Customer cards:

1)   HSBC Premier World MasterCard

This credit card is offered to already existing clients of HSBC. The bank requires the clients to start a HSBC Premier Checking account and keep $100000 in personal or investment deposits and balances. It is important to be noted that owners of businesses can use their firm’s balances to qualify. The cardholder receives an annual percentage rate (APR) for purchases and balance transfers equal to 9.99%. This rate is dependable on the prime rate, or the highest loan rate in the money section of The Wall Street Journal. To the prime rate, the bank then adds a spread, which is a fixed percentage chosen by HSBC. For cash advances, the APR is 21.99%, again based on the prime rate. If the card member fails to submit at least the total minimum payment until the due date every billing cycle, the annual percentage rate for all outstanding balances will increase to 27.24%. If the prime rate increases or decreases the difference in the annual percentage rates will be considered from the first day of the next billing cycle. The minimum interest charge, which will be imposed on the HSBC Premier World MasterCard, is $0.5. This credit card has two transaction fees applicable, a balance transfer fee and cash advances fee, both in amount of $5 or 3% of the sum, whichever is greater. HSBC offers this credit card with no annual membership fee, no overdraft or foreign transaction fees.  Additionally, owners of the HSBC Premier World MasterCard do not get a pre-set spending limit.

HSBC Platinum MasterCard

The Platinum MasterCard is offered in two variations: Cash or Fly Rewards or Non-rewards card. The first card involves participating in rewards point program. In addition, the Cash or Fly Rewards MasterCard comes with promotional 0% APR for purchases for the first 12 months. Afterwards, the annual percentage rate for purchases will be dependable on the creditworthiness of the cardholder and may vary between 11.99% and 18.99%. The same percentage rates apply to the balance transfers. For checks and cash advances, the annual percentage rates may be between 19.88% and 21.99%. In cases of a late payment, the annual percentage rate will be between 27.24% and 31.99% for all outstanding balances. The minimum interests charge with can be imposed on this credit card is $1. The Platinum MasterCard has some transaction fees such as fee for cash advances in the amount of $10 or 4% of the sum. For balance transfers the transaction fee is either $5 or 3% of the amount, whichever is greater. The same fee will be charged on any overdraft advances as well. For foreign transactions, the fee is a flat 3% of the sum of the transaction. This card is offered with an annual membership fee of up to $35. It is based on the creditworthiness of the applicant.

Business Cards:

HSBC MasterCard Business Card

The HSBC MasterCard Business card is a business credit card offered with no annual membership fee and individual supplementary cards for employees, with the company/organization name. The bank provides a promotional 0% annual percentage rate for all balances for the first six billing cycles after opening of the account. Then, the annual percentage rate for purchases will be comprised of the prime rate and a spread, resulting of a rate of 13.24%. The annual percentage rate for all other balances after the promotion expires will be 21.24%. The minimum interest charge imposed on this card is $0.5. There are transaction fees, which are applicable on certain transactions made through the MasterCard Business Card. Such fees include balance transfer fees, overdraft and cash advances fee and line of credit check fee. All fees are at least $5 or 3% of the amount of the transactions. Since this card is a business one it allows the account owner to control the spending of his/hers designated employees on their individual supplementary cards.

• By E-Mail: Everyone can contact HSBC bank by e-mail directly from their official website.
• By Post: The address for customer services is the same as the address for sending payments:

HSBC Card Services

PO Box 49359

San Jose, CA 95161-9352

• By Phone: 1-888-385-8916 is the number for customer service about credit cards powered by HSBC. If the cardholder is outside US the number to call is 1-716-841-7141.
• For a stolen or lost card, immediately call 1-888-292-3629. If the card is Premier – 1-800-327-4214.

How to pay

• Online – Log on to the website and make a payment using online banking.
• Mail – Mailing the payment is the most common way of making a payment. The addresses on which the cardholders can submit their payments are:

HSBC Card Services

PO Box 49359

San Jose, CA 95161-9352, and

Overnight address:

HSBC Card Service Inc

ATTN Exception Debt

1301 E. Tower Road

Schaumburg, IL 60173

• Phone – This service is a subject of a charge. The phone number to make a payment is: 1-888-385-8916
• In one of HSBC offices

HSBC ecosmart MasterCard Plus Rewards Program

The rewards program initiated by HSBC allows every cardholder to participate in reward points earning process and then redeem the points for travel discounts, cash back or environmentally friendly products, as well as to donate them to a various number of environmental charities. One point can be earned with every $1 spent on purchases with no limitation as to how many points one account owner can accumulate. If the cardholder chooses to redeem his/her points as cash back, one point can be exchanged for 1% cash back or $0.01. Each card, which participates in the ecosmart MasterCard plus rewards program receives promotional 0% annual percentage rate for the first six months and no annual membership fee.

Business Card Rewards Program

HSBC uses the method of calculations called “Average Daily Balance (including new purchases)”. This method is applicable to all outstanding balances of one’s account every day of the billing cycle. Usually the billing cycle has 30 days.  The calculations start with working out the daily balance. It comprises of the balance at the beginning of the day, all new transactions or purchases, any kinds of previous day’s periodic interest charge, meaning that, here, any interest which has been accrued from the previous day is added, any finance charge, which is imposed when the cardholder makes a transaction, and all types of fees or extra charges, which have been imposed on this day. From this sum, any payments and/or credits are subtracted. The result is the daily balance. To find the average daily balance, the bank sums up all the daily balances in a billing cycle and divides them to the number of days there are in the billing cycle. That gives the average daily balance. The average daily balance is the subject of interest charge. To calculate the interest charge first the daily periodic rate should be found. It is the APR divided by the total days in a year. The interest charge will be, then, the average daily balance multiplied by the daily periodic rate.

Another important calculation is the calculation of the total minimum payment, or the amount of money the cardholder has to pay each month so that he/she will avoid fees and penalty APR. If the new balance of the cardholder is less than $25, the minimum payment will be the amount equal to the new balance. If the balance is more than $25, then the total minimum payment will be the largest of $25 or the sum of 1% of the new balance plus any periodic interest charges, any fees for late payment or exceeding the credit limit and 1/12 of the annual membership fee, if there is such. It is very important to know that any past due amounts are added to the total minimum payment every month.

Types of penalty fees

• Late payment fee – This fee is applicable when the card member fails to make at least the total minimum payment by the due date every billing cycle. It differs for the different types of credit cards. For the customer credit cards, powered by HSBC, this fee depends on the amount of the outstanding balance. If the balance is less than or equal to $250, the late fee will be $19. If it is bigger than $250, than the fee for late payment will be $25 for a single violation, and $35 if a late payment occur again within six billing cycles. For business credit cards, this fee is $35.
• Returned payment fee – The returned payment fee is imposed when a payment has not been honored by the bank and has to be returned unpaid. For customer cards this fee is $25, however, it will not be more than the minimum payment, which is due. For MasterCard Business cards, the returned payment fee is $20 for every violation.
• Stop payment fee – This is a penalty fee, which HSBC applies to every request for stopping a cash advance made by the cardholder. For customer credit cards this fee is in the amount $29.
• Over-the-credit-limit fee – The cardholder owes such fee when exceeds his/her imposed credit limit. The fee is only applicable to customer credit cards. It is $25 and will be only applied if the excess is more than $25.
• Research fee – Research fee is imposed in cases of request of some documents made by the card member.

Types of transaction fees:

• Balance transfer fee – balance transfer fee is applicable when balances are transferred and is minimum $5 and maximum $50, otherwise it is 3% of the amount.
• Cash advances fee – this fee applies to all types of cash advances available to the HSBC credit cards. It is the greater of $5 or 3% of the sum, but not exceeding $50.
• Foreign transaction fee – this is a fee imposed when transactions are made in a different currency than the US dollar. For HS
  • Overdraft fee – the overdraft fee is the transaction fee on any overdraft advances, which the cardholder makes. For some cards, these transactions are free of charge.