Originally Posted by gya007
Last week I got an invite in the mail (with an invitation code) to apply for the HSBC Mastercard. I was taken aback when I read the offer...
1% upto USD 2500 purchases
2% btwn USD 2500-5000 purchases
5% for ALL purchases about USD 5000
With a $300 max, it's essentially 1% on up to 2.5k, 2% between 2.5k-5k, then 5% between 5k-9.5k. At that point you hit the cap. This turns into an effective earning rate of 3.16% which is not too shabby at all.
The only cash card I could see on HSBC's web site is a flat 1% back. So the offer you got is definitely nice. One caveat with HSBC: I know Household Bank (an HSBC subsidiary) is moving to a 3% forex conversion fee. Presumably HSBC will be as well (if they're not already there).