HSBC Premier $500 Bonus

HSBC is offering a sign-up bonus of $500 to new Premier checking customers. It's available nationwide and you can open the account online, but highly targeted to more affluent customers. They've bumped up the offer a little, but also doubled the direct deposit requirements.

Keep in mind that HSBC is known to have a more involved account opening process than most of their competitors. Expect a "pending" status after applying online, and you may be asked to verify information by email or by phone before being approved.

That said, this $500 welcome bonus for opening a new Premier checking account is still worthwhile in our book if you can swing the $10,000 necessary in direct deposits each month.

How To Earn The Bonus

The HSBC Premier promotion requires you to set up direct deposits in order to earn the $500 bonus.

Full requirements to receive this bonus are:

1. Open a new HSBC Premier checking account using the link below.
2. Starting the second full calendar month after opening, receive recurring direct deposits totaling $10,000 for 3 consecutive months.
3. The bonus will be credited to your account within 8 weeks of meeting the requirements.

The fine print

• This offer is available only online for applications completed using the Apply now button on the offer webpage link below.
• You must be at least 18 years of age, have a Social Security Number, currently have a U.S. residential address and have had U.S. residency for the past two years to apply for a deposit account online.
• Qualifying Direct Deposits are electronic deposits of regular periodic payments (such as salary, pension, Government Benefits or other monthly income) made into your HSBC Premier checking account from third parties at least once per calendar month.
• Customers who held any HSBC consumer deposit or investment account March 31, 2019 through and including March 31, 2021 are not eligible for this offer.
• Limit one Welcome Deposit per customer, including all individual and joint accounts — the first line name on the joint account is considered the customer for gift purposes.
• Your HSBC Premier checking account must be open without being changed to a product with lower balance requirements and in good standing at time of bonus fulfillment.

How does this personal checking offer from HSBC compare?

To help you determine how this bonus stacks against the rest, here are some of the most popular offers available right now:

Citi®

Citi Priority Account

Bonus

up to $2000

Account Type

Personal Checking

Expires In

14 days

Requires

• Min Balance

Full Details

U.S. Bank

U.S. Bank Smartly™ Checking

Bonus

up to $600

Account Type

Personal Checking

Expires In

21 days

Requires

• Direct Deposit

Full Details

Fifth Third Bank

Personal Checking

Bonus

$275

Account Type

Personal Checking

Expires In

101 days

Requires

• Direct Deposit

Full Details

Why HSBC Bank?

The American subsidiary of HSBC Bank is based out of New York City and has 160 branches in 10 states. Most of HSBC's brick and mortar banks are located in the NYC area, but they also have a presence in Los Angeles, Miami, and Washington, D.C. HSBC offers deposit accounts, personal and home loans, investment and retirement accounts, and credit cards.

Since 2005, HSBC has also been operating an online-only platform called HSBC Direct, which includes high yield checking, savings, and Certificate of Deposit accounts — all online or from your smartphone.

Overall, HSBC isn't our top pick if you're shopping for a new bank. With so few physical branches, you should consider them an online bank – but with worse rates, higher fees, and lagging tech. On the pro side, however, they consistently offer sign up bonuses (though many of which you'll need to claim in-branch). If you're eligible, we certainly recommend claiming the free cash – but otherwise stick to a different bank as your primary account.

HSBC Premier

Premier Checking is HSBC’s top-tier option for checking accounts. The account comes with a $50 monthly maintenance fee, which you can avoid by enrolling in direct deposit of at least $5,000 or more monthly or having an HSBC U.S. residential mortgage loan with an original mortgage value of at least $500,000.

Perks include unlimited rebates on non-HSBC ATM withdrawals, global transfers, and preferred HSBC mortgage rates.

Fees

HSBC Premier does charge a monthly fee of $50, but there are ways to get this waived:

• Maintain a minimum balance of $75,000
• OR, receive $5,000 in direct deposits each month
• OR, hold a HSBC U.S. residential mortgage with an original loan of at least $500,000

HSBC Bank Locations

You may sometimes be required to visit a branch in-person to take advantage of a welcome offer. Or, you may just prefer the convenience of banking with institutions that have locations near you.

HSBC Bank has a total of 24 branches in the United States.

Get a better idea of how well HSBC Bank can serve you by checking out their branches closest to your area: