Last month, HSBC revealed that it would be hiking the number of reward points needed for its cardholders to transfer into KrisFlyer miles by 20%, a surprise move that will make it the only bank in Singapore offering an inferior points-to-miles exchange rate for SIA’s frequent flyer programme compared to other options.

The change is due to take effect for transfers made from 16th January 2025, and that means if you have a stash of HSBC reward points that you were planning to transfer into KrisFlyer miles you should be planning to do so on or before 15th January – which is Wednesday this week – at the latest.

Before committing to KrisFlyer, however, do consider whether it might be more beneficial to retain your HSBC reward points for a transfer to one of the bank’s 15 other frequent flyer programme partners, or four hotel loyalty schemes, where you could potentially get even better value.

What’s changing?

For as long as anyone can remember, you’ve been able to convert HSBC Rewards points into Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles at a 2.5:1 ratio, subject to a minimum transfer of 25,000 points to 10,000 miles.

This remains the case until Wednesday 15th January 2025.

Transfer Ratio HSBC Rewards points    KrisFlyer miles 25,000 : 10,000 (Until 15th January 2025)

Since May 2024, transfers have been instant, free and also more flexible in five-point increments once the minimum transfer threshold of 25,000 points has been met (e.g. it’s possible to transfer 25,505 points to 10,202 miles, if that’s what you need).

Unfortunately, as was recently announced with one months’ notice, the transfer ratio is being hiked with effect from Thursday 16th January 2025.

Transfer Ratio HSBC Rewards points    KrisFlyer miles 30,000 : 10,000 (From 16th January 2025)

For example, if you currently have 300,000 HSBC Rewards points in your account you can transfer those into 120,000 KrisFlyer miles by Wednesday this week, but from Thursday onwards you’ll only net 100,000 KrisFlyer miles instead at the new transfer ratio.

That’s a 16.7% reduction in miles for the same points transfer – not exactly a positive change!

We therefore strongly recommend completing any transfers from HSBC Rewards points into the KrisFlyer programme by the end of the day on Wednesday 15th January 2025 at the latest – before this change takes effect.

Bear in mind that once you transfer your HSBC Rewards points to KrisFlyer miles, they will be valid until the end of the month three years after the transfer is made – which for those transferring this month means the miles will expire on 31st January 2028.

Consider alternative transfer partners

Before you take the plunge and convert your HSBC Rewards points to KrisFlyer miles over the next couple of days, remember that the bank added a raft of new transfer partners to its repertoire with the advent of the TravelOne card in 2023.

These options were later extended to all HSBC miles cards in mid-2024.

In short – KrisFlyer isn’t your only option for a Rewards point transfer from HSBC cards. Here’s the list of additional options at your disposal.

= Good transfer ratio
= Lousy transfer ratio

HSBC FFP Transfer Partners

FFP			Transfer Ratio
			35,000 10,000 35,000 10,000
			25,000 10,000 25,000 10,000
			30,000 10,000 30,000 10,000
			35,000 10,000 35,000 10,000
			35,000 10,000 35,000 10,000
			25,000 10,000 25,000 10,000
			25,000 10,000 25,000 10,000
			50,000 10,000 50,000 10,000
			25,000 10,000 25,000 10,000
			35,000 10,000 35,000 10,000
			25,000 10,000 25,000 10,000
			25,000 10,000 25,000 10,000
			25,000 20,000 25,000 20,000
			25,000 10,000 25,000 10,000
			35,000 10,000 35,000 10,000

As you can see some of these options fall into our ‘lousy’ category – as KrisFlyer transfers soon will – due to their adverse transfer ratios, which effectively reduce the ‘advertised’ miles per dollar earn rate of your card compared to a 2.5:1 partner – like Asia Miles.

Nonetheless there are still some great options to consider here – including the British Airways Avios programme.

That one allows you to boost your Avios balance from an HSBC points transfer by doubling, tripling or quadrupling them, from 1.58 cents each, as we recently explained – potentially unlocking rewards you didn’t think you could afford for a reasonable fee.

You can also transfer BA Avios points instantly, fee-free and 1:1 to and from the Qatar Airways Privilege Club, even after boosting them, so don’t bother with the HSBC’s lousy direct transfer to Qatar Avios!

There you can redeem Qsuite Business Class awards from Singapore to Europe from 70,000 Avios + S$350, or Cathay Pacific Business Class awards from Singapore to Bangkok for 16,500 Avios or Hong Kong for 22,000 Avios, with minimal taxes to pay.

On the hotel side, HSBC cardholders can make transfers to four different loyalty programmes.

HSBC Hotel Transfer Partners

FFP			Transfer Ratio
			25,000 5,000 25,000 5,000
			25,000 10,000 25,000 10,000
			25,000 10,000 25,000 10,000
			30,000 10,000 30,000 10,000

In all cases the transfer ratios shown in the tables above represent the minimum transfer of HSBC Reward points to loyalty programme miles or points – after that it’s flexible.

Do make sure you consider whether any of these partners give you better value than KrisFlyer before committing to a transfer.

Earn rates will drop for KrisFlyer addicts

If you’re an HSBC cardholder who is only interested in transferring points into KrisFlyer miles, you’ll sadly be taking a hit on your effective credit card earn rate for any points transferred from 16th January 2025.

Here’s how example earn rates look from 16th January 2025 onwards, with KrisFlyer relegated into the 3:1 ratio category, alongside Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus conversions.

Effective mpd rates by partner
from 16th January 2025

Partner Ratio				HSBC T1		HSBC Revo
				Local Spend	FCY Spend	Bonus Spend
2.5:1				1.2 mpd 1.2 mpd	2.4 mpd 2.4 mpd	4 mpd 4 mpd
3:1				1 mpd 1 mpd	2 mpd 2 mpd	3.3 mpd 3.3 mpd
3.5:1				0.9 mpd 0.9 mpd	1.7 mpd 1.7 mpd	2.9 mpd 2.9 mpd
5:1				0.6 mpd 0.6 mpd	1.2 mpd 1.2 mpd	2 mpd 2 mpd

As you can see, KrisFlyer miles earning on some popular HSBC credit cards will effectively come with a 17% haircut if you transfer the points on or after 16th January 2025.

HSBC TravelOne cardholders will be getting just 1 mpd locally and 2 mpd for overseas spend, instead of 1.2 mod and 2.4 mpd now, while HSBC Revolution cardholders transacting in the bonus category will see their previous 4 mpd rate slashed to 3.3 mpd.

After this devaluation takes effect, we would strongly recommend exploring other earning opportunities outside HSBC if KrisFlyer is your FFP of choice, or committing to a different programme like Asia Miles or Avios, if you want to stick with the bank.

Transfers are ‘app-only’

HSBC’s new redemption system is now exclusive to the HSBC SG mobile app, which means you can no longer redeem via phone banking or online banking methods.

If you don’t have the app on your device, you can download it via the links below.

Here’s HSBC’s step-by-step summary of how transfers work via the app for the TravelOne card, as an example.

HSBC is hiking the number of Rewards points needed to transfer into KrisFlyer miles by 20% from 16th January 2025, effectively meaning you’ll get 16.7% fewer miles in your account for conversions made from that day onwards.

One option is to retain your HSBC Rewards points for a transfer to one of the bank’s other frequent flyer programme or hotel loyalty partners – some of which offer excellent value for certain redemptions.

However, if a KrisFlyer transfer is your go-to for HSBC Rewards points, do ensure you take advantage of the current 2.5:1 transfer rate on or before 15th January 2025 (transfers are instant), since the new 3:1 ratio comes into effect on 16th January 2025.

With a 16.7% reduction in the effective earn rate, popular cards like the HSBC Revolution and HSBC TravelOne will no longer be competitive for those who transfer solely into the Singapore Airlines frequent flyer programme.

(Cover Photo: Cairns Airport)