(EXPIRED) (Back) Up to $180 in easy bonuses for HSBC account holders [Targeted]

HSBC is out with a targeted new promo that might make that HSBC Premier account more appealing for those who have opened it for the current $600 bonus, so I wanted to take a few minutes out of my current paternity leave to report this. Both my wife and I received emails advertising this promo, but YMMV. The short of it is that you can get $15/month for six months for making 10 transactions per month with an HSBC Mastercard (including the debit card!) and $15/month for six months for paying 3 bills with HSBC bill pay. That adds up to $180 over six months if you complete both — and I’m happy to keep the account around for a while for more easy money from HSBC.

The Deal

• HSBC is out with a targeted promotion to get up to $180 in bonuses for those with an HSBC Premier checking account as follows:
  • Get $15 per month for using an eligible HSBC Mastercard(s) (which includes the debit card) to make 10 new purchases per month (up to six months)
  • Get $15 per month for making 3 Electronic Bill Pay transactions a month (up to six months)
• Promotion is targeted with an email subject line, “Earn up to $180 for making everyday transactions”. Note: My email indicates that the promo is valid from 10/1/20 to 3/31/21 7/1/21 to 12/31/21, though YMMV depending on if and when you are targeted.
• Direct link to promo landing page

Key Terms

• This Promotion is non-transferrable and is only available to the recipient of this invitation.
• This Promotion includes two Offers, each requiring qualifying activities and is available from the first full calendar month after the date you receive this invitation and is valid for 6 consecutive calendar months (“Promotional Period”).
• Promotional Period for these offers is 10/01/2020 through and including 03/31/2021.
• To qualify for the Card Transaction Offer (“Card Offer”), up to $90 ($15 max per month), you must have an Eligible HSBC Mastercard® Card (“Eligible Card(s)”) issued to you by HSBC Bank USA, N.A. and complete at least 10 eligible new purchases per calendar month using your Eligible Card(s) during the Promotional Period. Eligible Card(s) includes HSBC Debit Mastercard® card(s) linked to your HSBC Premier checking account and/or HSBC Mastercard® credit card(s).
• Debit card transactions excluded from eligible purchases include, but not limited to, ATM cash withdrawals.
• Credit card transactions excluded from eligible purchases include balance transfers, credit card checks, cash advances or overdrafts.
• Transactions must post to your Eligible HSBC Mastercard® Card within the calendar month to qualify.
• To qualify for the Bill Pay Offer (“Bill Pay Offer”), up to $90 ($15 max per month), you must be registered for Online Banking and complete at least 3 Electronic Bill Pay transactions to third party payees per calendar month during the Promotional Period.
• Electronic Bill Pay is defined as paying bills from your HSBC Premier checking account using HSBC’s Bill Pay service available on HSBC’s Personal Internet Banking or the HSBC Mobile Banking App. (Data rate charges from your service provider may apply. HSBC Bank USA, N.A. is not responsible for these charges.) Transfers between internal or external accounts do not qualify as an HSBC Bill Payment.
• You will automatically receive the Card Offer and/or Bill Pay Offer into your HSBC Premier checking account approximately eight weeks after completing that month’s qualifying activities.
• Limit one “Card Offer” and one “Bill Pay Offer” per customer, including all individual and joint accounts – the first line name on the joint account is considered the customer for gift purposes.
• The Promotion to your HSBC Premier checking account will be reported on the applicable IRS form.

Quick Thoughts

Both the email and promotion landing page indicate that this is a targeted offer and as such I’m guessing that eligibility dates could vary (it seems that they likely send the email a few days before the date when the promo would take effect).

Both my wife and I opened our accounts in April under an offer that required direct deposit for six months starting with May. That means October would be the final month for us to make a direct deposit under our offer; it doesn’t seem like a coincidence that this new offer comes at the tail end of that to incentivize us to continue using HSBC. In my case, this will sure work. Both my wife and I received the offer and it will be pretty simple for us to meet the requirements, banking $360 total between the two of us. I find this promotion to be really smart on HSBC’s part as it certainly gives us reason to treat HSBC more like a primary account.

I’m not sure whether and how soon new account holders who have opened under the Share The Experience offer may see a similar promotion, but it’s good to know that they do offer incentives like this. In our case, we had neither used the Bill Pay feature nor had we used the debit card. We’ll certainly begin making it a point to start doing both from 10/1. I obviously won’t turn the debit card into my primary use card and forgo credit card rewards on major purchases, but I’m sure I can find ten uses per month for each of us.

I have made some updates to the original post about the HSBC Premier account (including my wife’s information). For those who missed that deal, HSBC is currently offering a $600 bonus to those who open an HSBC account via a referral offer. This Share The Experience offer has no requirements in the terms to trigger the offer (it only notes that your account must remain open for a minimum of 15 business days and that you need to maintain a Premier relationship), though some people are being told by phone reps that direct deposit of $5K/mo for several months is required. YMMV: the single data point we’d previously reported received the bonus less than a month after opening, but it’s possible that the terms were changed. See more detail in the updated post about that deal.

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