Strategy to obtain US Amex

[N0mad]

HSBC Elite rewards get nerfs from next month

“Effective July 13, 2026, your HSBC Elite Rewards Program will change as follows:

Select Airlines/Air Carriers, Car Rental Agencies, and Lodging (Hotels, Motels, Resorts)will continue to earn 5 Points per net dollar spent in these categories.

All other travel purchases will be classified under Other Travel and will earn 2 Points per net dollar spent.”

It is on the recent statement

i think they are just reducing the airlines, us Aussies smashing Qantas spend i think killed it.

 

[DAC1]

i think they are just reducing the airlines, us Aussies smashing Qantas spend i think killed it.

So have they definitely nerfed Qantas from earning 5x?

If so, may as well just go back to the Premier card given they are both 2x on QF spend and you get the additional benefit of 3x on supermarkets and groceries.

 

[AppleJune]

I think they are just reducing the airlines; us Aussies smashing Qantas spend killed it, I think.

Previously, it covered most transport, including tolls, parking, buses, trains, ride-sharing (Uber, etc.), cruisers, and even random booking travel portals such as Rove. Now it's only “select airline, car rental and lodging”, which kinda nerfs and is really just in line with other US cards, so not much distinct anymore. Not sure if there are any other card offers that cover a major portion of Travel MCC codes, as this card, apart from the Citi 5% cash back, got canned recently.

I spent 10K USD on Rove and I got 5x for that

 

[AppleJune]

So have they definitely nerfed Qantas from earning 5x?

If so, may as well just go back to the Premier card given they are both 2x on QF spend and you get the additional benefit of 3x on supermarkets and groceries.

Don't know yet; it is currently only listed on the recent statement as "select airline".

 

[N0mad]

Don't know yet; it is currently only listed on the recent statement as "select airline".

@DAC1 This, i've earned 115k points mostly Qantas spend in under a year. I would average $2k-$5k spend per month with the odd outlier.

 

[AppleJune]

Such a bummer, not sure if they update anywhere or only listed on statement for those read it. On their website still listed it as normal.