Star Alliance and HSBC Australia have introduced the world’s first credit card by a global airline alliance. The HSBC Star Alliance Visa Credit Card brings together seven of the world’s leading airlines together on a single credit card platform.
On Tuesday (November 15, 2022), Star Alliance announced the introduction of the world’s first rewards credit card in partnership with HSBC Bank Australia. The new HSBC Sar Alliance Visa Credit Card brings together seven leading airlines on a single credit card platform, including Air Canada, Air New Zealand, EVA Air, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, THAI and United Airlines. The card, available to customers in Australia, will provide cardholders with greater choices for earning and redeeming airline points and or miles. Australian customers can now earn Star Alliance Points on their everyday eligible credit card purchases that can be converted into points or miles with participating Star Alliance member airlines frequent flyer programs.
In Tuesday’s announcement, Sar Alliance’s CEO, Jeffrey Goh, said,
“Star Alliance is delighted to launch this industry-first loyalty product together with HSBC and Visa. This is very much consistent with a key strategy of Star Alliance which is to offer a loyalty proposition that others talk about. This unique product is an outcome of strategic discussions with our member airlines for the Australian market. It will offer a new world of loyalty experience with not only the ability to earn points, but also a fast track to Star Alliance Gold Status through everyday spending. Star Alliance Gold Status offers a range of benefits such as lounge access and priority boarding across all Star Alliance member carriers.”
Also commenting on the launch of the new co-branded credit card, HSBC Australia’s Head of Wealth and Personal Banking, Jessica Power, said,
“HSBC and Star Alliance are both globally focused, and this new card is a great fit for Australians who enjoy international travel. While many credit cards allow users to earn points, we wanted to provide customers with a way to access all the benefits of airline status privileges through their everyday spending.”
Visa’s Head of Product for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, Riaz Nasrabadi, added,
“Visa is proud to exclusively support this partnership between HSBC Australia and Star Alliance. With international travel top of mind for many Australians, this product will enable access to all the benefits and security of a Visa card together with seamless access to airline privileges.”
The new HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card will also provide Australian residents a fast track to achieving Star Alliance Gold Status during the first year by spending AUD $4,000 on eligible purchases withing 90 days of approval. With Star Alliance Gold Status, customers will enjoy access to over 1,000 airline lounges, priority check-in, boarding and baggage handling, along with excess baggage allowance on eligible fares, and other privileges when traveling on alliance member airlines. Customers can also earn or retain Star Alliance Gold Status each year by spending AUD $60,000 on eligible purchases in the previous year, or Silver status by spending at least AUD $30,000 on eligible purchases in the previous year.
Cardholders will also earn one Star Alliance Point for each $1.00 spent on eligible purchases in Australia and overseas for the first AUD $3,000 per statement period, and 0.5 Star Alliance Point per $1.00 spent thereafter. Star Alliance Points will not expire as long as the Star Alliance account remains active. Additionally, customers will be able to book flights at 0% interest for six months on purchases made with the HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card directly through the websites of Star Alliance member airlines. The new co-branded credit card has no annual fee for the first year, and AUD $450 thereafter.
Source: Star Alliance