Pre-approval doesn't necessarily mean your application under it will be definitely approved - it should be merely understood as invitation to apply
http://www.hongkongcard.c ... how.php?id=4035
HSBC interest rates (31.86%or 33.07%
http://www.hsbc.com.hk/1/ ... ank-tariffs.pdf)aren't particularly cheap...but:
1.Like all HK credit cards,HSBC has interest-free period on most transactions except cash advance.In HSBC's case it's 26-57 calendar days (depending when your credit card statement day is - transactions are billed monthly and you have 26 days to settle your bill - hence 26-57 interest free days.HSBC's 26 days is one of the longest in HK,Citi only gives me 14 after bill date.
2.You can do some interest-free instalments on some purchases*...not all merchants extend such offers to HSBC cardholders but a fair few do.Too bad HSBC does publish a list of instalment-accepting merchants like Standard Chartered
http://www.standardcharte ... t/en/index.html(if Standard Chartered offers interest-free instalment plan,you can call the merchant and ask if the same offer is extended to HSBC cardholders also,frequently merchants have identical offers for different cards).
3.If you foresee spending >cash on hand,you're better advised to get a personal loan...Hang Seng and BoC has p-loans for "as low as"8%
http://bank.hangseng.com/ ... instalment-loan
http://www.bochk.com/web/ ... 920&lang=tw
4.Not much other fees really...there's a once a year annual fee but provided you make all payments,you're pretty sure to get waiver.Again unlike Citi,HSBC assesses late charges but isn't too strict on the "day late"/"weekend payment"/"first time offender"cases (meaning you can ask them for waiver).Their 1.95%fee on foreign currency transactions is the norm in HK.
It's just that their reward program (RewardCash)is weak.So weak it might as well not exist in my view.$25,000 spending for $100 supermarket coupon,and you must redeem the certificate in store within one month of earning enough RC for the coupon.
I keep my HSBC card permanently in my wallet,cos HSBC has the largest discount program around.You get 5 or 10%discounts from time to time.
*note - if you use instalment,you lose some refund rights guaranteed by Visa,such as Chargeback
https://choice.yp.com.hk/ ... b6D%b9%ea%bf%fd
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本帖最後由 percysmith 於 2010-7-24 15:03 編輯 ]
