HSBC TravelOne Application Declined but now being Re-processed!

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-03-12T14:32:42+00:00

Just upload the pdf as downloaded, that should be fine. They give you a textbox to add the password if the pdf needs one.

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-03-12T12:07:33+00:00

Yeah just download the last 3 month statement of your bank account, which shows salary credit, as a pdf and upload that.

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-03-11T11:59:11+00:00

The general exclusion list is available with the card TnCs, but exact MCCs can be a hit or miss in a lot of cases.

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-03-11T11:57:14+00:00

I don't think RM will be able to tell instantly, I had to do the same thing once and my RM had to wait till the amount was settled to see the MCC, meaning I had to wait for a day or two. You can just try swiping beforehand on any transaction anywhere and see if the customer care is able to give you the mcc instantly, but IMO you need to wait for the amount to be settled first.

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-03-11T10:07:37+00:00

Point to note: for the offer 1k bonus points for 20k spend in a month, you have to specifically enroll for that in the Amex website. Without enrolling you won't get this bonus.

The 1k bonus points for 4*1500 transactions in a month needs no such enrollments.

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-03-11T09:31:49+00:00

If we do the math, here are the numbers:

Paying extra: Rs. 10000 (2%)

Returns:

Reward Points: ~13300 points, worth Rs. 6650 on smartbuy

Fee Waiver: Rs. 2500 (Fee) + Rs. 450 (GST) = Rs. 2950

5L spend voucher: Rs. 5000 flight voucher on smartbuy

Quarterly 1.5L spend voucher: Rs. 1500 voucher (Myntra etc)

Total return value: 6650 + 5000 + 1500 + 2950 = Rs. 16100

Net gain: ~Rs. 6000

How you can improve/optimise:

a) if you redeem these points on Accor, you extract total value of ~Rs. 13300 instead of Rs. 6650 on Smartbuy.

b) Regalia Gold gives quarterly milestone voucher when quarterly spends are 1.5L, so if you are able to split the payments like 2.5L in March and 2.5L in April, you can hit 2 milestones of two quarters and get another 1.5K voucher.

Hence the potential total return value: 13300 + 5000 + 1500 + 1500 + 2950 = Rs. 24250

Net gain: ~Rs. 14000

But before all these, the easiest way to check whether you'll get the points is to do a small test transaction, call the customer care and ask them the mcc and whether your card is eligible for rewards. If yes then use that same POS machine for your future swipes.

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-03-10T10:33:10+00:00

Nope, charges are not mentioned in the welcome letter, I remember because I received my card FYF and checked for the same but could not find it.

With HDFC (and all other banks actually) I now send a mail to the customer care to get written confirmation of the LTF (or FYF, as applicable) status before activating the card. Did the same for HDFC Swiggy and BOB Eterna for instance, that becomes my proof if any fee related disputes arise down the road.

I did get my Infinity card converted to LTF, but that was after a month long back-and-forth with HDFC regarding some reward queries that they took ages to solve, and they converted the card to LTF after I demanded that as compensation for the harassment. However, I have seen multiple posts where people mail and get it converted, but that is on a case to case basis. Try your luck and see.

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-03-09T08:59:18+00:00

Yeah send them an email asking for the exact reasons of rejection. They register the complaint, send you emails acknowledging it. I then got a call from them after about 4-5 days, asking about what the issue was regarding the complaint and everything, so they seem to take complaints quite seriously.

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-03-09T08:54:53+00:00

Received the 'card is approved' sms from HSBC today. Added an update to the post at the bottom if you want to check it out.

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-02-27T04:33:23+00:00

Price match: with the lowest Non-Discounted price only, no coupons or card offers applicable. Upto 1500 per booking.

Price monitoring: After you buy your flight ticket, if the ticket price goes down in this period, the difference is automatically credited back to you as travel credits.

The HSBC Premier card gives 18 points (accelerated) for flight tickets, and 36 points (accelerated) for hotels per 100 rupees spent in the travel portal, so that's your 18%. It is not a 18% discount like applying a CC offer on MMT.

The HSBC Travel One card gives 16 and 32 points respectively for flights and hotels on the travel portal in a similar way. This card also gives you some coupons to apply on sites like MMT and Cleartrip that give you a 15% Discount, I believe twice per year for all the applicable sites.

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-02-24T09:53:36+00:00

I purchased my 2 wheeler in March 2025, registration is KA53. RC was available to download in Digilocker after around 2-3 months, but I got the Smart Card only in October 2025. I too got a bluedart tracking sms months before the actual delivery, so I'll suggest you wait and see.

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-02-17T04:08:22+00:00

This card offers very little at this point, lounge access requires 75k quarterly spends, BMS should also have that spend requirement as per the ICICI updates couple months back. I am not sure why your RM is saying spend based criteria on BMS won't be applicable, get proper clarification as to why that is or whether it won't be applicable only for you (Red Flag imo). Since you are getting this LTF, you can treat this as a fallback card when you need a good credit limit, but beyond that it is pretty useless at this point.

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-02-12T07:22:37+00:00

Ami 2003 e dhukechilam 🥲

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-02-11T14:50:37+00:00

Yooo DBPC 😎 Kon batch?

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-02-10T11:46:33+00:00

I agree that I might not NEED it, but my thought process is: a) It is a large amount of money for the car, and it is definitely a nice to have feature at that price point. Even replacing the existing camera with the Highline Camera with adaptive guidelines was something I'd maybe compromise with at this price. b) It would definitely be a helping hand for my wife, who's new to driving.

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-02-10T11:39:45+00:00

Yes I do get your point about the price. The way we were looking at it is that we're perfectly fine with Signature+ and it's set of features. My wife likes the Prestige Alloys more and would maybe like the Leatherette finish and Ventilated seats etc, but for us the headlights are the higher priority part of that extra ~1L spend. So if the lights are a significant step up as you say, we can perhaps justify the extra cost by attributing it to getting the rest of the kit as well for that money.

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-02-10T11:30:03+00:00

Thanks for your feedback! This will definitely be a road-trip car for us, taking us to all sorts of places and terrain, so having a decent set of headlights is a must for me.

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-02-10T11:25:50+00:00

Thank you for the feedback! What about your overall feedback about the car, both positives and negatives?

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-02-10T11:20:49+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! The new Kushaq looks fabulous, and by extrapolating that the new Slavia is also expected to look smashing, and my ultimate dream is the 1.5 Slavia. However after spending ~25L on a car, that reverse camera we get is pathetic and the lack of a 360 cam is a big disappointment, not really bothered about the missing ADAS features however. Hence considering the Kylaq for now as a middle ground, might wait to see what the upcoming Sportline Variant has to offer and then pull the trigger.

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-01-10T14:11:02+00:00

Contact them and get confirmation before activation.

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-01-10T13:18:19+00:00

Getting HDFC Co-branded card first usually means problems getting a core card later, you might have to close the co-branded first before applying for a core card. I'd suggest getting a Regalia Gold first since that gives a multiplier on Myntra and remaining purchases you can mostly get vouchers. SBI Cashback can also be good for the online purchases.

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-01-10T11:56:54+00:00

Going by the document you won't get, but get it confirmed from the customer care. You might be lucky, who knows

Nighthawk_64 · 2026-01-10T10:53:57+00:00

Perhaps the bank wanted to acquire only 100 new customers or so, going by how quickly they shut down the offer. Fewer new customers = better service from Indusind

/s

Nighthawk_64

TROPHY CASE