HSBC And Star Alliance Partner To Launch World’s First Airline Credit Card

For travelers, the increased flexibility of getting award points through co-branded credit cards is a win-win situation. It’s convenient and rewarding, whether you plan to fly or stay in a hotel. Australia is the first market to be included, as cardholders can earn loyalty program miles for seven different airlines with this new way of collecting miles on their credit cards.

As unique as its name

The HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card is the first airline-branded credit card to be offered by a global alliance, allowing customers to earn rewards across seven airlines. It also lowers the bar on acceptance by providing members with common rewards that can then be converted into frequent flier points at participating airlines through Star Alliance.

Participating member airlines include Air Canada, Air New Zealand, EVA Air, Singapore Airlines, South Africa Airways, Thai Airways, United Airlines, and Jeffrey Goh.

“The new product is the result of strategic discussions with our member airlines for the Australian market.”

The product is designed to offer a new level of loyalty experience through points, fast-track status in Star Alliance Gold, and more.

Key features

When you pay for something with your card, every time you do you’ll also earn benefits such as Star Alliance Gold status. This can happen in the first year and costs just $4,000 in spending on eligible purchases within 90 days of getting the card approved.

The earn rate for the card is one Star Alliance Point per AUD$1 spent on eligible purchases in Australia and overseas. After that, users can earn 0.5 Star Alliance Point per AUD$1 spent on eligible expenses.

Previously, you had to have an airline account with a heavy emphasis on one of the participating Star Alliance nations in order to redeem your points. Now, you can get Star Alliance Points just as easily by using your Frequent Flier Membership number. These points will last as long as you remain a customer of any part of the program.

The Star Alliance Card offers unlimited intercontinental travel and no annual fee in the first year. It also allows users 0% interest on purchases made through participating airlines websites.

Australia as a testbed

As of now, only Australians can sign up for the card. However, this won’t always be the case! It is possible that it will be rolled out in other markets in the future.

Traveling overseas is an increasingly popular thing to do. Australians are traveling more and looking for ways to keep their costs down, but they still want rewards when they get there. With the launch of our new card, they can invest in flights while earning points toward other travel purchases like hotels and tours.

HSBC Australia’s Head of Wealth and Personal Banking, Jessica Power, commented,

In our recent survey, 96% of Australians who are thinking about traveling outside of the country said they would be willing to try searching for flight and accommodation deals as a way to save money. 50% of people said they would also look into shopping around for flights, resulting in big savings!

We’re interested in seeing how Australia’s card will play out and how other markets worldwide may follow suit.