Strategy to obtain US Amex

[PointsLife1]

Have you tried hsbc ? I am about to have my account opened .

Is the requirement 200K to open the HSBC Premier account? I feel opening a US account is more achievable than 200K investment.

 

[PPS_SYD]

Have you tried hsbc ? I am about to have my account opened .

Is that an account with HSBC US? I will be very interested to know how to go about opening one from Oz.

 

[albyd]

Have you considered HSBC Premier? If you qualify for it, might be a way around it - they're pretty efficient at setting it up. Though its $A35/month but assuming you can keep the account if you cancel Premier after account approval. I've not tried it so YMMV.

 

[albyd]

Is that an account with HSBC US? I will be very interested to know how to go about opening one from Oz.

Yep, that's HSBC US. Need to apply through HSBC's International Banking Center - it's quite a simple process.

 

[glasszon]

Has anyone tried to cancel the HSBC AU premier account after creating the US account? Keeping $200k with HSBC and pay $35 per month is a bit much.....

 

[blacksultan]

Has anyone tried to cancel the HSBC AU premier account after creating the US account? Keeping $200k with HSBC and pay $35 per month is a bit much.....

I believe they review quarterly and if your balance falls below will downgrade you . If you close cash premier account before to avoid fee they should downgrade you as well . Surely one can do the once the US account has been opened .
Someone here once mentioned a fx platform that enabled you to transfer funds free of cost between account in 2 countries . Can anyone recollect ?
One could potentially use that to deposit $5000 into the US account and then transfer back to meet one of the conditions for qualifying for Premier in the US . Any thoughts ?

 

[PointsLife1]

XE money transfer costs 20USD (approx 30AUD) and HSBC Premier $35 account service fee. I am missing some benefits to the HSBC path?

 

[PPS_SYD]

Yep, that's HSBC US. Need to apply through HSBC's International Banking Center - it's quite a simple process.

I will look at it, although I am not currently a HSBC AU customer. Also, does this need the $200k deposit, cos there’s no way I can put that in.

 

[blacksultan]

I will look at it, although I am not currently a HSBC AU customer. Also, does this need the $200k deposit, cos there’s no way I can put that in.

Other ways of qualifying like taking out a mortgage of at least $500 k .

Post automatically merged: Jun 9, 2020

XE money transfer costs 20USD (approx 30AUD) and HSBC Premier $35 account service fee. I am missing some benefits to the HSBC path?

People plan to downgrade from hsbc premier and close account once the US account is open .

 

[blacksultan]

The biggest features of Premier are Global View (Seeing all your accounts from the one internet banking - you still need to go to the other country's site to do anything other than see balances though, but the login is simplified if going from one to the other), and free (and instant) Global Transfers. I doubt this is worth $35/m though.

Having said that....I would imagine it's possible to switch the country that achieves Premier status to one that doesn't charge a fee. Looking at the US, they only require USD75k, which is a relatively low amount compared to other markets. If you earn the status there, you can use that to have Premier status for free in Australia. ie. they will waive the $35/m fee on the Cash Management Account (I've been doing this). Investments count towards the relationship balance, so you don't have to leave it sitting there as cash. Watch out for the US estate tax though....

So I haven't tried this, but it might be possible to:
1. Open HSBC AU Premier account
2. Have them open an HSBC US account
3. Transfer required savings to HSBC US and have status earned directly there (not sure what their response would be when you ask to do this...)
4. Drop earned HSBC AU Premier status, and have it shared from your US account, removing the $35/m fee

A great option for converting currency is Interactive Brokers - mid-market rate + USD2. Transfer in AUD from Australia, and transfer out to your US account in USD. (no you can't transfer out to a 3rd party AFAIK).

Is this the website Take it for a Spin | Interactive Brokers Australia Pty. Ltd. ?

Is it easy to use ? Are there any account keeping charges ?

 

[Spazmos]

Someone here once mentioned a fx platform that enabled you to transfer funds free of cost between account in 2 countries . Can anyone recollect ?

I don't think there was, and if it did the intermediary banks will still take some fees. However If you had a AU citibank and US citibank accounts you can transfer funds between them without any fees...

XE money transfer costs 20USD (approx 30AUD) and HSBC Premier $35 account service fee. I am missing some benefits to the HSBC path?

Like citibank, if you had an AU account you can transfer to the US fee free. once you have funds in your US account, paying off a US credit card becomes fee free. Benefit of premier is that you can open your US account remotely from AUS.

I agree that the $35 account fee does not make it appealing though, but I believe you still need to be a HSBC premier for fee free global transfers to work.

You are able to access the HSBC Premier benefits if you have:

• A minimum of AUD$500,000 in loans1; or
• A minimum of AUD$200,000 in savings and investments2; or
• A combination of loans1, savings and investments2 totalling a minimum of AUD$500,000 with HSBC Bank Australia Limited; and
• You must maintain an HSBC Premier Cash Management Account. AUD$35 Premier Monthly Service fee applies.

HSBC Global Transfer
For HSBC Premier customers2, HSBC Global Transfer allows you to make instant international transfers between your HSBC accounts across the world with no transfer fees.

International Money Transfer | Foreign Exchange - HSBC AU

Make international money transfers online with HSBC in foreign currency with a low, flat-rate fee whenever, wherever you want.

www.hsbc.com.au

 

[albyd]

I've also used Revolut to do FX transfers - I've used it to send to my US bank accounts so not sure how it would work for Amex payments. I've found their FX rates spot on with Spot Rates and no fees. If you want to transfer more than a certain amount per month, have to become a subscriber - it's $10 a month - might be worth it depending on how much you transfer. Can load your account from your MC or Visa (not Amex and there's a fee for foreign issued debit and credit cards). Previously, this would be treated as a purchase and even earn points. This loophole has been closed with Westpac and Macquarie treating them as cash advances IME and charging the associated fees. Dragon treat it similarly to a cash advance but when I last loaded from my Dragon Visa, there were no fees but have not been earning points from it for some time. Transfers to Australian bank accounts seem to take about a week but to offshore accounts, more like less than a day or a few days at most. Test it out before committing big bucks to it to see if it works for you. YMMV - just another idea if you're looking to continue using the FX route.

 

[blacksultan]

Has anyone tried opening an account and a credit card through hsbc premier in a country other than the US ?

 

[blacksultan]

I don't think there was, and if it did the intermediary banks will still take some fees. However If you had a AU citibank and US citibank accounts you can transfer funds between them without any fees...

Like citibank, if you had an AU account you can transfer to the US fee free. once you have funds in your US account, paying off a US credit card becomes fee free. Benefit of premier is that you can open your US account remotely from AUS.

I agree that the $35 account fee does not make it appealing though, but I believe you still need to be a HSBC premier for fee free global transfers to work.

You are able to access the HSBC Premier benefits if you have:

• A minimum of AUD$500,000 in loans1; or
• A minimum of AUD$200,000 in savings and investments2; or
• A combination of loans1, savings and investments2 totalling a minimum of AUD$500,000 with HSBC Bank Australia Limited; and
• You must maintain an HSBC Premier Cash Management Account. AUD$35 Premier Monthly Service fee applies.

HSBC Global Transfer
For HSBC Premier customers2, HSBC Global Transfer allows you to make instant international transfers between your HSBC accounts across the world with no transfer fees.

International Money Transfer | Foreign Exchange - HSBC AU

Make international money transfers online with HSBC in foreign currency with a low, flat-rate fee whenever, wherever you want.

www.hsbc.com.au

The service I mentioned was interactive brokers but it would cost around $5 to transfer US $ 5000 back and forth ( to meet min deposit requirements for US premier) which is similar to revolut .
From my experience with Citigold the transfer is never fee free with the cost built into the inferior exchange rate which might be worthwhile for small transfers - the benefit being the transfer is instantaneous .
I believe this should be true for hsbc premier as well .

 

[albyd]

I agree, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Either it's "free" but you pay for it with an exchange rate away from the market or pay a monthly service fee but get a "market" FX rate. If you're transferring quite a bit, then paying a monthly fee should work out to an overall saving - depending on how much you need to transfer. Otherwise for simplicity, use your bank's (ie Citi/HSBC) global transfer function. Might not be worth the minimal saving for time invested to get it.

 

[PointsLife1]

I've also used Revolut to do FX transfers - I've used it to send to my US bank accounts so not sure how it would work for Amex payments. I've found their FX rates spot on with Spot Rates and no fees. If you want to transfer more than a certain amount per month, have to become a subscriber - it's $10 a month - might be worth it depending on how much you transfer. Can load your account from your MC or Visa (not Amex and there's a fee for foreign issued debit and credit cards). Previously, this would be treated as a purchase and even earn points. This loophole has been closed with Westpac and Macquarie treating them as cash advances IME and charging the associated fees. Dragon treat it similarly to a cash advance but when I last loaded from my Dragon Visa, there were no fees but have not been earning points from it for some time. Transfers to Australian bank accounts seem to take about a week but to offshore accounts, more like less than a day or a few days at most. Test it out before committing big bucks to it to see if it works for you. YMMV - just another idea if you're looking to continue using the FX route.

I have Transferwise and it works much the same as Revolut it seems, my work colleague who I helped set up the Aspire card was lucky enough to travel to Vegas last year and opened a Wells Fargo checking account and now just transfers from Transferwise to Wells Fargo and then pays US Amex without fees. Also uses a credit card to load money and so far has been earning points on top! NAB I believe is the CC. I feel like my best course of action is to keep paying the XE 20USD fee until I can open a checking account in person or Transferwise opens up direct debit to the states as it seems to be in the works , a note on the website says "Heads up : You can't use your USD bank details to set up direct debits yet" I feel the YET part is interesting and seems to indicate that maybe you can in the future.

 

[PointsLife1]

For the Hilton Aspire card members, are you using the card for everyday purchases? 3 x points per US dollar.

Bloggers in America seem to think this is a terrible idea but for Australia and our Amex cards earning 2 MR points for 1 Hilton point it seems to be great value.

 

[PPS_SYD]

I have Transferwise and it works much the same as Revolut it seems, my work colleague who I helped set up the Aspire card was lucky enough to travel to Vegas last year and opened a Wells Fargo checking account and now just transfers from Transferwise to Wells Fargo and then pays US Amex without fees. Also uses a credit card to load money and so far has been earning points on top! NAB I believe is the CC. I feel like my best course of action is to keep paying the XE 20USD fee until I can open a checking account in person or Transferwise opens up direct debit to the states as it seems to be in the works , a note on the website says "Heads up : You can't use your USD bank details to set up direct debits yet" I feel the YET part is interesting and seems to indicate that maybe you can in the future.

Can I ask how long ago was your last transfer through xe and how long it took for funds to hit your account? I am still waiting for Amex to resolve my missed payment for the transfer from 2nd June.

 

[PointsLife1]

Can I ask how long ago was your last transfer through xe and how long it took for funds to hit your account? I am still waiting for Amex to resolve my missed payment for the transfer from 2nd June.

Hi Rohit, I was surprised by your recent posts as my experience is I send to XE and approx 2 hours later they have received the money and approx 2 hours later have sent it and then AMEX US sends an email the next day "We've received your payment" You're all set, but give us 24 - 36 hours for you payment to appear online.

 

[PointsLife1]

Also for a data point I just signed up for a Qantas wine subscription and I put it on my Bonvoy Brilliant card and the transaction comes up as Qantas Wine and earns the 3 x multiplier for airfare. Aspire card members would in theory earn the 7 x multiplier.