Originally Posted by
kentchristopher
So do you maintain premier status as long as the foreign account has an average balance over $75k if converted to USD based on daily rates? Or does the foreign account have it's own bar in the local currency (e.g. 60k EUR)? I'd also be curious to here what HSBC's exchange rates are like compared to other options (I see TransferWise mentioned a lot).
You have to meet the Premier requirements in whatever country you maintain that qualifying balance (e.g., GBP 50K in the UK, HKD 1Mil in Hong Kong). There are some alternate ways in some countries such as having a certain level of income plus holding a mortgage or other specified product.
Another option is HSBC Expat (qualifying level is similar to UK), where you can hold accounts in a few different currencies. Anyone have any experience with establishing a Premier relationship through them?
As far as exchange rates, HSBC's are not very good compared to TransferWise. I just priced a $10K transfer--with HSBC it would equal GBP 7003.21 w/ TransferWise it would be GBP 7114.30.