HSBC TravelOne Credit Card review
A good mid-range card for people who move points to airlines or hotels, since flexible 1:1 transfers make each point worth far more than its ₹0.25 cash value. If you only want cashback, or you spend a lot abroad, the low cash value and 3.5% forex markup make it a weak pick.
Fees
₹4,999 a year + GST. Annual fee (and its GST) reversed when spends on the primary and add-on cards together exceed ₹8 lakh in the card year. Forex markup 3.5%.
Rewards
1 point = ₹0.25 as a statement credit or voucher. Most of the 20 airline and hotel partners take points 1:1, and a mile or hotel point is often worth ₹0.50–₹1 or more, depending on the redemption.
- Fuel: 0%
- Flights & hotels: 1% – 4 points per ₹100 on airlines and travel agencies/OTAs. Bonus points are capped at 50,000 a calendar month, shared with foreign spends, and the rate drops to 2 points after that.
- Bills: 0%
- Rent: 0%
- Insurance: 0%
- Education: 0%
- UPI with a credit card: 0% – Mastercard, so it can't be linked to UPI
- Foreign currency: 1% – 4 points per ₹100 on foreign-currency spends (bonus cap shared with travel), but the 3.5% forex markup wipes out the gain
- Everything else: 0.5%
On a typical spending pattern this card gives back about ₹2,040 a year.
What’s good
- Points move instantly in the app to about 20 airline and hotel programmes, most at 1:1 (including Air India, KrisFlyer, British Airways, Marriott and Accor)
- 4 points per ₹100 on flights, travel sites and foreign spends, and 2 points elsewhere
- 6 domestic and 4 international lounge visits a year, with no spend condition stated
- 4 free golf rounds a year and travel-site discounts
What’s not
- Points are worth only ₹0.25 each unless you transfer them to airlines or hotels
- 3.5% forex markup is high for a travel card
- Utilities, insurance, fuel, rent and education earn nothing
- ₹4,999 fee, and you need ₹8 lakh a year in spends to get it back
Lounge access
Domestic: 6 a year. International: 4 a year.