If you're looking to transfer credit card debt to save interest, but you also need a card you can use for upcoming spending, this deal should be in your shortlist.
HSBC Purchase Plus Credit Card review
By Chris Lilly
- Representative example:
- When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 24.9% (variable) p.a., your representative rate is 24.9% APR (variable). You might get different interest rates and promotional periods to those shown here, because these depend on your circumstances.
- 0% interest on balance transfers
- 17 months
- 0% interest on purchases
- 20 months
- Account fee
- £0
Our verdict
Get your finances back on track with a holiday from interest on purchases and existing card debt.This HSBC dual-purpose credit card is designed for people with existing card debt who want to pay less in interest but also need to use a new card for upcoming expenditure.
Although the card ensures your don't get punished for increasing your borrowing, you should ultimately focus on getting debt-free before the card's 0% periods expire. At that point, the revert-rate that will kick-in and apply to any outstanding balance, will be less than competitive.
In the meantime, with no annual fee to worry about, this is a smart way to keep costs down, although longer 0% balance transfer and purchase deals are available on the market (and if you need one feature more than the other, more specialised deals are available). Plus you can take advantage of Visa’s cashback and discount offers.
Pros
-
No annual fee
-
Over a year to spread the cost of purchases
-
Over a year to spread the cost of existing balances
Cons
-
Applicants with low credit scores are unlikely to be eligible
-
Relatively high balance transfer fee
Details
Product Overview
| Issuer | HSBC |
| Network | Visa |
| Annual/monthly fees | £0 |
| Balance transfers | 0% for 17 months reverting to 24.9% |
| Balance transfer fee | 3.49%, min £5 |
| Purchases | 0% for 20 months reverting to 24.9% |
| Purchases interest-free period | Up to 56 days |
| Cash advances | 29.9% |
| Minimum credit limit | £500 |
| Maximum credit limit | Subject to status |
| Additional cards available | 1 |
| Additional Rewards Info | Discounts and exclusive offers for dining experiences, leisure activities and shopping available through HSBC Home and Away. |
| Travel incentive | Discounts and exclusive offers available through HSBC Home and Away. |
| Potential costs | 3.8 ★★★★★ |
| Doing its job | 4.0 ★★★★★ |
| Extras | 4.0 ★★★★★ |
| Overall Finder Score | 3.8 ★★★★★ |
Fees and charges
| Minimum monthly payment | 2.5% or £5 (whichever is greater) or the total of any interest, default fees and charges plus 1% of the outstanding balance. |
| Annual/monthly fees | £0 |
| Balance transfer fee | 3.49%, min £5 |
| Foreign usage charge (EU) | 2.99% |
| Foreign usage charge (rest of world) | 2.99% |
| Cash advance fee | 2.99% (min. £3) |
| Late payment fee | £12 |
| Duplicate statement fee | £0 |
| Exceeding limit fee | £12 |
| Additional card fee | £0 |
| Dormancy fee | £0 |
Application Requirements
| Minimum Age | 18 |
| Minimum income | £6,800 |
| Availability | Available to new customers |
| Additional Criteria | Introductory rates only apply if you haven't held an HSBC credit card within the last six months |
The HSBC Purchase Plus Credit Card is issued on the Visa network (used by a whopping 4.2 billion cards), so you'll be able to use it at more than 100 million merchant locations across more than 200 countries and territories.
Approval for any credit card depends on your status. The representative APRs shown represent the interest rate offered to most successful applicants. Depending on your personal circumstances, the APR you're offered may be higher, or you may not be offered credit at all. Fees and rates are subject to change without notice. It's always wise to check the terms of any deal before you borrow. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables is provided by Moneyfacts.
Finder Score for credit cards
To make comparing even easier we came up with the Finder Score. Costs, perks and suitability across 120+ cards are all weighted and scaled to produce a score out of 10. The higher the score the better the card – simple.
Read the full methodologyRepayment options
You can make manual repayments through HSBC's app by logging in to your online banking or over the phone (0345 7404 404). Alternatively, you may wish to set up a direct debit.
A direct debit protects you from forgetting to make a repayment and either damaging your credit score, getting hit with a penalty fee (£12) or losing any promotional rates as a result. You could use a fixed-amount direct debit to ensure you've cleared your debt before the 0% period expires – simply divide your outstanding balance by 17 to see what you'll need to pay each month (this assumes you don't use the card for additional spending).
You can arrange a direct debit for repayments when you apply for the credit card. The table below shows the options available.
Choose from the following direct debit options for your monthly repayments:
| Minimum amount | |
|---|---|
| Fixed amount | |
| Fixed percentage | |
| Full amount |
How to apply
First, you can use Finder's eligibility checker to find out if you'd be likely to get approved for the HSBC Purchase Plus Credit Card. This won't impact your credit score. If it's good news, you can then proceed to HSBC's online application, which takes 10–15 minutes to complete.
Frequently asked questions
What credit limit will I get with the HSBC Purchase Plus Credit Card?
If HSBC offers you this deal, it will specify a personalised credit limit based on HSBC's assessment of your situation. The minimum limit offered on this card is £500, and HSBC does not specify a maximum. Once you've had the card for a while and shown HSBC you're reliable, you may wish to apply for a credit limit increase.
Can I withdraw cash using the HSBC Purchase Plus Credit Card?
Although it's possible, withdrawing cash from a credit card account is generally not a good idea, as "cash-like transactions" (such as withdrawing cash at an ATM, getting cashback at the till, spending at a casino or buying currency) often incur steep fees and/or higher rates of interest.
The cash advance fee on the HSBC Purchase Plus Credit Card is 2.99% (min. £3). For example, if you withdraw £50, you'll incur a fee of £3.00. Withdraw £250 and you'll incur a fee of £7.48.
The interest rate on this part of your balance will be 29.9%, which is 20% more than the standard purchase rate (chargeable from the day of the transaction – the card's usual "up to 56 days interest-free" grace period won't apply).
Can I transfer a balance from another HSBC-branded card to the HSBC Purchase Plus Credit Card?
No. HSBC doesn't accept balance transfers from credit cards issued through HSBC group, which includes M&S Bank, John Lewis and first direct cards.
Can I manage the HSBC Purchase Plus Credit Card from an app?
Yes. You can manage this card through HSBC UK's free mobile banking app.
How much does it cost to use the HSBC Purchase Plus Credit Card abroad?
Non-sterling transactions are subject to a 2.99% charge (which is very standard). For example, if you spend 200 euros (£165.37), it'll cost you around £4.94 in fees.
What is the minimum payment on the HSBC Purchase Plus Credit Card?
Each month, you must pay at least 2.5% of your balance at that point or £5.00 – whichever of the 2 figures is greater. So if you had, say, £180.00 outstanding, you'd pay £5.00, and if you had £800.00 outstanding, you'd pay £20.00.
Paying only the minimum required amount each month is generally not advisable as it makes it much harder to get debt-free before that introductory 0% period expires.
Finder credit card scores
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
Our experts score matched/balanced credit cards to determine their value against similar products on the market. We look at a number of important factors, like the length of the introductory offer, balance transfer fees, any restrictions to the offer, plus the potential costs involved with running the card both in the short and longer term.
You can read more about our scoring criteria on our credit card methodology page.
We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
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