HSBC Premier credit card - too good to be true?

I've got a checking account with HSBC US, so I called them to open the CC account - meeting Premier criteria in Australia is sufficient to qualify overseas too, subject to any other requirements (which vary by country). This was a couple of years ago I opened the CC account, but don't think anything has changed.
Checking account means bank account? I also have a US HSBC Premier account. Does that qualify me as well?
 
Checking account means bank account? I also have a US HSBC Premier account. Does that qualify me as well?
Yeah you should be fine! If you have the account you presumably meet the criteria, was a pretty easy process, just a bit annoying having to call...hardly the greatest problem to have, I suppose, though!
 
Checking account means bank account? I also have a US HSBC Premier account. Does that qualify me as well?
There’s plenty of discussion on US HSBC credit cards in the strategy to obtain a US AMEX thread on the Amex forum.

Long story short you can open a HSBC US credit card if you have a U.S. premier checking account, but you might need to spend a bit of time on the phone to sort it out.
 
Which countries other than Expat? I've got UK & US (as well as US), conversely, UK was easy in my case, as a dual citizen I have lived there and have a credit history there. I haven't bothered with Expat, since it's basically the same as the UK card, but without online application (temporarily but for a long time now).

Hi I dont know if you can help im a UK HSBC Premier customer, i used the premier status to open a US checking account with HSBC however they are saying im not eligible for the US HSBC credit card. Ive called them too and im getting the same answer. Is there anything you did that helped? Do I need to set my address to a US address before trying to apy for the credit card?

Thanks.
 
Ending of Aus, how to keep Premier alive?
You would need to be able to open an account in one of the shrinking list of remaining countries in which HSBC offer Premier, maintain that status, and hope they don't shut down retail operations in that geography. I'd expect UK (where they are headquartered and listed), UK's Channel Islands and Chinese speaking territories (China, HK, Macau, Singapore) would be the safest bets:

Americas Bermuda | Mexico | United States
Asia-Pacific Mainland China | Hong Kong | India | Macau | Malaysia | Philippines | Singapore | Taiwan | Vietnam
Europe Expat offshore (Jersey) | Guernsey | Isle of Man | Malta | United Kingdom
Middle East Egypt | Qatar | Türkiye | United Arab Emirates

The list of where they still offer Premier is now smaller than the list of countries they have exited retail banking in the last 15 years:
  • Thailand, Japan, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Hungary (2012)
  • South Korea, Panama and Guatemala (2013)
  • Brazil and Maldives (2016)
  • Oman (2023)
  • France (2024; sold to Crédit Commercial de France)
  • New Zealand (2024; business wound down)
  • Bangladesh (2025)
  • Bahrain (February 2025; sold to Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait)
  • Sri Lanka (September 2025; sold to Nations Trust Bank)
  • United States (May 2021; sold branches excl Premier to Cathay Bank and Citizens Financial Group)
  • Greece and Russia
  • Canada (sold to Royal Bank of Canada 2024)
  • Australia (Announced exit in 2026, with branches closing and loan business sold to Blackstone)
  • Indonesia (to be sold to OCBC early 2027)
 

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