HSBC Credit Card

The HSBC is one of the leading banks in the UK. They are offering a MasterCard to their customers or other individuals who are in need of a credit card. There are a few benefits with this card that should be noticed. When shopping around for cards it can be hard to decide what cards will be the best for your needs. In this article we will look at the benefits and compare them to other cards to help in the decision making process.

Balance Transfers: Many cards have balance transfer options and some have an introductory rate that will allow you to save a little money just for taking out the credit card. With HSBC you have a 4.9 percent interest rate until January 1st 2012. This is a very long introductory period. The only period that is long is one that states for the life of the balance. So having 4 years to pay off your balance is a good period of time. Most balance transfer offers are 12 months with zero percent interest. So you are getting some interest charges. The actual interest is 2.9 percent, but then you have the 2.5 percent handling fee of the amount you transfer. This is how they come up with the 4.9 percent total.
Purchases: The purchases are normally 15.9 percent annual percentage rate; however they do have an introductory rate. This introductory rate allows you to pay zero percent interest for twelve months. This is one of the longest introductory terms on the market at the moment. Most of the other cards with balance transfer discounts offer three months for a zero percent purchase rate.
HSBC doesn’t charge an annual fee for their card.
They also offer online account management, security protection, and the chip and pin system.
This card doesn’t have a rewards programme. In other words there are no points, discounts, or other savings you can have with the card.

Based on the benefits this may be a great card. The fact that you have such a long balance transfer deal and purchase rate deal is great. The annual percentage rate after the time is over is also decent as it is in line with most of the cards on the market at the moment. The fact that there are no out right rewards for travel, discounts, and cash back offers does detract from the card. These may not be important to you. In fact this card seems to be a balance transfer card. In other words the bank designed a product that would help you get your debt under control through a better interest rate offer on balances and any purchases you may need to make. There are some terms and conditions that are important. You will be paying the balance transfer off first. All the monthly payments you send in will go to that amount before any purchases. So if you don’t pay off the balance and the purchases within 12 months, you will be paying high interest.

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