Credit Card Offers HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card: Fast-Track to Star Alliance Gold Status

Fast track to Star Alliance Gold status with the HSBC Star Alliance credit card!​

Learn more and apply for this card:

HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card Guide

The HSBC Star Alliance credit card is the first of its kind, allowing Australian cardholders to earn Star Alliance Points and Gold status.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

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What are the main benefits of this card?

1. Signup bonus: Fast Track to Star Alliance Gold Status, when you spend $4,000 or more on eligible purchases in the first 90 days from account opening
2. Keep your Star Alliance Gold status each subsequent year that you spend at least $60,000 on your card
3. Earn 1 Star Alliance Point per $1 on eligible purchases, up to $3,000 per statement period and 0.5 Star Alliance Points per $1 spent on eligible purchases thereafter, uncapped
4. No annual fee in the first year and $450 p.a. thereafter

Why we like the HSBC Star Alliance credit card

Launched in 2022, the HSBC Star Alliance credit card is the first of its kind anywhere in the world. You'll earn Star Alliance Points which are transferable to a choice of seven Star Alliance member airlines at a time of your choosing. You can also earn Star Alliance Silver or Gold status just by spending on the card, with no flying required!

Once you qualify for the welcome offer and are fast tracked to Star Alliance Gold status with any of the seven participating carriers, you’ll soon be enjoying perks like airport priority lanes and lounge access when flying across the whole Star Alliance network. It is the largest airline alliance in the world with 25 member airlines, including Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, United and Turkish Airlines.

Please note that the welcome offer is not available to existing HSBC customers transferring from another HSBC credit card, or if you have previously held a HSBC Star Alliance credit card within the last 18 months. Refer to the full T&C’s for more information:

HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card Guide

The HSBC Star Alliance credit card is the first of its kind, allowing Australian cardholders to earn Star Alliance Points and Gold status.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

AFF members are welcome to discuss this card in this thread.

 

[blacksultan]

Yes, the value proposition from this card is poor if you're looking to requalify for status.

However, it isn't correct that "the majority of cards" still give points for government spending. Those days are from many years ago. Other than business cards, there are very few cards which give anything for such spending anymore.

Use zip pay to pay government and other excluded payers . Then use your card to pay zip pay .also gain extra days for payment this way .

 

[bernardblack]

Yes, I used this for an overseas trip last year after Coles added FX fees, because the Zip FX fee is only 1.0%. But the default credit limit for Zip is only $350, which is quite limiting. (I have a US-based Amex Gold with no FX fee, so I use that wherever Amex is accepted.)

 

[blacksultan]

Yes, I used this for an overseas trip last year after Coles added FX fees, because the Zip FX fee is only 1.0%. But the default credit limit for Zip is only $350, which is quite limiting. (I have a US-based Amex Gold with no FX fee, so I use that wherever Amex is accepted.)

They now have zip plus with higher limits .

 

[aspro2]

They now have zip plus with higher limits .

It's worth noting that officially, Zip Plus cannot be paid off using a credit card (only debit card).

The below card types are not accepted:

• Credit cards (*only accepted on Zip Pay)
• American Express (AMEX)
• Eftpos Only cards
• Pre-paid cards
• Digital Cards
• International Cards i.e. ME Bank, Diners Card.

 

[blacksultan]

It's worth noting that officially, Zip Plus cannot be paid off using a credit card (only debit card).

Maybe the new accounts . Works for my old account .

 

[aspro2]

Maybe the new accounts . Works for my old account .

Your old Zip Plus?

I notice that the "add payment method" interface even in Zip Pay (not Plus) says "add a debit card" but you can add a credit card. However there is a table on the website somewhere which clearly shows only a tick for credit cards against the basic Pay account and explicitly not against the Plus...

 

[nthd_nthd]

Hi everyone. Hope to get advice urgently. April, P2 Cancelled the card and was promised to waive Annual fee. We went overseas for a month hence missed the email with outstanding value of Annual fee, kept thinking we Cancelled it already. May 2025 got multiple phone calls from HSBC regarding missed payment. Complaints about it should be waived they promised they would remove the charge and all interest.
However this month, the late payment reach Credit Beaurau and P2 score dived 200 points. A big dip. I sent a Complaint form to HSBC but would like to get more advice on next move or what else I can do before calling them Tuesday
Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[blacksultan]

Hi everyone. Hope to get advice urgently. April, P2 Cancelled the card and was promised to waive Annual fee. We went overseas for a month hence missed the email with outstanding value of Annual fee, kept thinking we Cancelled it already. May 2025 got multiple phone calls from HSBC regarding missed payment. Complaints about it should be waived they promised they would remove the charge and all interest.
However this month, the late payment reach Credit Beaurau and P2 score dived 200 points. A big dip. I sent a Complaint form to HSBC but would like to get more advice on next move or what else I can do before calling them Tuesday
Any help would be greatly appreciated

Maybe try banking ‘ombudsman ‘ ?

 

[blacksultan]

Applied For this card end of last month . No email acknowledgement. Or ant reference . Any tips for follow up ?

 

[Tlee]

It’s strange that I still have Gold Status even though I cancelled the credit card in October. Must have been a system glitch that have allowed me to retain the status till end of December.

I cancelled my card this March and still have the Gold status (50k). Received a new set of luggage tags and a membership card recently. Hope it will be valid until the end of the year.

 

[apropos]

Maybe the hive mind can help with my specific situation...

Sole trader/small business owner with high (50k per month) business spend. Personal spend is probably around 5-10k per month. Tax is upwards of 400k p.a. and also routed via pay.com.au

Business/tax spend is currently mostly routed through pay.com.au via Plat Amex. Some vendors accept CC payments directly and in these instances always no Amex (up to 5k per month). Personal spend is maybe 60% in favour of Amex.

Given the high compelled spend and regimented nature of when trips can be taken (restricted by school term dates and business "low" periods), we have tried to structure CCs to maximise travel experience, not frequency. I.e. we would never redeem for Y unless absolutely unavoidable, and nil "spontaneous" trips.

Travel patterns are an annual family trip, usually to Europe or Asia where we have family (both regions). Always fly SQ as transiting through SG important for family reasons.

Maybe one or two solo business trips a year to Asia Pacific region or Europe. But these might be funded (as opposed to redeemed) for tax reasons, and in those situations class of travel does not matter as much.

So our pattern of travel would never qualify us for *A Gold by itself.

I am a crazy vinyl hound (as in records for turntables) so nearly all travel (whether redeemed or purchased) would benefit from enhanced luggage allowance, which *A Gold affords.

Previously with Citibank Prestige but we crunched the numbers and would be better off with HSBC *A card as our non-Amex card for earning KF miles. Currently have 375k KF miles warehoused.

Got the HSBC *A card a month and a half ago and have already met spend requirements for *A Gold. Confident of reaching the 60k p.a. spend to maintain *A Gold.

Question is - given my situation, what should my *A home airline be? The default answer here seems to be Aeroplan and I have gone through about 30 pages of this forum and see that most of the purported benefits (miles don't expire, prior bonus miles) don't apply anyway to my situation as we always clear miles out regularly booking redemption travel for ourselves or relatives.

Are there any other advantages of going with Aeroplan over Krisflyer that I am missing?

 

[nthd_nthd]

Maybe the hive mind can help with my specific situation...

Sole trader/small business owner with high (50k per month) business spend. Personal spend is probably around 5-10k per month. Tax is upwards of 400k p.a. and also routed via pay.com.au

Business/tax spend is currently mostly routed through pay.com.au via Plat Amex. Some vendors accept CC payments directly and in these instances always no Amex (up to 5k per month). Personal spend is maybe 60% in favour of Amex.

Given the high compelled spend and regimented nature of when trips can be taken (restricted by school term dates and business "low" periods), we have tried to structure CCs to maximise travel experience, not frequency. I.e. we would never redeem for Y unless absolutely unavoidable, and nil "spontaneous" trips.

Travel patterns are an annual family trip, usually to Europe or Asia where we have family (both regions). Always fly SQ as transiting through SG important for family reasons.

Maybe one or two solo business trips a year to Asia Pacific region or Europe. But these might be funded (as opposed to redeemed) for tax reasons, and in those situations class of travel does not matter as much.

So our pattern of travel would never qualify us for *A Gold by itself.

I am a crazy vinyl hound (as in records for turntables) so nearly all travel (whether redeemed or purchased) would benefit from enhanced luggage allowance, which *A Gold affords.

Previously with Citibank Prestige but we crunched the numbers and would be better off with HSBC *A card as our non-Amex card for earning KF miles. Currently have 375k KF miles warehoused.

Got the HSBC *A card a month and a half ago and have already met spend requirements for *A Gold. Confident of reaching the 60k p.a. spend to maintain *A Gold.

Question is - given my situation, what should my *A home airline be? The default answer here seems to be Aeroplan and I have gone through about 30 pages of this forum and see that most of the purported benefits (miles don't expire, prior bonus miles) don't apply anyway to my situation as we always clear miles out regularly booking redemption travel for ourselves or relatives.

Are there any other advantages of going with Aeroplan over Krisflyer that I am missing?

Aeroplan for SQ flights

 

[apropos]

As in there is enhanced SQ redemption availability via Aeroplan, better than direct SQ redemption via KF?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

And up to two year validity for aeroplan gold. The remainder of the current year plus the full year after, although if you are spending 60k a year you’d get gold annually anyway.

I have compared awards available via SQ and those via Aeroplan. Have always found far,more partner availability on aeroplan than SQ. even for things like intra europe flights… didn’t show at all on SQ (even under star alliance and other partners)