RBC to Transition HSBC Cardholders by March 2024

In late 2022, RBC announced its plans to acquire HSBC Bank Canada.

Since then, the acquisition has been approved by the Canadian government, albeit with a laundry list of conditions, and RBC has been preparing to finalize the acquisition.

With the completion of the transition imminent, new details have been trickling in regarding the future of HSBC Canada’s products, including those pertaining to the much-beloved HSBC World Elite Mastercard.

RBC to Transition HSBC Cardholders by March 2024

Recently, HSBC customers have been receiving communication regarding the upcoming acquisition by RBC.

At first, emails were sent to update customers that the acquisition had received regulatory approvals, and that cardholders would receive further communication about the transition plan.

More recently, customers have been receiving a packet in the mail detailing what will happen to their existing products.

Of particular interest to the Canadian Miles & Points community is the transition plan for the HSBC World Elite Mastercard, which has long been a keystone travel credit card, with its no foreign transaction fees, flexible HSBC Rewards points, and many other features.

In the information packet sent out by mail, it was learned that legacy cardholders of the HSBC World Elite Mastercard will be transitioned to the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite†.

The packet also outlines a number of other important details about features of the transitioned card, which we’ll discuss below.

Card Features

Once transitioned, the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite†will feature no foreign transaction fees, as was the case with the HSBC World Elite Mastercard. However, this isn’t a feature that’s available to “standard” RBC® Avion Visa Infinite† cardholders who didn’t previously have the HSBC World Elite Mastercard, and it’s only for those transitioning from the HSBC World Elite Mastercard.

When it comes to the HSBC World Elite Mastercard’s $100 annual travel enhancement credit, there will be a one-time travel credit available for use in the Avion Rewards travel portal for hotels and cars only. The credit to be available is the sum of any remaining value from the HSBC travel enhancement credit, plus $100 (CAD).

At most, this means that you’ll have a $200 (CAD) travel credit available to use for hotels and…