HSBC Premier (Metal) vs Standard Chartered Beyond (2026)
Standard Chartered Beyond vs HSBC Premier (Metal): which wins?
₹94,880ranking value a year at ₹3L a month, to Standard Chartered Beyond
Skip the duel — the board, ranked → · nothing to sign up for
The answer flips at ₹1.5L a month: HSBC Premier (Metal) below it, Standard Chartered Beyond above.
HSBC Premier (Metal) wins under ₹1.5L/month; Standard Chartered Beyond takes over above it.
Every metric, row by row — 12 compared
Head to head
| HSBC Premier (Metal) | Metric | Standard Chartered Beyond |
|---|---|---|
| #3 | Our rank | invite-only |
| ₹12,000 joining, then ₹20,000/yr — wins this row | Fee — joining · annual (+ GST) | ₹15,000 joining, then ₹25,000/yr |
| By relationship | Fee waiver | By relationship |
| 0.99% + GST — wins this row | Forex markup | 2% + GST (Beyond T&C §7; the 3.5% bank-wide rate does not apply) |
| 2.99%/mo (35.88%/yr), computed from transaction date — Premier-specific rate (all other HSBC cards 3.75%/mo) | APR | 3.75%/mo (45%/yr), same rate on cash advances |
| 3.0% | Headline earn rate | 3.3% — wins this row |
| HSBC Reward Points | Currency | StanC 360° Reward Points |
| ₹1.00/pt | House value | ₹1.00/pt |
| 20,000 reward points on first spend (cards issued through 31 Dec 2026) — the Taj Epicure/EazyDiner membership welcome quietly ended by Apr 2026 | Welcome benefit | Vouchers worth ₹15,000 from Taj, Luxe Gift Cards, MakeMyTrip, Fabindia, Ikea or Marks & Spencer, on realisation of the joining fee |
| 43 of 793 | Lounge doors opened | 718 of 793 — wins this row |
| Qualified Premier relationship: ₹3L+ net monthly salary credit, or ₹50L quarterly TRB (₹40L if the account opened before 1-Jan-2026), or ₹1.15Cr+ mortgage plus the TRB criterion | Income — salaried | not published |
| Same Premier relationship gates — TRB or mortgage routes | Income — self-employed | not published |
Gold marks the better side of a row. House value is our ₹-per-point mark for each card's currency — the full valuation index →
The ₹ face-off at ₹1L/₹3L/₹5L a month
Ranking-value face-off
Everyday spend at each card's base rate plus a realistic ~20% at its best accelerator (less for narrow or capped boosters) — milestones, fee waivers and the redemption haircut all at our house ₹/point. That's why the biggest headline rate doesn't automatically win. This is the ranking model, the one that orders the board; each card page prints the earn-rate-only net annual value instead, which reads lower for any card with an accelerator (both models, side by side). Tune it to your own spend in the calculator.
HSBC Premier (Metal) wins under ₹1.5L/month; Standard Chartered Beyond takes over above it.
Where the lead changes hands — a 20-step sweep from ₹0.25L to ₹5L/month
Where the lead changes hands
The lead changes hands at ₹1.5L a month: HSBC Premier (Metal) is ahead by ₹4,010 at ₹0.25L, Standard Chartered Beyond by ₹14,800 at ₹5L.
HSBC Premier (Metal) charges twice — ₹12,000 to join, then ₹20,000 every year after; Standard Chartered Beyond charges twice — ₹15,000 to join, then ₹25,000 every year after.
HSBC Premier (Metal) draws above the line, Standard Chartered Beyond below · ₹0.25L to ₹5L a month, step by step
| Monthly spend | HSBC Premier (Metal) | Standard Chartered Beyond | In front |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.25L | −₹11,000 | −₹15,010 | HSBC Premier (Metal) by ₹4,010 |
| ₹0.5L | −₹2,000 | −₹5,020 | HSBC Premier (Metal) by ₹3,020 |
| ₹0.75L | ₹7,000 | ₹4,970 | HSBC Premier (Metal) by ₹2,030 |
| ₹1L | ₹16,000 | ₹14,960 | HSBC Premier (Metal) by ₹1,040 |
| ₹1.25L | ₹25,000 | ₹24,950 | HSBC Premier (Metal) by ₹50 |
| ₹1.5L | ₹34,000 | ₹34,940 | Standard Chartered Beyond by ₹940 |
| ₹1.75L | ₹43,000 | ₹44,930 | Standard Chartered Beyond by ₹1,930 |
| ₹2L | ₹52,000 | ₹54,920 | Standard Chartered Beyond by ₹2,920 |
| ₹2.25L | ₹61,000 | ₹64,910 | Standard Chartered Beyond by ₹3,910 |
| ₹2.5L | ₹70,000 | ₹74,900 | Standard Chartered Beyond by ₹4,900 |
| ₹2.75L | ₹79,000 | ₹84,890 | Standard Chartered Beyond by ₹5,890 |
| ₹3L | ₹88,000 | ₹94,880 | Standard Chartered Beyond by ₹6,880 |
| ₹3.25L | ₹97,000 | ₹1,04,870 | Standard Chartered Beyond by ₹7,870 |
| ₹3.5L | ₹1,06,000 | ₹1,14,860 | Standard Chartered Beyond by ₹8,860 |
| ₹3.75L | ₹1,15,000 | ₹1,24,850 | Standard Chartered Beyond by ₹9,850 |
| ₹4L | ₹1,24,000 | ₹1,34,840 | Standard Chartered Beyond by ₹10,840 |
| ₹4.25L | ₹1,33,000 | ₹1,44,830 | Standard Chartered Beyond by ₹11,830 |
| ₹4.5L | ₹1,42,000 | ₹1,54,820 | Standard Chartered Beyond by ₹12,820 |
| ₹4.75L | ₹1,51,000 | ₹1,64,810 | Standard Chartered Beyond by ₹13,810 |
| ₹5L | ₹1,60,000 | ₹1,74,800 | Standard Chartered Beyond by ₹14,800 |
Transfer reach — 20 vs 0 live routes
Transfer reach
0 shared routes · 3 only HSBC Premier (Metal) · 0 only Standard Chartered Beyond — the full partner lists
Only HSBC Premier (Metal)
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club (Avios)
- The British Airways Club (Avios)
Full route maps on each card page, best ₹/point routes on the optimizer →
What to watch out for — 6 points
What to watch out for
HSBC Premier (Metal) · 1 more →
- Premier relationship required: ₹50L quarterly TRB (₹40L for pre-2026 accounts) or ₹3L/month salary credit
- ₹20,000 renewal fee if your relationship lapses (₹12,000 joining in year one)
- Fuel earns zero, and utilities/insurance/education/govt/e-wallets/jewellery/tax share one ₹1L-a-month earning cap (from 1 Apr 2025)
Standard Chartered Beyond · 2 more →
- No transfer partners at all — a Standard Chartered point is ₹1, floor and ceiling, minus ₹99 per redemption
- ₹15,000 to join and ₹25,000 a year after that; the annual fee is waived only while you keep ₹50,00,000 of Funds Under Management with SC
- Lose the Priority/Private relationship and SC may downgrade or block the card — and the Priority Pass benefit is retracted for a minimum of one year
The call
For the ₹1L/month spender, HSBC Premier (Metal) nets ₹16,000 against ₹14,960 — a ₹1,040 gap. At ₹5L/month, Standard Chartered Beyond nets ₹1,74,800 against ₹1,60,000 — a ₹14,800 gap. Lounge chasers: Standard Chartered Beyond opens 718 of 793 tracked doors to HSBC Premier (Metal)'s 43.
Our standing verdicts: HSBC Premier (Metal) — Keep; Standard Chartered Beyond — Keep. Standard Chartered Beyond takes 4 of the 7 rounds we can score — that's the overall call. Your spend pattern can overrule us: run your exact numbers →
Common questions — 5 answered
Straight answers
Which is better, HSBC Premier (Metal) or Standard Chartered Beyond?
Standard Chartered Beyond. Standard Chartered Beyond takes 4 of the 7 rounds we can score. HSBC Premier (Metal) wins under ₹1.5L/month; Standard Chartered Beyond takes over above it.
HSBC Premier (Metal) or Standard Chartered Beyond — which earns more at ₹3L a month?
At ₹3L a month, Standard Chartered Beyond nets ₹94,880 against ₹88,000 — a ₹6,880 gap. Those are ranking-value figures: everyday spend at the card's base rate plus a realistic slice at its best accelerator, net of the fee.
Which costs less to hold, HSBC Premier (Metal) or Standard Chartered Beyond?
HSBC Premier (Metal) — ₹12,000 joining, then ₹20,000/yr against ₹15,000 joining, then ₹25,000/yr. HSBC Premier (Metal) waives its fee at no spend level — the waiver rides the banking relationship, not the swipe; Standard Chartered Beyond at no spend level — the waiver rides the banking relationship, not the swipe.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, HSBC Premier (Metal) or Standard Chartered Beyond?
Lounge chasers: Standard Chartered Beyond opens 718 of 793 tracked doors to HSBC Premier (Metal)'s 43. Visit quotas, guest charges and spend gates are per card — the lounge map carries each one.
How current is this comparison?
Card records last re-verified against their issuers' own documents: HSBC Premier (Metal) on 2026-08-09, Standard Chartered Beyond on 2026-08-15. Every figure on this page — the ranking values, the fee rows, the lounge counts, the transfer ratios — is recomputed from those records each time the site builds, so a devaluation changes the call the day we log it.
Verified against HSBC and Standard Chartered's own documents on · the ranking model, at our house ₹/point
Every document behind this page — 13 of them, each with the day we read it
- official Product page (joining ₹12,000, renewal ₹20,000 waived for Qualified Premier, 3 RP/₹100, unlimited lounges + 8 international guest visits, 0.99% forex, 20,000-pt welcome)
- official Tariff/MITC PDF (fees, 2.99%/mo, 0.99% currency-conversion charge, the three Qualified-Premier criteria — ₹50L quarterly TRB / ₹40L if the Premier account opened)
- official Premier Credit Card Service Guide — Rewards Programme clause 2 (the ₹1,00,000/month capped categories) and clause 12, which names the downgrade: Premier → TravelOne
- official Introductory-offer T&C — 20,000 reward points on the First Transaction, cards issued 9 Oct 2025 – 31 Dec 2026
- official Premier rewards page — Premier's OWN transfer table, identical to TravelOne's 20-partner stable (15 airlines + 5 hotels; AirAsia 1 pt = 3 miles, Hainan/Turkish/United 2:1)
- community CardExpert review (joining ₹12,000 / renewal ₹20,000, ₹12,000 Taj gift card, 3 RP/₹100, 0.99% forex)
- official Premier account eligibility — TRB/salary/mortgage routes + overseas-Premier reciprocity
- official Beyond Credit Card T&Cs — §1 joining ₹15,000 and renewal ₹25,000 from year 2, §4 earn 5 RP/₹150 (3 on essentials), §7 2% forex, §9 unlimited Visa lounges in India, §10 unlimited Priority Pass abroad
- official Product page — "Joining Fee: INR 15,000 +GST", "Annual Fee: INR 25,000 +GST", up to 3.3% rewards, 2% on government, utilities and insurance, unlimited lounge access with 8 guest visits a year
- official Tariff table — Beyond Credit card 15,000 (Annual Fee Year 1) / 25,000 (Year 2 onwards) / Nil supplementary; 3.75% a month APR 45%; ₹99 handling and courier charge per reward redemption
- official Rewards-points expiry FAQ — points lapse about three years after they are earned, written off in quarterly batches
- official Federal Bank migration FAQ — the card relationship transfers after 31 Jul 2026; consent via I Agree, SMS ACCEPT or continued use
- official Standard Chartered domestic lounge programme — the Beyond table runs to 83 rooms, the full-fat Visa list