Reminder: HSBC’s new rewards exclusion categories kick in from 1 July

Back in May 2020, HSBC announced some changes to the T&Cs of its rewards program that kick in from 1 July 2020.

That’s just one day away, so here’s a reminder of what you need to do.

What are HSBC’s new rewards exclusion categories?

From 1 July 2020, HSBC will exclude the following transactions from earning rewards:

CardUp/ipaymy

You’ll no longer earn any rewards points on CardUp/ipaymy transactions from 1 July. For those of you using your HSBC Visa Infinite or HSBC Revolution (unlikely, given the low earn rates) for recurring billing arrangements, be sure to swap out your card immediately. 

Remember that even if you schedule your CardUp/ipaymy payment before 1 July, all that matters is the date your card is actually charged. 

Fortunately, most general spending cards will continue to earn miles and points as per normal on CardUp/ipaymy, so there’s no shortage of alternatives. 

Education

Forget using your HSBC credit card to pay your school fees, because payments to educational institutions are now out too. Whether you’re paying in-person or online, no more points will be earned here. 

Your best bet now is to hope your institution takes American Express cards, or use a Maybank Visa Infinite card. 

Insurance

The exclusion of insurance is a huge loss, given how HSBC was one of the last banks awarding points for this category. You could even earn up to 2 mpd by paying with the HSBC Revolution, a fact explicitly advertised this on its landing page:

Well, no more. Insurance transactions will be excluded from 1 July, leaving you with precious few options here. 

Utilities

HSBC is turning off the lights for utilities too, which means no more 2 mpd for online payments with the HSBC Revolution. If you’ve saved your credit card as the recurring payment method for your OEM supplier, be sure to swap it out. 

Fortunately, utilities is one area where there’s still an abundance of alternative options for earning points. 

Detailed T&Cs for HSBC credit card

	Until 30 June 2020	From 1 July 2020
HSBC Advance	Link	Link
HSBC Premier	Link	Link
HSBC Revolution	Link	Link
HSBC Visa Infinite	Link	Link
HSBC Visa Platinum	Link	Link

Conclusion

Although insurance, education, and to a lesser extent utilities are all categories we’ve seen on other banks’ exclusion lists, I’m particularly concerned about the decision to exclude CardUp/ipaymy. Hopefully HSBC will just prove to be an aberration here, but we’ll have to see. 

Take a few minutes to swap out any HSBC credit cards you have saved as recurring payment methods for the transactions above. If you need further clarity on what cards to use, consider the guides below:

• Best cards for insurance
• Best cards for utilities