Card Promotions HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card: Fast-Track to Star Alliance Gold Status

Fast track to Star Alliance Gold status with the HSBC Star Alliance credit card!​

Learn more and apply for this card:

HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card Guide

The HSBC Star Alliance credit card is the first of its kind, allowing Australian cardholders to earn Star Alliance Points and Gold status.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

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What are the main benefits of this card?

1. Signup bonus: Fast Track to Star Alliance Gold Status, when you spend $4,000 or more on eligible purchases in the first 90 days from account opening
2. Keep your Star Alliance Gold status each subsequent year that you spend at least $60,000 on your card
3. Earn 1 Star Alliance Point per $1 on eligible purchases, up to $3,000 per statement period and 0.5 Star Alliance Points per $1 spent on eligible purchases thereafter, uncapped
4. No annual fee in the first year and $450 p.a. thereafter

Why we like the HSBC Star Alliance credit card

Launched in 2022, the HSBC Star Alliance credit card is the first of its kind anywhere in the world. You'll earn Star Alliance Points which are transferable to a choice of seven Star Alliance member airlines at a time of your choosing. You can also earn Star Alliance Silver or Gold status just by spending on the card, with no flying required!

Once you qualify for the welcome offer and are fast tracked to Star Alliance Gold status with any of the seven participating carriers, you’ll soon be enjoying perks like airport priority lanes and lounge access when flying across the whole Star Alliance network. It is the largest airline alliance in the world with 25 member airlines, including Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, United and Turkish Airlines.

Please note that the welcome offer is not available to existing HSBC customers transferring from another HSBC credit card, or if you have previously held a HSBC Star Alliance credit card within the last 18 months. Refer to the full T&C’s for more information:

HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card Guide

The HSBC Star Alliance credit card is the first of its kind, allowing Australian cardholders to earn Star Alliance Points and Gold status.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

AFF members are welcome to discuss this card in this thread.

 

[Danger]

Quick follow up. I emailed Star Alliance to see if my status could be expedited (because I have upcoming AC flights). They were *very* responsive but explained that the system is automated and manual intervention was not possible.

Hey - worth a try, right?

What email address did you use?

 

[Doddler]

The one from the email saying I’d qualified for Gold status.

 

[georgie23]

Would be interested in your report as to how quickly the status is offered and then approved, once you pass the spend threshold.

I hit the minimum spend on day one and got an email same day to say I am being approved for Gold - there seems to be a 2 week lock period till it is activated on Krisflyer - not quite on gold on KF yet

 

[exceladdict]

I hit the minimum spend on day one and got an email same day to say I am being approved for Gold - there seems to be a 2 week lock period till it is activated on Krisflyer - not quite on gold on KF yet

Very cool - thanks for reporting back.

 

[gapmatt]

Received the "Congratulations on achieving an important milestone with Star Alliance Rewards. You are now eligible for Star Alliance Gold Status." today.

Looking forward to the gold status being reflected on my Krisflyer account.

Update: below email will help everyone to understand the timing and process:

Dear xx_,

Thank you for your reply and verification.

We have checked your account xx_ and based on the records, you have met the eligible spending criteria today, 26 July 2023, and an email notification to notify you of your eligibility was sent on the very same day. We can also see that you have selected Singapore Airlines as your status airline.

After the receipt of the notification email, there is a 14 day window for you to maintain or change your Status Airline. After this 14 day period - 9 Aug, Star Alliance will send the status request to your chosen Status Airline based on the frequent flyer program membership details you have linked to your Star Alliance Rewards account.

Upon receipt of this request by the Status Airline, the issuance of status varies by participating Star Alliance member airline and can take between one to 14 days - latest by 23 Aug. You will receive an email notification from the participating Star Alliance member airline when they grant you status with their frequent flyer program.

Kindly be informed that the benefits upgrade is all triggered automatically by the system hence expediting the process is not possible. Unfortunately, manual intervention is not allowed.

You may also refer to the information in our FAQs - https://www.staralliance.com/en/web/rewards/au/faqs

We hope this clarifies your inquiry.

 

[doublecatered]

Received the "Congratulations on achieving an important milestone with Star Alliance Rewards. You are now eligible for Star Alliance Gold Status." today.

Looking forward to the gold status being reflected on my Krisflyer account.

Update: below email will help everyone to understand the timing and process:

Dear xx_,

Thank you for your reply and verification.

We have checked your account xx_ and based on the records, you have met the eligible spending criteria today, 26 July 2023, and an email notification to notify you of your eligibility was sent on the very same day. We can also see that you have selected Singapore Airlines as your status airline.

After the receipt of the notification email, there is a 14 day window for you to maintain or change your Status Airline. After this 14 day period - 9 Aug, Star Alliance will send the status request to your chosen Status Airline based on the frequent flyer program membership details you have linked to your Star Alliance Rewards account.

Upon receipt of this request by the Status Airline, the issuance of status varies by participating Star Alliance member airline and can take between one to 14 days - latest by 23 Aug. You will receive an email notification from the participating Star Alliance member airline when they grant you status with their frequent flyer program.

Kindly be informed that the benefits upgrade is all triggered automatically by the system hence expediting the process is not possible. Unfortunately, manual intervention is not allowed.

You may also refer to the information in our FAQs - https://www.staralliance.com/en/web/rewards/au/faqs

We hope this clarifies your inquiry.

Thanks for posting. I just achieved status now as well. Good to know these details

 

[Doddler]

My Aeroplan status has just changed to Gold - right on the day they said it would.

 

[Doddler]

For those that went with AC for their gold status, what benifits did you choose?

Choose two benefits​

1500 Status Qualifying MilesReceive Status Qualifying Miles
Receive 1500 Status Qualifying Miles to help elevate your Aeroplan Elite Status and benefits.

50% bonus Aeroplan points with Air Canada and select airline partnersEarn bonus Aeroplan points every time you fly with Air Canada.
Earn 50% bonus Aeroplan points on eligible flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Express, Air Canada Rouge, Copa Airlines and United Airlines. Also earn a 25% bonus on eligible flights operated by Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa and SWISS.

2 Status PassesGive a status pass to someone special so they can travel in style even without you.
We believe benefits are even better when they're shared. Choose Status Pass as a Select Benefit and treat someone to Elite Status for their entire journey. Anyone with Aeroplan 50K Status or higher can choose these passes.

10 eUpgrade CreditsReceive eUpgrade credits to upgrade to a premium cabin.
Receive 10 eUpgrade credits to upgrade to a premium cabin on eligible flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Express and Air Canada Rouge. Credits are deposited directly into your Air Canada eUpgrade account.

What did you end up choosing? I have Canadian friends, so think I’ll go with the Guest Status passes for them to use. Otherwise hard to say…

 

[georgie23]

My Aeroplan status has just changed to Gold - right on the day they said it would.

mine too

 

[XPOSE]

I applied on Friday 4/8, approved today 8/8. Will meet the spend criteria as soon as activated.

Noobie question: If flights for March 2024 are booked prior (eg: 11/8) to KrisFlyer status becoming gold (which by the sounds of things will be within a couple of weeks), Is it correct to say that the gold benefits are applied to that trip?

 

[Mr H]

I applied on Friday 4/8, approved today 8/8. Will meet the spend criteria as soon as activated.

Noobie question: If flights for March 2024 are booked prior (eg: 11/8) to KrisFlyer status becoming gold (which by the sounds of things will be within a couple of weeks), Is it correct to say that the gold benefits are applied to that trip

Yes, the benefits that you get depend on the status at the time you fly.

 

[XPOSE]

Yes, the benefits that you get depend on the status at the time you fly.

Thanks for confirming.

 

[XPOSE]

Can an additional HSBC cardholder access the lounges when travelling with the primary cardholder who has gold status? Eg: primary plus guest, additional cardholder + guest.

 

[dairyfloss]

Can an additional HSBC cardholder access the lounges when travelling with the primary cardholder who has gold status? Eg: primary plus guest, additional cardholder + guest.

I believe any lounge access is based on the rules of the nominated *A program, and not anything to do with HSBC or cardholders. You’d need to check the lounge access guesting rules for whichever program was selected (e.g. SQ, UA, CA, etc)

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[aisle seat]

When you get your physical AC card in the mail, please report back on its expiry. My online expiry is 31/12/24 but my card is 31/12/23.

Same deal - physical card says end 2023, but online shows Dec 2024.

Assume AC will issue a new welcome pack/card towards the end of the year. Looks like in prior years, renewals have been issued mid-November.

 

[XPOSE]

Just an update:

Approved 8/8, spend criteria: 12/8, Star Aliance gold: 15/8. Awaiting the 2 week wait for KrisFlyer gold as per email: 29/8.

 

[georgie23]

It’s amazing how slick it all works
I wasn’t expecting it all to work so automatically

 

[RubyCate]

My partner applied early August and was approved pretty painlessly, just wanted additional confirmation of payslips even though bank transactions were uploaded.

One thing to note though, when purchasing flights directly through a *A airline (eligible for 6 months interest free), these didn’t count towards the $4k minimum speed, but did earn points. The t’s&c’s have the same wording around interest free purchases being ineligible for both, so it was interesting that in practice they worked differently.

 

[tanchai]

I used the card to pay tax office through Sniip, didn’t earn points and didn’t count towards 4K spending.

 

[Franko Costa]

I used the card to pay tax office through Sniip, didn’t earn points and didn’t count towards 4K spending.

I've never heard of that happening with any cards you sure about the points?