HSBC launched the HSBC TravelOne Card in India at the start of the year. This card was already live in Singapore and Malaysia. It is an interesting card that fits well within the Travel Cards portfolio. Earlier, the Axis Atlas was a great card to hold if you wanted to be in the Travel Cards space, but since it has been discontinued, the HSBC TravelOne Card needs a relook. Here is how the HSBC TravelOne Card fares.
HSBC TravelOne Credit Card Overview
| Particulars | HSBC TravelOne Credit Card |
| Card Type | Travel |
| Annual Fees | ₹ 4999+GST |
| Welcome Benefits | 3000 Points (Spending ₹ 100K in 90 Days) |
| Fee Waiver | ₹ 800K |
| Lounge Access (Yearly) | 6 Domestic & 3 International |
| Forex Markup | 3.5%+GST |
| Base Earn Rate | 2 per ₹ 100 |
| Accelerated Earnings Option | Travel & HSBC Marketplace |
| Travel Earn Rate | 4 per ₹ 100 |
| Accelerated Earnings (HSBC Marketplace) | upto 6x per ₹ 100 |
| Milestone Spend | ₹ 12 Lakh |
| Milestone Benefits | 10K Points |
| Maximize Earning | HSBC Marketplace |
| Maximize Redemptions | Transfer Partners |
Eligibility
You can apply for the HSBC TravelOne Card if:
- is aged between 18 and 65 years old
- have a minimum income of ₹ 400,000 a year for salaried individuals
- Be an Indian resident
- Reside:
- Chennai, Gurgaon, Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), Pune, Noida, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kochi, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad or Kolkata.
Fee and Welcome & Renewal Benefits
The fee for the HSBC Travelone card is ₹ 4999 plus GST. However, if you spend ₹100K in the first 90 days, you get 3000 Bonus Points.
Limited Period Welcome Benefits
If you apply for the HSBC TravelOne card by December 31, 2025, you can receive additional welcome benefits.
These welcome benefits are:
- Cashback of ₹1,000 (credited within 60 days from card issuance)
- A voucher worth ₹3,000 from Postcard Hotels
- EazyDiner Prime membership for 3 months
Of all these benefits, only the ₹1000 cashback is beneficial; the rest depend on whether you need them or not.
To be eligible for these benefits, you need to:
- Open a new HSBC TravelOne Credit Card Account and
- Successfully downloaded the HSBC India Mobile app and
- Use the new HSBC TravelOne Credit Card for transactions of at least ₹10,000 within the first 30 days of opening the account.
So, if you apply for the card by December 31, 2025, you have the opportunity to earn 3,000 Bonus Points and ₹ 1,000 cashback for the fee of ₹ 4,999 plus GST that you paid.
Fee Waiver
The fee of ₹4999 is waived if you spend ₹ 800,000 in a year. The spending requirement is slightly high, but it’s achievable.
HSBC Travelone Reward Points
There are multiple opportunities to earn HSBC points with your TravelOne card.
Base Points Earning
You earn 2 reward points on every ₹100 spent with the HSBC TravelOne Card. There is no cap on it. However, exclusions apply.
Pro Tip: You earn points on spending in multiples of ₹ 50. That means, if you spend ₹150, you will earn 3 points instead of 2; generally, banks would only give 2 points. You may not rack up huge points with this, but you still earn some points.
Travel Spending Earning
You earn 4 reward points on every ₹100 spent on flights & travel aggregators. That means, if you pay on MMT, Yatra, etc, you get 4 reward points on every ₹100 spent. However, a monthly cap of 50000 points applies. To maximise 50,000 points, you will need to spend ₹12.50 lakhs, which is a substantial amount. After meeting this limit, you earn points with a base rate.
MCC Codes Eligible:
- Airlines:
- 3000-3069, 3071, 3071, 3075-3079, 3081-3090, 3094, 3096-3103, 3106, 3110-3112, 3115, 3117, 3118, 3125-3127, 3129-3133, 3135-3138, 3143-3146, 3148, 3151, 3154, 3156, 3159, 3161, 3164, 3165, 3167, 3170-3172, 3174-3178, 3180-3188, 3190-3193, 3196, 3197, 3200, 3203, 3204, 3206, 3211-3223, 3226, 3228, 3229, 3231, 3233-3236, 3238-3243, 3245-3248, 3251-3254, 3256, 3259-3263, 3266, 3267, 3280, 3282, 3284-3287, 3292-3300, 3302, 4511
- Travel aggregators: 4722, 4723
Earn Rate on Foreign Spending
On foreign spending, you also earn 4 reward points on every ₹100 spent. The monthly limit of 50,000 points applies to cumulative expenditures in both travel and foreign spending.
Dynamic Currency Conversion spending is not considered foreign spending.
Earn on HSBC Marketplace
This is the biggest game-changer if you spend on Travel and don’t have high-end cards.
You can earn up to 28 points per ₹100 spent on HSBC Marketplace with your HSBC TravelOne Card:
- 4x points on flights, so you earn base 4 points plus 16 points on ₹ 100 spent.
- 6x points on hotels, so you earn base 4 points plus 24 points on ₹ 100 spent.
- 2x on car rentals, so you earn a base of 4 points plus 8 points on ₹100 spent.
A monthly limit of 18K points applies to points earned through HSBC Marketplace. Still, if you maximise this, you will need to spend ₹112.5K on flights or ₹75K on hotels.
HSBC TravelOne Milestone
There is only one milestone benefit on the HSBC TravelOne Card. When you spend ₹12 Lacs in a year, you get 10000 Bonus Points. Additionally, you receive an annual fee waiver for spending of ₹800,000.
How many points can you earn in a year?
HSBC Travelone is an interesting card; its earning potential depends on where you spend the most. If you spend a lot on flights, HSBC Travel could rack up significant points. I will explain later why this card still makes sense, even if it doesn’t earn substantial points for now.
| Base Spend | Travel Spend | HSBC MarketPlace | Total Spend | Base Earn | Accelerated Earnings | Milestone | Total Points |
| ₹ 300K | – | – | ₹300K | 6000 | – | – | 6000 |
| ₹400K | ₹100K | – | ₹400K | 8000 | 4000 | – | 12000 |
| ₹600K | ₹150K | ₹50K | ₹800K | 12000 | 14000 | – | 26000 |
| ₹800K | ₹250K | ₹150K | ₹1200K | 16000 | 34000 | 10000 | 60000 |
Exclusions
You don’t earn any points on:
- Bail and bond payments (9223)
- Education and government (9399, 8299, 8220, 8211, 8241, 8244, 8249, 9222, 9402, 9211, 9405)
- e-wallets (6540)
- Fuel (5541, 5983, 5172, 5542, 5552)
- Insurance (6300, 5960)
- Jewellery (5944, 5094)
- Financial institutions (6010-6012)
- Money transfers (4829)
- Non-financial institutions (6051)
- Real estate agents and managers (6513)
- Tax payments (9311)
- Utilities (4900).
The exclusions are standard, but instead of completely excluding specific categories like education, insurance & jewellery, they should offer a lower earnings rate.
Maximise: HSBC TravelOne Transfer Partners
The best way to maximise the HSBC TravelOne Card is to transfer HSBC Points to its transfer partners. It is good to see HSBC maintaining its Transfer Ratio in line with the HSBC Premier card. Also, there is no cap on the number of points that can be transferred. You get access to 20 transfer partners with HSBC.
| Airlines | Frequent Flyer Program | Airline Alliance | Conversion Ratio [TravelOne] |
| Air Asia | AirAsia rewards | None | 1:3 |
| Air France-KLM | Flying Blue | SkyTeam | 1:1 |
| Air India | Maharaja Club | Star Alliance | 1:1 |
| British Airways | Executive Club | OneWorld | 1:1 |
| Etihad Airways | Etihad Guest | None | 1:1 |
| EVA Air | Infinity MileageLands | Star Alliance | 2:1 |
| Hainan Airlines | Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club | None | 2:1 |
| Japan Airlines | JAL Mileage Bank | OneWorld | 1:1 |
| Singapore Airlines | Krisflyer | Star Alliance | 1:1 |
| Thai Airways | Royal Orchid Plus | Star Alliance | 1:1 |
| Turkish Airlines | Miles&Smiles | Star Alliance | 2:1 |
| United Airlines | United MileagePlus | Star Alliance | 2:1 |
| Qantas Airways | Qantas Frequent Flyer | OneWorld | 1:1 |
| Qatar Airways | Privilege Club | OneWorld | 1:1 |
| Vietnam Airlines | Loutsmiles | SkyTeam | 1:1 |
| Hotels | Loyalty Program | Conversion Ratio [TravelOne] |
| Accor | Accor – ALL | 1:1 |
| IHG Hotels & Resorts | IHG One Rewards | 1:1 |
| Marriott | Marriott Bonvoy | 1:1 |
| Wyndham Hotels & Resorts | Wyndham Rewards | 1:1 |
| Shangri-La Group | Shangri-La Circle | 5:1 |
Pro Tip: 2000 Accor points have a fixed value of €40, with a transfer ratio of 1:1, so HSBC TravelOne points can easily give ₹2 per point. However, the value will vary depending on where you transfer and use.
Lounge Access
The lounge access is limited to the HSBC TravelOne card. You get 6 domestic and 4 lounge access in a year. There is currently no spending requirement.
The complete list of domestic lounges can be found here.
Save More on Travel with HSBC TravelOne Card
When you have an HSBC TravelOne card, you also save more on Travel.
- 15% Discount on Yatra:
- Use Code HSBCTRAVEL1.
- Valid till 31st December 2025.
- Maximum Discount:
- Domestic Hotels & Flights: ₹ 3000 in a year.
- International Hotels & Flights: ₹ 5000 in a year.
- Available twice per year.
- 15% Discount on EaseMyTrip:
- Use Code EMTHSBCT1.
- Valid till 31st December 2025.
- Maximum Discount:
- Domestic Hotels & Flights: ₹ 3000 in a year.
- International Hotels & Flights: ₹ 5000 in a year.
- Available twice per year.
- 15% Discount on Flights booked on PayTM:
- Use Code: HSBCTRAVEL
- Valid till 31st December 2025.
- Maximum Discount: ₹5,000 per year.
- Valid only on Domestic & International flights.
- Available twice per year.
- 15% Discount on flights booked on Cleartrip:
- Use Code: CTHSBCTRAVELONE
- Valid till 31st December 2026.
- Maximum Discount:
- Domestic Flights: ₹ 3000 in a year.
- International Flights: ₹ 5000 in a year.
- Offer is valid once per Card every 6 months.
- Only available on the Mastercard variant.
- 11% Discount on StayVista twice per year with a discount of ₹3000 per booking.
HSBC is also offering additional discounts with other partners, so look for it and you may find one.
Other Benefits
- Golf:
- 4 complimentary rounds of golf and 12 complimentary lessons per calendar year (max 1 per calendar month).
- Duty Free Orders:
- 20% off up to ₹3,000 on a minimum order of ₹8,000 at Adani Airports on Duty-free orders once per card per year, use code HSBCTRAVELONE. This is valid till 31st December 2025.
- Dining & Entertainment using Zomato/District App valid till 31 December 2025:
- 10% Discount on Events: up to ₹1,000 per month. (Code: HSBCTOEVENTS)
- 10% Discount on Dining: up to ₹1,000 per month. (Code: HSBCTODINING)
- Buy 1 Get 1 free up to ₹200 on the 2nd ticket twice a month. (Code: HSBCTOMOV)
- Purchase Protection:
- If you purchased an item (most of which are carved out, but new electrical items are generally covered), you can claim under this benefit within six months. However, a depreciation rate applies. A maximum of ₹ 2.5 Lac per instance, with a limit of ₹ 16.66 Lacs, applies. You can get the details here.
Forex Markup
The HSBC TravelOne Card has a foreign exchange (forex) markup of 3.5% plus GST, which translates to a total of 4.13%. You also earn 4 points for every ₹100 spent on foreign transactions. So, in the net you don’t lose much. At the same time, HSBC occasionally runs promotions offering cash back on forex markup, which can be helpful. For example, from July 1st to September 30th, 2025, they run a promotion offering cashback on forex fees, and you continue to earn reward points as well. So, be sure to look out for these promotions from time to time.
Note: The cashback is not a guaranteed campaign; however, HSBC does launch such promotions.
When does applying for the HSBC TravelOne Card make sense?
HSBC is a relatively straightforward card, and I’m also in the process of applying for it. But when does it make sense to have it:
- Access to Super Premium Cards:
- If you don’t have access to Premium Cards like HSBC Premier, HDFC Diners Black, Infinia, or Axis Magnus Burgundy, applying for an HSBC TravelOne card is relatively straightforward and accessible if you live in eligible cities.
- Don’t have Atlas:
- If you already have an Axis Atlas Card, which you cannot currently apply for, the HSBC TravelOne Card is a good option with no cap on points earning and transfers, but it can’t beat the Axis Atlas.
- Beginner in Travel Space:
- If you are a beginner in the travel space, TravelOne is a good card to start with. This is because it has a good number of transfer partners with decent reward earnings and standard exclusions. The closest other counterpart could be the Axis Horizon Card, but it lacks the points earning of HSBC Marketplace and doesn’t have a fee waiver. Actually, a colleague of mine applied for this as his first travel card, as Axis Atlas is closed for new applications.
- Higher Spends:
- If your upcoming expenses are higher, and this card makes sense, as you spend ₹12 Lacs a year, you can earn 34K reward points and also get fees waived.
- Better Transfer Ratio & Less Turnaround Time:
- For most transfer partners, the transfer ratio is 1:1, which is a decent rate. That takes a lot of complexity out for now. And, most of the transfers are instant, except for some, such as Japan Airlines, Air India & Hainan Airlines. The devaluation of the transfer ratio can definitely happen, but not for every partner.
Bottomline
HSBC TravelOne is a decent card, offering a good start for both beginners and pros. It serves both beginners and pros, depending on their needs. I would apply for this card to pivot some of my expenses from Infinia and Atlas.
