HSBC QF Platinum - 20K points (+2 QP passes) - $199 Annual Fee [extended] to 30/06/12

[gibspmuh]

I just noticed that HSBC has increased their bonus points from 10,000 to 20,000 for their Platinum Qantas Credit Card. It looks like it runs until the 31st of March at this point. Full details can be found at HSBC Platinum Qantas Credit Card | HSBC Australia - for those that don't have QP access it's not too bad a deal overall (at least it's 10,000 points better than it was before :mrgreen: ).

 

[cove]

Re: HSBC Qantas Platinum - 20,000 points (+2 QP passes) - $199 Annual Fee until 31/03

Is that card capped at 200,000 per year?

 

[JohnK]

Re: HSBC Qantas Platinum - 20,000 points (+2 QP passes) - $199 Annual Fee until 31/03

Is that card capped at 200,000 per year?

Not likely to be of concern to 99.5% of the population and 96.7% of AFFers.

 

[tim374]

I saw this promo, I'm not sure if I'd get stung on the part that says it is only for new credit card holders. They could interpret it to mean you can't already have any HSBC card, I could look at it meaning not already having that particular card. I already have the free for life card but not this one.

 

[cove]

Re: HSBC Qantas Platinum - 20,000 points (+2 QP passes) - $199 Annual Fee until 31/03

John we need to get you some bills to pay on credit cards to make it into that top bit of your percentages.
It's all good over in Perth....hot and dry....so no humidity ...just a lot of big sharks at our beaches.
220,000 points will get some pretty good trips.

 

[dejium]

Re: HSBC Qantas Platinum - 20,000 points (+2 QP passes) - $199 Annual Fee until 31/03

The 2% transfer fee seems to be the main drawback for this card. I was thinking of finding a balance transfer card to put my upcoming wedding reception on, but an annual fee + transfer fee is hardly worth it. I've got the cash, but paying out on fees just to hang on to my money a little longer isn't going to be of much benefit.

If only the stock market were going in the right direction...

 

[skywalkerLAX]

Re: HSBC Qantas Platinum - 20,000 points (+2 QP passes) - $199 Annual Fee until 31/03

The 2% transfer fee seems to be the main drawback for this card. I was thinking of finding a balance transfer card to put my upcoming wedding reception on, but an annual fee + transfer fee is hardly worth it. I've got the cash, but paying out on fees just to hang on to my money a little longer isn't going to be of much benefit.

If only the stock market were going in the right direction...

Virgin flyer card or Amex Platinum Edge / Reserve !?

 

[dejium]

Re: HSBC Qantas Platinum - 20,000 points (+2 QP passes) - $199 Annual Fee until 31/03

Virgin flyer card or Amex Platinum Edge / Reserve !?

Good options - generally look for point transfers to QF, but could be a could way to boost by SQ and DJ balances to a usable level. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Moopere]

Re: HSBC Qantas Platinum - 20,000 points (+2 QP passes) - $199 Annual Fee until 31/03

Heres the link for this cards Zurich based insurance for anyone interested:

http://www.hsbc.com.au/1/PA_1_2_S5/content/australia/common/pdf/personal/gp-insurance-tc.pdf

Seems reasonable, as a lot of these Zurich based policies seem to be. As always with CC insurance, I'd not normally feel comfortable relying upon them alone for many places in the world as they are not general enough and have exclusions which worry me.

This one seems to want you to pay for your return airfares on this card ... no mention of points flights or points + pay, so probably these forms of ticketing are not covered. Interestingly the hire car excess amount seems to be wide open ... so long as you hire a sedan or station wagon and get the hire companies standard comprehensive insurance - unusual as the PDS's I've been reading lately seem to be limited to 3-5K which is no longer enough in the rental car game (up to 9-10K now not uncommon)

 

[skywalkerLAX]

Re: HSBC Qantas Platinum - 20,000 points (+2 QP passes) - $199 Annual Fee until 31/03

Good options - generally look for point transfers to QF, but could be a could way to boost by SQ and DJ balances to a usable level. Thanks for the tip!

I don't think balance transfers qualify for points accrual or am I mistaken !?

 

[Origin]

Re: HSBC Qantas Platinum - 20,000 points (+2 QP passes) - $199 Annual Fee until 31/03

Is that card capped at 200,000 per year?

300,000 cap and predominately business expenses not allowed per term and conditions

 

[samh004]

They sent me a form to fill out and send back to them. So I have, but not expecting to receive a card back

Would be very nice if they did give me one though, having been a long time customer of them.




 

[cove]

Re: HSBC Qantas Platinum - 20,000 points (+2 QP passes) - $199 Annual Fee until 31/03

Thanks for the 300,000 points cap number. We find that capped points are the true dis-incentive for using a card for a whole year especially if you hit the cap number in the first days or weeks or months of having such a card.
Most AFF members could safely use this card.

 

[Origin]

Re: HSBC Qantas Platinum - 20,000 points (+2 QP passes) - $199 Annual Fee until 31/03

Yes although bit concerned about business prohibition in view of what is happening to people using Woolies HSBC card. Not that I have huge expenses but being a sole trader I do have a BAS to pay every quarter. It is about $15k to $20k. I also have few other cards to share it around I suppose although the Amex gets 1.5 times the points but at more cost per point.

 

[cove]

Re: HSBC Qantas Platinum - 20,000 points (+2 QP passes) - $199 Annual Fee until 31/03

Maybe Citi Business at $149 per year and 1.25 points to QF could be a safer one. The cap is 250,000 points so you stop at $200,000 of spending. Or you could do both to harvest the sign on points?

 

[AdMEL]

Re: HSBC Qantas Platinum - 20,000 points (+2 QP passes) - $199 Annual Fee until 31/03

Heres the link for this cards Zurich based insurance for anyone interested:

http://www.hsbc.com.au/1/PA_1_2_S5/content/australia/common/pdf/personal/gp-insurance-tc.pdf

Seems reasonable, as a lot of these Zurich based policies seem to be. As always with CC insurance, I'd not normally feel comfortable relying upon them alone for many places in the world as they are not general enough and have exclusions which worry me.

This one seems to want you to pay for your return airfares on this card ... no mention of points flights or points + pay, so probably these forms of ticketing are not covered. Interestingly the hire car excess amount seems to be wide open ... so long as you hire a sedan or station wagon and get the hire companies standard comprehensive insurance - unusual as the PDS's I've been reading lately seem to be limited to 3-5K which is no longer enough in the rental car game (up to 9-10K now not uncommon)

I think you've mis-read the PDS regarding car hire excess cover!

My read is as follows:

AU$3,000 cover (refer pages 30 & 31)
Overseas only (no domestic cover)
Limited to sedan and station wagon

In my view, this is at the bottom end!

Whilst I agree that up to $9-$10K is now becoming common for car rental excess, this is generally only in Australia, for which this card provides no cover! Most countries overseas (except the US), seem to have much lower excesses. I would say $3-$5K is more than enough for most countries overseas.

Out of interest, what makes you say that credit card insurance is generally not enough and has exclusions which worry you? Which exclusions?

 

[Moopere]

Re: HSBC Qantas Platinum - 20,000 points (+2 QP passes) - $199 Annual Fee until 31/03

I think you've mis-read the PDS regarding car hire excess cover!

My read is as follows:

AU$3,000 cover (refer pages 30 & 31)
Overseas only (no domestic cover)
Limited to sedan and station wagon

Yes, I concur. Bit difficult to read in the PDF due to the way they've formatted it. Probably looks better printed.

Whilst I agree that up to $9-$10K is now becoming common for car rental excess, this is generally only in Australia, for which this card provides no cover!

Out of interest, what makes you say that credit card insurance is generally not enough and has exclusions which worry you? Which exclusions?

Well the lack of car cover in Australia is a good example. Whats with that?

Probably my main fear is based upon having several cards each with either subtly or starkly different T&C on insurance. Traversing which card needs to be used to book airline tickets versus which card needs to be used to book car hire or hotels, dependent upon the triggering clauses of the various cards is a minefield for me.

Reading, remembering and being able to separate in your mind the various PDS's is also troublesome. I could see myself easily forgetting that the card in question isn't covering domestic car hire (for example) as this is a really odd exclusion.

To truly suck the juice out of cards "free" insurance you'd need, I think, to limit yourself to one card only (or be prepared to use only one cards insurance at any rate) or you'd need to be one of those lucky folks with an eidetic memory. So far I've not found a single card insurance which is as complete, in an overall and well rounded way, as even fairly cheap dedicated travel insurance policies, and as I don't have a great memory, trying to link together several cards insurance to provide full coverage appears to be beyond me

 

[AdMEL]

Re: HSBC Qantas Platinum - 20,000 points (+2 QP passes) - $199 Annual Fee until 31/03

Yes, I concur. Bit difficult to read in the PDF due to the way they've formatted it. Probably looks better printed.

Agreed! But I'm used to it now!

Well the lack of car cover in Australia is a good example. Whats with that?

Agreed! But at least there are at least three cards that do (Westpac Platinum, all ANZ cards, Amex Plat Charge), of which I have two and can cover most situations with those! A combination of the two in one would be great though!

Probably my main fear is based upon having several cards each with either subtly or starkly different T&C on insurance. Traversing which card needs to be used to book airline tickets versus which card needs to be used to book car hire or hotels, dependent upon the triggering clauses of the various cards is a minefield for me.

Reading, remembering and being able to separate in your mind the various PDS's is also troublesome. I could see myself easily forgetting that the card in question isn't covering domestic car hire (for example) as this is a really odd exclusion.

To truly suck the juice out of cards "free" insurance you'd need, I think, to limit yourself to one card only (or be prepared to use only one cards insurance at any rate) or you'd need to be one of those lucky folks with an eidetic memory. So far I've not found a single card insurance which is as complete, in an overall and well rounded way, as even fairly cheap dedicated travel insurance policies, and as I don't have a great memory, trying to link together several cards insurance to provide full coverage appears to be beyond me

From the comments you've posted on AFF, it seems you have a good understanding of credit card insurance! I would have thought most AFF members would have purchased their flights on a credit card that provides insurance, to earn points, so I wouldn't have thought the requirement to purchase on the card to activate the insurance was too onerous.

From my perspective, the key things I want covered are medical expenses (should I need them) and car rental excess. All the rest is just a bonus. The costs of the other items are generally not that great (e.g. some accommodation, food, etc, if you get delayed or miss your flight). I don't carry anything in my luggage that is valuable. Whilst things like income protection would be nice (my cards don't provide this), I don't really need it as I am fortunate to have a large amount of sick leave accrued.

Whilst my expectations aren't as high as perhaps yours are, I find credit card cover quite comparable to dedicated travel insurance, most quite similar and most quite acceptable.

 

[moa999]

Re: HSBC Qantas Platinum - 20,000 points (+2 QP passes) - $199 Annual Fee until 31/03

Reading the above is one of the reasons I continue to pay for the Amex Plat Charge (albeit at a reduced rate) even after my points bonus ran out. The ability to be covered on a 'trip' even if not charged to the Amex Card (ie points and overseas flights purchased via an intl fee free card) is great and it seems to cover most situations.
Car rental is the only one that needs to be charged to the card, must be 250kms from home and capped at $70k or excess etc.

 

[DC3]

Re: HSBC Qantas Platinum - 20,000 points (+2 QP passes) - $199 Annual Fee until 31/03

No updates on this for the past month. Just wondering if anyone who received this card has had the 20,000 points post yet. I haven't applied, but am curious about the points posting. The T&C says to allow up to 2 months after first eligible spend, so maybe it's still a bit too soon.