and 12 lessons per year

• 50% off green fees on additional rounds

Lounge access

• 6 domestic and 4 international airport lounge visits per year

Who Should Get This Card

Eligibility Criteria

• Age range: 18 to 65

• Nationality: Indian resident of select cities

• Minimum Income: Rs. 6 lakh p.a. for salaried employees

Best Fit

• Users with ₹12L+ annual card spend who can consistently hit milestones.

• Travel-focused spenders booking flights and hotels regularly.

• Cardholders comfortable with reward point transfers rather than instant cashback.

• Users who value 1:1 airline and hotel transfer flexibility, including but not limited to Accor

Not a Good Fit

• Users with heavy spends on insurance, education, utilities, or government payments

• Students paying foreign tuition or overseas living expenses

• Cashback-first users who prefer simple, predictable returns

• Low or mid spenders who cannot reliably cross the ₹8L–₹12L spend threshold

Final Verdict

HSBC TravelOne is a transfer-first travel card, not a general-purpose rewards card. Its strength lies in preserving near 1:1 transfer flexibility at a time when most issuers are diluting value.

The card rewards precision. Used casually, it underperforms. Used with intent, especially around higher annual spends, it remains one of the more strategically relevant travel cards in India today.