HSBC TravelOne Credit Card
A platinum Mastercard card with 10 lounge visits. We break down whether 10 lounge visits and a 0.6% earn rate justify ₹4,999/year.
HSBC Bank
A platinum Mastercard card with 10 lounge visits. We break down whether 10 lounge visits and a 0.6% earn rate justify ₹4,999/year.
Fee waiver requires ₹8,00,000 annual spend (₹66,667/month) on eligible retail. Most issuers exclude cash, rent, wallet reload, and fuel from the waiver-eligible total.
8 spending categories earn zero rewards (including fuel, rent).
The HSBC TravelOne Credit Card is HSBC Bank's ₹4,999-a-year reward points credit card with about 0.6% base rewards on everyday spend. Best for frequent travelers and ₹8-13l annual spenders.
Quick Decision
Reward earnings only, at the everyday spend mix: milestone vouchers and lounge value are tracked separately in the sections below. 8 categories (fuel, rent, insurance, etc., see Excluded list) earn 0% and are NOT in this range.
Casual users hit the lower end; engaged users hit the upper end.
See full analysisPros & Cons
A balanced look at what this card does well and where it falls short.
- Fee waived on ₹8.0L annual spend
- 6 domestic + 4 international lounge visits/year
- Welcome bonus worth ₹3,400
- Fuel transactions excluded from rewards
- Rent payments excluded from rewards
- 8 spending categories excluded
- High forex markup: 3.5%
- High income requirement: ₹50,000/month
Our editorial take on this card
What works
4 reward points per 100 INR on flights, travel aggregators (Yatra, EaseMyTrip, Cleartrip, Paytm) and every foreign currency transaction: the accelerated bucket covers nearly every leg of an international trip, not just direct airline bookings like the Axis Atlas's 5 EDGE Miles.
10 complimentary lounge visits a year (6 domestic + 4 international) plus 4 chauffeur-driven airport transfers: a complete pre-flight package that 4,999 INR cards rarely bundle together (the 5,000 INR Axis Atlas offers 8 domestic + 4 international at a comparable fee).
1:1 instant transfer to HSBC airline and hotel partners: 1,000 points becomes 1,000 airline miles, and on premium-cabin redemptions each mile can be worth 0.50-1.00 INR, stretching the 1.2% nominal travel earn to a 2-4% effective return.
15% off Yatra, EaseMyTrip, Cleartrip and Paytm Travel bookings plus 10% off Zomato dining and events (codes HSBCTODINING / HSBCTOEVENTS): useful for the first booking each quarter, but these are capped promotional discounts, not a stacking earn rate.
If you clear roughly 67,000 INR/month and bank 50,000-80,000 points toward one free international economy ticket, the structure works; if you want monthly cashback or your spend leans on rent, it does not.
Eight categories earn zero points: fuel, rent, insurance, utility bills, government, education, jewellery and wallet loads; if your monthly outgoings lean on rent and utilities, most of your spend earns nothing here.
50,000-point monthly cap means once accelerated spend crosses 12,50,000 INR (or base spend crosses 25,00,000 INR) in a single calendar month you stop earning entirely: a hard ceiling for one-off big-ticket bookings like a family holiday or international tuition.
0.6% effective return on everyday spends (2 reward points per 100 INR at WhichWise benchmark of 0.30 INR per point) is below most entry-level cashback cards; the card only earns its keep when accelerated and forex spend dominate.
3.5% forex markup is the legacy industry standard and stings on a card explicitly marketed for travel: the SBI Miles Elite drops this to 1.99% on the same 4,999 INR joining fee, so for buying forex this card is actually a sub-par option even with the 4-point accelerated earn.
4,999 INR annual fee waiver kicks in only at 8,00,000 INR of yearly spend (roughly 67,000 INR/month); lighter users pay the fee in cash and break even on rewards alone at around 4,15,000 INR of pure accelerated spend.
Independent analysis from public card terms, no paid placements or ratings.
Welcome Bonus
VerifiedOne-time bonus for new cardholders
Rs 1,000 Cashback, PostCard Voucher worth Rs 3,000, and 3-month EazyDiner membership on spending Rs 10,000 within 30 days of card issuance
So what does this card actually earn?
Reward Points
This card earns reward points on every transaction. The real value of your points depends on how you redeem them: here is a breakdown of the redemption tiers.
Cash redemption: 67% value loss vs best tier
Effective rate drops from 0.6% (at ₹0.30/point via vouchers/travel) to 0.2% (at ₹0.10/point as statement credit / cash equivalent). If you want flexible cash redemption, a flat 1.5%+ cashback card will out-earn this card.
per point
0.4%
assumes ₹0.20/point redemption
Redemption Tiers
Tap a tier to update the Value Verdict above
Worst Case
Statement credit, cashback
Tiered Rewards
Different reward rates by category
Partner Rewards
Earn bonus rates at these merchants
| Merchant | Reward | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Yatra | 15% | Cashback |
| EaseMyTrip | 15% | Cashback |
| Paytm (as Merchant) | 15% | Cashback |
| Cleartrip | 15% | Cashback |
| Zomato | 10% | Cashback |
International Transaction Rate
This card has a separate reward rate for international transactions. Foreign currency markup: 3.5%. Consider a low-forex card for international travel.
Additional Benefits
Chauffeur-Driven Airport Transfers
4 complimentary chauffeur-driven airport transfers per year (to or from domestic airports only; max 1 per quarter)
Bicester Collection Village Access
Exclusive eVIP pass discounts, hands-free shopping, sale events and reserved parking at The Bicester Collection Villages
Duty-Free Discount (AdaniOne)
Save 20%, up to INR3,000, on duty-free when you spend INR8,000 or more, once per card per year
Monthly Reward Cap
Maximum rewards you can earn per month
Monthly Cap
₹10,000
Annual Cap
₹1,20,000
50,000 reward points at ₹0.2/point
Takeaway: cap hits at ₹12,50,000/month if you run all spend through the 0.8% booster, or at ₹25,00,000/month on plain base earn.
At base 0.4%: global cap kicks in at ₹25,00,000/month (0.4% × ₹25,00,000 = ₹10,000 cap).
At 0.8% (booster): cap kicks in at ₹12,50,000/month.
Excluded Categories
8 categories earn no rewards on this card
⚠ Do not use for Fuel / Petrol / Diesel / CNG, Rent Payments, Insurance Premiums and 5 more. You earn 0 rewards on these spends. Use a different card or pay direct.
This card works best for flights, travel aggregators,… and airport lounge usage. Spends in those categories still earn at the headline rate.
Lounge Access
Complimentary airport lounge visits
Domestic
6
visits/year
International
4
visits/year
Priority Pass
No
membership
The ceiling priced at walk-in rates is the theoretical max; the realistic range above assumes 40–70% of visits actually used (most users land in the lower half). How is this estimated?
How It Compares
Side-by-side with similar cards in our database.
| Feature | This card | American Express Platinum Travel | Yes Bank Marquee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | ₹4,999 | ₹5,000 | ₹4,999 |
| Reward ratecash-equivalent · accelerated | 0.40%0.60% if redeemed for travel | 1.00%no accelerator | 1.80%no accelerator |
| Network | Mastercard | American Express | Visa |
| Acceptance | Universal | Limited | Universal |
| Eligibility | Applicable | Applicable | Not accepting |
Methodology: reward rates shown at cash-equivalent redemption (statement credit / direct cashback): the most conservative tier every cardholder can realize. Travel-transfer or partner-merchant routing can be materially higher; see each card's full review for upside scenarios.
Fees & Charges
Complete breakdown of all fees associated with this card.
Value Verdict
Eligible spend · no routingEstimated annual value at ₹50,000/month spend with base earn on eligible retail (after assumed 24% in excluded categories), plus lounge access at realistic utilization.
✓ The fee gets waived at ₹66,667/month spend (₹8,00,000/year on eligible retail). Below that, the card only makes sense if you actually use the perks listed above: base rewards alone can't cover the ₹5,899 GST-inclusive fee until ₹1,61,705/month, by which point the waiver has already kicked in.
Year 1 also carries a one-time ₹4,999 + 18% GST joining fee (~₹5,899), charged upfront on issuance and not waivable by spend. The net above reflects the renewal-year fee; subtract the joining fee from year-1 value.
First year bonus: +₹3,400 welcome value (not included above)Year-1 net: ₹5,899 upfront (fee + 18% GST, GST non-refundable) − ~₹2,900 realized voucher value (closed-loop, ~15% liquidity haircut) ≈ ₹2,999 net cost, not zero. Bundled memberships count as non-cashable utility.
↓ Accelerated rates (Flights, travel aggregators, foreign currency (accelerated 4 RP/INR100) at 1.2%) not included: actual value may be higher
Reward earnings only: ~₹1,824/year on generic spend, or ₹8,482/year if you route ~₹3,800/month (~10% of eligible spend) through YATRA (15% partner rate). Partner premium: +₹6,658/year.The 'With optimized routing' figure also routes ~15% of spend through the Flights, travel aggregators, foreign currency (accelerated 4 RP/INR100) tier (1.2% vs 0.40% base): estimated +₹547/year additional.
The ₹7,764 top-line above also includes lounge access on top of these reward earnings.
Assumptions used in this estimate▸
- • Reward earnings shown at the conservative redemption tier (vouchers / statement credit).
- • Monthly reward cap of ₹15,000 applies to the card; spend above this earns nothing extra.
- • Lounge value uses ~55% realistic utilization (most flyers don't fully clock the available visits). Per-visit anchors: ₹800 domestic, ₹1,500 international. Retail-equivalent (100% utilization) would be ₹10,800.
- • Assumes 24% of your spend lands in 8 excluded categories (fuel, rent, etc.) that earn ₹0: eligible spend used in the math above is ₹38,000/month.
- • Annual fee of ₹4,999 + 18% GST (₹5,899 total) is included in the net calculation. Fee would be waived above ₹8,00,000/year spend.
Eligibility
Requirements you need to meet to apply for this card.
Data verified against HSBC Bank official website · Last verified: 2026-05-09 · Terms & Conditions (MITC)
WhichWise does not accept payment for card placement or ratings. Fees, rates, and benefits may change. Always confirm with the issuer before applying.
Verified from the source
Key facts below are quoted verbatim from HSBC Bank's own pages and documents, not paraphrased.
- Joining fee
“Joining fee for `4,999 for TravelOne Primary Cardholder & NIL for all other variants”
Verified quote from hsbc.co.in (MITC document) · fetched 2026-05-09 - Annual fee
“TravelOne Credit Card `4,999 (Waived off only if the minimum spends on the primary card is more than `800,000 in the FY”
Verified quote from hsbc.co.in (MITC document) · fetched 2026-05-09 - Annual fee waiver
“Waived off only if the minimum spends on the primary card is more than `800,000 in the FY for which the annual fee is charged”
Verified quote from hsbc.co.in (MITC document) · fetched 2026-05-09 - Reward type
“Earn 4 reward points for every INR100 spent on flights, travel aggregators and in foreign currency”
Verified quote from hsbc.co.in (issuer website) · fetched 2026-05-09 - Monthly rewards cap
“Earn 4 reward points for every INR100 spent, capped at 50,000 reward points a month.”
Verified quote from hsbc.co.in (issuer website) · fetched 2026-05-09 - Welcome bonus
“Download and log on to the HSBC India Mobile Banking app and spend INR10,000 within the first 30 days of opening your credit card account to get: INR1,000 cashback”
Verified quote from hsbc.co.in (issuer website) · fetched 2026-05-09 - Forex markup
“Currency conversion charge 3.5% foreign currency transactions”
Verified quote from hsbc.co.in (MITC document) · fetched 2026-05-09 - Lounge access
“Get 6 local and 4 international airport lounge visits every year.”
Verified quote from hsbc.co.in (issuer website) · fetched 2026-05-09
Interested in HSBC TravelOne?
Check the official page for the latest terms before applying.