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Review: HSBC Revolution Card

Following a year of crippling nerfs, the HSBC Revolution can safely be ignored by most people- though there's one group who will still find it valuable.

If 2024 were a boxing match for the HSBC Revolution, the referee would have stopped the fight a long time ago.

After all, the list of nerfs makes for brutal reading. No more bonuses for airlines, car rental, cruise liners, hotels, travel agencies, supermarkets, food delivery or fast food. No more bonuses for any transactions made offline. Thatโ€™s not to mention the recent devaluation of KrisFlyer miles conversions, and the upcoming removal of complimentary travel insurance.

These nerfs have crippled the card to the extent where most people will find it completely surplus to requirements. If all you care about is KrisFlyer, and if your spending doesnโ€™t bust the bonus caps on other 4 mpd cards, then thereโ€™s no reason to burden yourself with a HSBC Revolution.

But if you want to collect miles with alternate frequent flyer programmes, then there are ways of getting around the otherwise restrictive bonus whitelist. And for this group, perhaps thereโ€™s life in the HSBC Revolution yet.

HSBC Revolution Card
๐Ÿฆ MileLion Verdict
โ˜ Take It
โ˜ Take It Or Leave It
โ˜‘ Leave It

Following a year of crippling nerfs, the HSBC Revolution can safely be ignored by most people- though thereโ€™s one group who will still find it valuable.
๐Ÿ‘ The good ๐Ÿ‘Ž The bad
  • MCC 5311 still earns 4 mpd, extendable to many categories via Heymax vouchers
  • Permanent annual fee waiver
  • Instant conversions with no admin fees
  • 20 airline and hotel transfer partners
  • Bonus whitelist has been cut significantly, with only a few categories remaining
  • All bonuses are for online spending only
  • KrisFlyer miles conversions have been devalued
  • No more complimentary travel insurance from April 2025
Full List of Credit Card Reviews

Overview: HSBC Revolution

Letโ€™s start this review by looking at the key features of the HSBC Revolution.

Apply
Income Req.
S$30,000 p.a.
Points Validity
37 months
Annual Fee
None Min.
Transfer

25,000 HSBC points
(10,000 miles)

Miles with Annual Fee None Transfer Partners 20
FCY Fee 3.25% Transfer Fee None
Local Earn 0.4 mpd Points Pool? Yes
FCY Earn 0.4 mpd Lounge Access? No
Special Earn 4 mpd on selected online payments Airport Limo? No
Cardholder Terms and Conditions

How much must I earn to qualify for a HSBC Revolution?

uob preferred platinum visa income requirement

The HSBC Revolution has an income requirement of at least S$30,000 per year, the MAS-mandated minimum.

If you do not meet the minimum annual income, you can place a S$10,000 fixed deposit with HSBC to get a secured version of the card, with a credit limit equivalent to 100% of the deposit amount. More information can be found in this form.

How much is the HSBC Revolutionโ€™s annual fee? 

  Principal Card Supp. Card
First Year Free Free
Subsequent Free Free

The HSBC Revolutionโ€™s S$160.50 annual fee was removed on 1 August 2020, and both principal and supplementary cards are now free for life. 

So even though the card might not be as good as it was a few years ago, at least you wonโ€™t need to worry about getting hit by an annual fee.

What welcome offers are available?

Apply

HSBC is offering the following welcome gifts for new sign-ups for the HSBC Revolution Card.

New Cardholders Existing Cardholders
  • Samsonite ZELTUS 69cm Spinner Exp with built-in scale (worth S$680)
  • S$200 cashback
  • S$50 cashback

A minimum spend of S$800 must be charged to the card by the end of the month following approval. For example, if my card is approved on 15 March 2025, I will need to meet the minimum spend by 30 April 2025.

It is also necessary to provide consent to receive marketing/promotional materials from HSBC at the time of application, and to not revoke that consent until the gift is fulfilled. 

New cardholders are defined as those who:

  • Do not currently hold a principal HSBC credit card, and
  • Have not cancelled a principal HSBC credit card in the past 12 months

Existing cardholders are defined as those who:

  • Have a principal HSBC credit card that was issued more than 12 months ago
  • Have not cancelled any principal HSBC credit card within the past 12 months

HSBCโ€™s eligibility criteria is unique, and rather confusing. While most banks define an existing cardholder as โ€œanyone who is not a new cardholderโ€, HSBC says that not only must you not have cancelled a principal HSBC credit card within the past 12 months, the principal HSBC credit card you currently hold must have been issued at least 12 months ago.

Therefore, when it comes to HSBC, itโ€™s possible to be neither new nor existing, in which case no welcome offer for you!

How many miles do I earn?

๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌ SGD Spending ๐ŸŒŽ FCY Spending โญ Bonus Spending
0.4 mpd 0.4 mpd 4 mpd on online shopping, dining and  transport

Regular SGD/FCY Spending

HSBC Revolution Cardholders earn 1 HSBC point for every S$1 spent in Singapore Dollars or foreign currency (FCY). 

1 HSBC Point is worth 0.4 airline miles, so thatโ€™s an equivalent earn rate of 0.4 mpd for both local and FCY spending. 

All foreign currency transactions are subject to a 3.25% fee.

๐Ÿ’ณ FCY Fees by Issuer and Card Network
Issuer โ†“ MC & Visa AMEX
Standard Chartered 3.5% N/A
American Express N/A 3.25%
Citibank 3.25% N/A
DBS 3.25% 3%
HSBC 3.25% N/A
Maybank 3.25% N/A
OCBC 3.25% N/A
UOB 3.25% 3.25%
BOC 3% N/A
CIMB 3% N/A

Bonus Spending

For spending on bonus categories, HSBC Revolution Cardholders earn 10 HSBC points for every S$1 spent, whether in Singapore Dollars or FCY.

This works out to 4 mpd, capped at S$1,000 per calendar month.  Any spend in excess of this cap earns 0.4 mpd, so be sure to track your expenditure carefully.

The HSBC Revolution adopts a whitelist policy, which means that transactions donโ€™t earn bonuses unless theyโ€™re explicitly included in the T&Cs. This is more restrictive than a blacklist policy, where transactions earn bonuses unless theyโ€™re explicitly excluded in the T&Cs (e.g. Citi Rewards Card, DBS Womanโ€™s World Card).

Once upon a time, the whitelist was so broad that some people called this a โ€œde facto blacklist cardโ€. These days, itโ€™s not so generous. 

โœ… HSBC Revolution Bonus Whitelist
Category MCCs
Department Stores & Retail Stores 4816, 5045, 5262, 5309, 5310, 5311, 5331, 5399, 5611, 5621, 5631, 5641, 5651, 5655, 5661, 5691, 5699, 5732 to 5735, 5912, 5942, 5944 to 5949, 5964 to 5970, 5992, 5999
Dining 5441, 5462, 5811, 5812, 5813
Transport & Membership Clubs 4121, 7997
For online spending only, in SGD or FCY

This makes using the HSBC Revolution a bit more troublesome, as youโ€™ll either have to gamble on the MCC, or take additional steps to verify it before making a purchase.

Method Ease of Use Reliability
โ“HeyMax โ—โ—โ— โ—
๐Ÿ“ฑ Instarem app โ—โ— โ—โ—
๐Ÿค– DBS digibot โ—
โ—โ—โ—

A detailed guide to checking MCCs can be found in the following article. 

How to check Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) before making a purchase

Department Stores & Retail Stores

There are two crucial MCCs here: 5311, and 5999.

MCC 5311 is used for department stores, but it also belongs to Heymax, which sells vouchers for a wide range of physical and online merchants including Amazon, Best Denki, Deliveroo, Grab, IKEA, Klook, Lazada, NTUC FairPrice Online, Pelago, Zalora and more. 

๐Ÿ‘ 700 Max Miles joining bonus
Sign up for a HeyMax account and get up to 700 Max Miles as a welcome bonus
700 bonus Max Miles
  • Amazon
  • Best Denki
  • Courts
  • Deliveroo
  • Foodpanda
  • Grab
  • IKEA
  • Klook
  • Lazada
  • NTUC FairPrice Online
  • Oddle Eats
  • Pelago
  • Ryde
  • Sephora
  • SHEIN
  • Shopee
  • TADA
  • Zalora

These would normally code under a wide range of MCCs, but when purchased as vouchers through HeyMax, will universally code as MCC 5311. 

I hope you see where Iโ€™m going here. Whether youโ€™re buying electronics or furniture, booking activities, taking a Grab or gojek, ordering food delivery, buying eSIMs or shopping online, you can use HeyMax to turn that into a 4 mpd opportunity for the HSBC Revolution.

To further sweeten the deal, Heymax also awards Max Miles based on the value of your purchase, which can be redeemed for more than two dozen airline and hotel partners.

Max-imum Fun: The best sweet spots for Max Miles redemptions

MCC 5999 is used for Atome, which partners with Agoda, Cathay Pacific, EU Holidays, KKday and Trip.com. This presents a possible workaround for the exclusion of travel-related transactions, though sadly Atome no longer works with Klook. 

Other workarounds for in-store shopping include:

  • Buying gift cards on Wogi (MCC 5947), which can be used in-store at Best Denki, Challenger, iStudio, Isetan, TANGS etc.
  • Buying eCapitaVouchers or Frasers Digital Gift Cards on Wogi (MCC 5947), which can then be used at any CapitaLand Mall or Frasers Mall in Singapore
  • Paying with FavePay (assuming MCC falls within whitelist)
  • Paying with Kris+ (assuming MCC falls within whitelist)
  • Paying with ShopBack Pay (assuming MCC falls within whitelist)

Dining

While the HSBC Revolution continues to reward online dining transactions, the big problem here is that MCC 5814 was nerfed in May 2024- the MCC that food delivery platforms like GrabFood, Foodpanda and Deliveroo often use. 

Still, it is possible to earn bonuses when physically dining in a restaurant if the merchant:

  • Accepts FavePay (assuming MCC falls within whitelist)
  • Accepts Kris+ (assuming MCC falls within whitelist)
  • Accepts ShopBack Pay (assuming MCC falls within whitelist)
  • Has a QR-code ordering system like Oddle that requires you to pay on your phone before submitting your order (assuming MCC falls within whitelist)

All these transactions will code as online, and youโ€™d earn 4 mpd assuming the merchantโ€™s MCC falls within the HSBC Revolutionโ€™s dining whitelist. However if the transaction codes as MCC 5814, youโ€™re out of luck.

Transport

MCC 4121 remains a bonus category, which means you can continue to earn 4 mpd with Gojek, Grab, TADA and Ryde.

Membership Clubs

MCC 7997 remains a bonus category, so you can use the HSBC Revolution to earn 4 mpd with Anytime Fitness, Fitness First, BFT and most other gyms provided you pay online. Accor Plus memberships should also code as 7997, per my most recent records.

When are HSBC points credited? 

Base Points (1X) Credited when transaction posts
Bonus Points  (9X)
Credited around the middle of the following calendar month

The base 1X HSBC points are credited when the transaction posts, usually within 1-3 working days.

The bonus 9X HSBC points will be credited as a lump sum in following calendar month, sometime in the middle. There is no fixed date for crediting, but the community has reported the following:

  • November 2024 bonus: 18th December
  • October 2024 bonus: 15th November
  • September 2024 bonus: 9th October
  • August 2024 bonus: 19th September
  • July 2024 bonus: 17th August
  • June 2024 bonus: 19th July
  • May 2024 bonus: 14th June

How are HSBC points calculated?

Hereโ€™s how you can work out the HSBC points earned on your HSBC Revolution.

Base Points (1X) Round transaction to the nearest S$1, then multiply by 1
Bonus Points  (9X)
Sum all eligible transactions (including cents) and multiply by 9. Round down transaction to the whole number

This rounding policy gives the HSBC Revolution a slight advantage compared to some other specialised spending cards on the market, like the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa. Consider the following illustration:

  HSBC Revolution uob preferred platinum visa cardUOB Pref. Plat Visa
S$5 20 miles 20 miles
S$9.99 39.6 miles 20 miles
S$15 60 miles 60 miles
S$19.99 79.6 miles 60 miles
S$25 100 miles 100 miles
S$29.99 119.6 miles 100 miles

Of course, the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa has a much wider list of bonus categories than the HSBC Revolution, but assuming you were spending at a merchant thatโ€™s eligible for bonuses on both cards, then the HSBC Revolution would win.

If youโ€™re an Excel geek, hereโ€™s the formulas you need to calculate your points: 

Base Points (1X) =ROUND (X,0)*1
Bonus Points (9X)
=ROUNDDOWN (Y,0)*9
Where X= Amount Spent, Y= Sum of all eligible transactions

For the full list of formulas that banks use to calculate credit card points, do refer to these articles:

What transactions arenโ€™t eligible for HSBC points?

The following transactions are not eligible for HSBC points.

โŒ HSBC Revolution Exclusion List
  • Foreign exchange transactions (including but not limited to Forex.com);
  • Donations and payments to charitable, social organisations and religious organisations;
  • Quasi-cash transactions (including but not limited to transactions relating to money orders, travelerโ€™s checks, gaming related transactions, lottery tickets and gambling);
  • Payments made to financial institutions, securities brokerages or dealers (including but not limited to the trading of securities, investments or crypto-currencies of any kind);
  • Payments on money payments/transfers (including but not limited to Paypal, SKR skrill.com, CardUp, SmoovPay, iPayMy);
  • Payments to any professional services provider (including but not limited to GOOGLE Ads, Facebook Ads, Amazon Web Services, MEDIA TRAFFIC AGENCY INC);
  • Top-ups, money transfers or purchase of credits of prepaid cards, stored-value cards or e-wallets (including but not limited to EZ-Link, Transitlink, NETS Flashpay and Youtrip);
  • Payments in connection with any government institutions and/or services (including but not limited to court costs, fines, bail and bond payment);
  • Any AXS and ATM transactions;
  • Tax payments (except HSBC Tax Payment Facility);
  • Payments for cleaning, maintenance and janitorial services (including property management fees);
  • Payments to insurance companies (including but not limited to sales, underwriting, premiums and insurance services);
  • Payments to educational institutions;
  • Payments on utilities (Electric, Gas, Water, and Sanitary);
  • The monthly instalment amounts under all card instalment plan (including HSBC 0% Card Instalment Payment Plan, HSBC PayLater Instalment Plan and HSBC Spend Instalment);
  • Total purchase amount under HSBC 0% Instalment Payment Plan and HSBC PayLater Instalment Plan;
  • Balance transfers, fund transfers, cash advances, finance charges, late charges, HSBCโ€™s Cash Instalment Plan, any fees charged by HSBC;
  • Any unposted, cancelled, disputed and refunded transactions

Let me address some FAQs which invariably arise:

  • Foreign exchange transactions does not refer to foreign currency transactions. Foreign exchange refers to trading foreign currencies on platforms like Forex.com
  • The HSBC Tax Payment Facility was terminated in January 2023, but HSBC has never bothered to update its T&Cs so the clause remains there
  • HSBC has a blanket exclusion on bill payment services like CardUp, ipaymy and RentHero
  • While PayPal is on the exclusion list, this refer to peer-to-peer money transfers between personal PayPal accounts. Payments to business PayPal accounts, the sort which e-commerce merchants will use, will still earn rewards

Otherwise, the list of exclusions here is fairly standard: charitable donations, education, government services GrabPay top-ups, insurance, professional services providers, and utilities.

What do I need to know about HSBC points?

โŒ Expiry โ†”๏ธ Pooling โœˆ๏ธ Transfer Fee
37 months Yes Free
โฌ†๏ธ Min. Transfer โœˆ๏ธ No. of Partners โฑ๏ธ Transfer Time
25,000 HSBC points
(10,000 miles)
20 Instant*
*Except JAL Mileage Bank and Hainan Air Fortune Wings Club

Expiry

All HSBC points expire at the end of a 37-month period which commences from the month subsequent to the month in which the points were earned.

For example:

Points earned in the period of Expiry date
1-31 August 2023 30 September 2026
1-30 September 2023 31 October 2026
1-31 October 2023 30 November 2026

Pooling

HSBC points have been pooled ever since 1 May 2024, which means that if you have 10,000 HSBC points with the HSBC Revolution, and 15,000 HSBC points with the HSBC TravelOne Card, you can make a single redemption of 25,000 HSBC points.

However, do note that cancelling a HSBC card will lead to the forfeiture of points earned on that card, so youโ€™ll need to convert them before cancelling. 

Partners and transfer fee

HSBC points can be transferred to 20 airline and hotel loyalty programmes at the following ratios. 

โœˆ๏ธ HSBC Airline Partners
Frequent Flyer Programme Conversion Ratio
(HSBC Points : Partner)
50,000 : 10,000
35,000 : 10,000
35,000 : 10,000
35,000 : 10,000
35,000 : 10,000
35,000 : 10,000
krisflyer logo 30,000 : 10,000
30,000 : 10,000
25,000 : 10,000
25,000 : 10,000
25,000 : 10,000
asia miles logo 25,000 : 10,000
25,000 : 10,000
25,000 : 10,000
25,000 : 10,000
25,000 : 10,000
๐Ÿจ HSBC Hotel Partners
Hotel Programme Conversion Ratio
(HSBC Points : Partner)
30,000 : 10,000
25,000 : 5,000
25,000 : 10,000
25,000 : 10,000

A minimum conversion block of 10,000 miles/points (5,000 points in the case of ALL) applies, but subsequent conversions can be as little as 2 miles/points. For example, you could opt to convert 25,100 HSBC points into 10,040 Asia Miles, or 183,750 HSBC points into 52,500 Aeroplan points. 

One important thing to highlight is that not all partners share the same transfer ratio, and the partner you choose affects the earn rate on your HSBC cards. 

The 4 mpd rates weโ€™ve been referring to only apply if you pick a partner with a 25,000 pts = 10,000 miles ratio. If you want to use the HSBC Revolution to earn KrisFlyer miles (30,000 pts = 10,000 miles), your effective earn rate is 3.33 mpd at best, and if you pick JAL Mileage Bank (50,000 pts = 10,000 miles), itโ€™s 2 mpd.

Transfer Ratio
(Points : Miles)
HSBC Revolution
(Bonus Categories)#
25,000 : 10,000 4 mpd
30,000 : 10,000 3.33 mpd
35,000 : 10,000 2.86 mpd
40,000 : 10,000 2.5 mpd
50,000 : 10,000 2 mpd
#10 points per S$1 on bonus categories

Itโ€™s beyond the scope of this review to discuss which frequent flyer programmes you should be transferring points to, but I do want to highlight that under no circumstances should you opt for Qatar Privilege Club.

Hereโ€™s why: the transfer ratio to Qatar Privilege Club is 35,000 HSBC points = 10,000 Avios. However, you can achieve a much better value by transferring 25,000 HSBC points to British Airways Executive Club for 10,000 Avios, then transferring those Avios to Qatar Privilege Club at a 1:1 ratio.

Iโ€™m also going to say that if you want to earn Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles, this is the wrong card for you. There are plenty of other specialised spending cards on the market which will earn you 4 mpd, so thereโ€™s no reason to resort to a 3.33 mpd rate.

Transfer time

All points transfers are completed instantly, with the exception of JAL Mileage Bank (10 working days) and Hainan Fortune Wings Club (5 working days).

Other perks

Free Entertainer subscription

hsbc entertainer

All principal HSBC cardholders receive a complimentary copy of The Entertainer, which offers more than 1,000 1-for-1 offers for dining, entertainment and travel.  

Since the Revolution is not a โ€œpremiumโ€ card, you wonโ€™t get nearly as many offers as HSBC Visa Infinite & HSBC Premier Cardholders. That said, youโ€™ll still access to the standard Entertainer offers at more than 150 merchants in Singapore, as well as the same overseas and travel offers that higher tier cards have. 

An Entertainer membership usually retails at S$85. 

Complimentary travel insurance

HSBC Revolution Cardholders receive complimentary travel insurance from MSIG when they:

  • charge the full fare of their flight, rail or cruise to their card, or
  • redeem a flight with airline miles, and use their card to cover the taxes and surcharges

This policy provides coverage of up to S$1,000,000 per person, as summarised in the table below.

Benefit Maximum Limit Payable

Accidental Death or Total and Permanent Disablement

  • Cardholder and Spouse
  • Family Member of Cardholder (Adult)
  • Family Member of Cardholder (Child)

 

  • S$300,000 per person
  • S$300,000 per person
  • S$75,000 per person
Emergency Medical Evacuation and Repatriation S$1,000,000 per person
Trip Cancellation S$3,000 per person
(S$6,000 per family)
Travel Delay S$700 per person
(S$700 per family)
Missed Flight Connection S$300 per person
(S$600 per family)
Luggage Delay S$300 per person
(S$600 per family)
Loss of Luggage S$750 per person
(S$1,500 per family)
FAQs | Policy Wording

From 1 April 2025, complimentary travel insurance will no longer be offered. What this means is that even if you used your HSBC Revolution to buy your tickets before this date, you wonโ€™t have coverage if your travel takes place from 1 April 2025 onwards.

โ“ What happens if your travel straddles this period?
If your trip straddles this period, you will receive coverage for any incident that happens up till 31 March 2025.

In any case, I donโ€™t think this should have been your primary source of travel insurance coverage, because thereโ€™s no coverage for overseas medical and dental expenses, hospitalisation allowance, personal liability, or loss of personal belongings- all things I look out for in a travel insurance policy.

Moreover, thereโ€™s no longer any reason to use the HSBC Revolution for air tickets, since Travel was removed as a bonus category on 1 January 2025.

Terms and Conditions

Summary Review: HSBC Revolution

Apply
๐Ÿฆ MileLion Verdict
โ˜ Take It
โ˜ Take It Or Leave It
โ˜‘ Leave It

For most people in Singapore, the HSBC Revolution will be a โ€œleave itโ€ card for the simple reason that the bonus whitelist has been decimated, and transfers to KrisFlyer miles have been devalued. Why bother with a finnicky credit card, when the DBS Womanโ€™s World Card, Citi Rewards and UOB Preferred Platinum Visa offer higher earn rates with less effort? 

But thereโ€™s a small segment for whom the HSBC Revolution still remains worthwhile. If youโ€™re not focused on earning KrisFlyer miles, and instead want to build balances with programmes like EVA Air Infinity MileageLands, Flying Blue and British Airways Executive Club, then this could very well be a โ€œtake itโ€ card for you.

With a little thinking outside the box, itโ€™s possible to work around the whitelist restrictions. You could pay with Atome, buy Heymax vouchers and Wogi gift cards, and utilise apps that turn offline transactions into online ones (MCC permitting). Whatโ€™s more, the points youโ€™ll be earning are highly flexible, with 20 partners, instant conversions, small conversion blocks, and waived admin fees.

However, since these reviews are written with a general audience in mind, Iโ€™m going to stick with โ€œleave itโ€. The vast majority of miles chasers wonโ€™t need this card as part of their strategy, not when simpler alternatives exist.

So thatโ€™s my review of the HSBC Revolution. What do you think? 

Aaron Wong
Aaron Wong
Aaron founded The Milelion to help people travel better for less and impress chiobu. He was 50% successful.

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France is Bacon

4mpd for simplygo?

Zavian

Do you get the base points (1point = $1) for using SimplyGo? It only says you donโ€™t get the bonus points. But how about the base points?

Anon

Better than earning 0.0mpd

Darren

Use other cards like UOB PRVI visa or mastercard

anon

get an sc smart card in that case strictly for simplygo. 5.6mpd, or 6% cashback if you donโ€™t like orphan miles and you got yourself a solid beginner 2 card set-up.

Jim

Use UOBKF for SimplyGo โ€“ 3mpd

Paul

Hi if I use fave pay, does it count as contact less payment?

ithh

Donโ€™t users get 4mpd also for contactless dining with the UOB Preferred Platinum VISA?

Last edited 4 years ago by ithh
ithh

But HSBC Revolution also requires dining payments to be contactless. So, howโ€™s that different?

starry

I have both cards and I see it as an additional card to fully maximize my 4mpd earnings per month for my dining expenditure.

xiaoboy

Does โ€˜contactlessโ€™ include waving physical card at PayWave terminals unlike UOB PPV ? Incidentally, Do fuel purchases fall under the transportation or retail category ?

MileTiger

Yes. It counts when you tap the card contactless or via Apple Pay

Fuel purchases not sure. Gotta ask the drivers here.

Sean

Hey Aaron
Just so you know, when I went to apply the HSBC website asks me to download their app and apply via that. Which is fine but I am not sure whether youโ€™re getting any affiliate bonus that way โ€“ I see the affiliate code from your link but because sign-up is via app I donโ€™t see how you get any credit (if indeed you were expecting that).
Also sign-up via app is very frustratingโ€ฆ

okspender

Itโ€™s a shame we can only use this card for up to $1,000 a month

Joon

They should bump it up to a higher number, and Iโ€™m sure the additional usage over the first $1K will shoot thru the roof

Raymond

So any spend above $1k in that month will not earn the bonus miles?

Jenn

โ€ฆ any thoughts on HSBC Infinite card vs Revolution or other HSBC cards. Iโ€™m looking to drop my Infinite card?

Chye Huat

Didnโ€™t see hospital in the exclusion list, does this mean 4mpd for contactless payment at both public/private hospitals?

GrimaH

HSBC Revolutionโ€™s 4mpd goes by MCC whitelist approach as mentioned in the article, and as far as I see hospital MCCs arenโ€™t included.

J_S

Aaron, does it earn 4mpd on Favepay transactions? Favepay offers a rebate that can be used to a subsequent transaction at the same merchant and would be great if bonus miles are earned!

Philippe

Any idea if topping up topping up ShopeePay entitles you to the bonus miles? Went to Whatcard and it only shows Shopee as MCC5331 but doesnโ€™t say anything about ShopeePay.

Philippe

Between HSBC Revolution and Citi Premiermiles, which one is better on average? Considering that we are able to pay for insurance using Citi Payall to accumulate miles..

Last edited 4 years ago by Philippe
Jim

โ€œThe only caveat Iโ€™d add is that if your monthly spending is very low (maybe in the $500-1,000 range), it may not make sense to spread your points across another bank. In that case the UOB PRVI Miles + UOB Preferred Platinum Visa combination might work better. โ€

Hi Aaron, I currently fall under this category of low spending. Are you able to share more about the UOB PRVI Miles + UOB Preferred Platinum Visa combination?

mechu

Would contactless payments overseas in the same categories qualify for 4mpd as well?

Rodimus82

Iโ€™m trying to use this card to make an online purchase on a local website that sells cookies. Will it quality for 4mpd?

mustafa

Hi
Iโ€™m planning some purchases at Mustafa. Does anyone know for sure the MCC for Mustafa Centre in at Syed Alwi Road? Iโ€™ve checked Whatcard and the Visa Supplier Locator โ€“ seems to be either 5331 or 5311? And what about the MCC for Mustafa Online? Should we use the HSBC Revo?
Thanks in advance

PuzzledLee

Is WhatCard.com updated for this? It still lists the Revolution as 2 mpd for dining.

AMJ

Thanks for the useful review as usual! Which rate applies if the transaction is both online AND in FCY, 0.4mpd or 4mpd? Thanks

benchwarmer

Hey, I just got this card with the latest biggest promo! Thanks for these articles.
Wanted to ask about this โ€“>
โ€œInstead of charging a fee per conversion, HSBC instead charges cardholders an annual S$42.80 Mileage Program fee, which covers unlimited conversions for a 12-month period.โ€
Will I get billed for this immediately or when I first want to transfer my miles? Thanks in Advance!

Adam

Upon your first transfer and then valid for 12 months.

anon

based on my experience and info from HSBCโ€™s CS, the bonus points are awarded the following month from the statement date, contrary to what it seems to be on the t&c

ie. if a transaction made on 18th Apr is captured in a 14Apr-13May statement, the bonus points will only be awarded end of June.

Hy lee

How about MCC for Shopee and Shopee supermarket?

Xianghua

Would it make sense to pair this with the Amaze card? Say for restaurants that donโ€™t use contactless?

LYS

Amaze works for mastercard only. This aint

Sam

Is there a card that you gave 5 star rating to it? would be useful if there is a list of cards with the ratings next to it

Falco

How do I get The Entertainer? I have the card for nearly half a year now and maxing out each month, but have never received anything.

JustAnotherMilesGuy

Contact HSBC customer support for the Entertainer VIP code and it should give you access!

Falco

Thanks Guy!

Yuki

Hmmโ€ฆ Any idea which day of the week is the cutoff for miles transfer? I did my transfer on Thu but seems like itโ€™s still pending. ๐Ÿ˜ก

Yuki

Opps! Wrong emoticon. ๐Ÿ™

Darren

any idea if the 4mpd will stack for supplementary card holders?

Alan

Is Harvey Norman eligible for 4mpd? I remembered checking the MCC once, seems like itโ€™s not on the whitelist?

John

Anybody else having difficulty applying for this card? I applied for it in May and still havenโ€™t heard anything from HSBC. I called a few times to inquire โ€“ sometimes they tell me they canโ€™t find my application and at other times they tell me they sent a message to expedite my application. I received 4 credit cards from other banks in the meantime, so clearly itโ€™s not an issue on my end.

Alexander

Their systems cock up, my application can even went missing for 3 weeks. Finally got the card after 7 weeks!

John

Good to know. I called them like 4 times and got a different reason every time (missing document, canโ€™t find application, โ€œdue to overwhelming demandโ€ฆโ€). Such a mess!

Last edited 2 years ago by John
Anon

Their system quite bad. I also kena slow. needed to call and chase a few times.

Audrey

I am quite disappointed with this card. I spent it at IKEA Jem using Google Pay and online at Pet Lovers Centre. Both were not eligible for the extra 9x points. I asked HSBC and they said the merchant code didnโ€™t qualify for the 9x points. I am totally confused.

Anon

the bonus points are earned specifically on certain MCC codes which you can refer in the T&C link below. IKEA spend probably best would be OCBC Titanium or UOB PP Visa via contactless payment?

https://www.hsbc.com.sg/content/dam/hsbc/sg/documents/credit-cards/revolution/offers/10x-reward-points-terms-and-conditions.pdf

Last edited 2 years ago by Anon
Alex

is there a way to check how many HSBC points did they award me for each transaction and the corresponding bonus points (if transaction is eligible)? Thank you ๐Ÿ™‚

MileTiger

Well, I recently talked to HSBC via online chat on their online banking as I had the same query. This is what they told me. โ€œWe understand you have an enquiry with regards to 10x reward points transactions. We regret to share that we do not have access to check for eligible transactions via the system or through online banking. You may refer based on the transaction category under Eligibile transactions and reflect on monthly statement.โ€ If they can be like Citi/UOB/DBS and allow customer to check on the online banking site, life would be easier and I think perhapsโ€ฆ Read more ยป

Rahul

Will there be contactless payments abroad if not then there are much better cards with better offers.

matthew

Article written 2 years ago and updated this year, yet the most important question of how long it takes for miles to be credited into Krisflyer is not mentioned or answered. Having data point on this would be useful.

kath

I havent receive any bonus miles since my first usage in June 2022. Iโ€™ve spent at Harvey Norman and contactless dining areas. This is really strange, any one facing the same issue?

James

Application processing takes 3-5 days.
Apporval after processing another 7-14 days.

Absoloute rubbish when competitors have immdediate approval and some even lets you use virtual card while physcial card is sending over. But I guess this is the price to pay for a good miles card with good sign-up bonus.

Will

Hi, it was previously mentioned that need to physically tap the card. This is no longer needed?

Marcus

Isnโ€™t this card better than the UOB Preferred Platinum which is graded 5 stars while this is 4.5 stars? It seems to be almost identical except that the points do not count in blocks of $5. The HSBC Revolution card also has no annual fee and 11 months longer points validity. Only downside is that points conversion is twice the amount ($42.80 vs $25) but that is a small fixed cost to pay given the missed miles with UOBโ€™s $5 blocks.

Zhiwei

Hi Aaron, been a long time reader of your site, thanks for your excellent work, it has enabled my family to fly on a number of business class tickets (something we thought impossible previously). I just wanted to leave a quick comment on the MCC for Courts. I paid with this card (contactless) in the physical store but did not get the 9x points. I called in and was told that Courts coded as 5712 (Furniture, Home Furnishings, and Equipment Stores, Except Appliances). Not sure if it is accurate. I did not buy any furniture though, bought an iron actually.โ€ฆ Read more ยป

Malcolm

hi, does 4mpd applies to iCloud and Google Drive storage?

Phil

Thanks for the detailed article! Wanted to check if the $1,000 max cap for 4mpd is shared between Principal and Supplementary cards? Or does each card get a separate limit?

Jeremy

The HSBC points earned from supplementary cards will be stacked together with principle card?

Wen Xie

Hi Aaron.. Iโ€™m curious, since there are no annual fee, does that mean we have to payS$42.80 Mileage Programme fee annually instead?

C M

Iโ€™m pretty sure itโ€™s not required to pay until you are ready to redeem the points into miles, so if it were me I would accumulate for like 35 months (before the points expires) and then pay the fee to get my points out. The 1 year free transfer timeframe from that day on is just a bonus (and expensive!)

Jiffy_Washed

Would we still earn the 4mpd if we pay for petrol via the CaltexGO app

Andrew Su

Hi do dinning in restaurants is eligible for 10 X HSBC points? Thanks.

Bent

Yes, Provided contactless.

Retire

Milelion, you seems to forget one segment of your readers. Those who recently retired and do not have the official $30,000, though most CPF have more than 1million. ๐Ÿ™‚

Wee Lin

Read again.

โ€œIf you do not meet the minimum annual income, you can place a S$10,000 fixed deposit with HSBC to get a secured version of the card, with a credit limit equivalent to 100% of the deposit amount. More information can be found in this form.โ€

Joseph

Does anyone know whether iherb considered as online retail spending

Bent

Telegram DP codes it as 5499 which makes it an eligible MCC

Joseph

Thanks Bent ๐Ÿ™‚

Bent

YMMV for Expedia since it is an aggregator โ€“ I booked a car rental via Expedia and it was coded as 7512 which is not an eligible MCC.

HSBC didnโ€™t even reply my email requesting for an appeal.

Chew

Is the 4 mpd given for the following? Google Pay (mcdonaldโ€™s app, fairprice app, ), favepay and xnap? Thanks

Alex

just to double check the 1k capping is per month but not per statements. therefore we need to calculate it ourselves if the statement date is not at the end of the month? thanks.

KFC

Calendar month and post date.
Bonus reward w b credited a month later.

Alex

Thanks. ๐Ÿ™‚

Buaytuckchek

The qualifying spend is $1000 for the Samsonite luggage

Kayden

Hi Aaron, do you happend to have the tnc for previous offer ? Signed up around 14 Feb. But they credit me with cashback instead of luggage. Definitely selected luggage as option as i was planning to use it for my overseas trip.

Have you ever encountered this issue? Iโ€™m thinking of filing an appeal

Last edited 1 year ago by Kayden
Klara

hello! just to check, why would you not condone using it everywhere?

Xin

The bonus spending capped at S$1,000 per calendar month, is based on transaction date or when the transaction was posted?

KFC

Post Date

faceoff

Hi Aaron, I just want to point out that the single Mileage Programme fee does not apply anymore. I have both a HSBC Revolution (thanks to recommendation from you) and HSBC VI. I had the HSBC Revo, applied for the mileage programme for the Revo, then signed up for HSBC VI later. I called the CSO today, they confirmed that each card need to have their own mileage programme sign up. meaning i will have to be charged twice for 2 mileage programmes. apparently the 2nd mileage programme fee is non-waivable, but weโ€™ll see.

The MileLion

The CSO is wrong. The fee only needs to be paid once (this has been confirmed by HSBCโ€™s corp comms team).

โ€œThe customer needs to only pay for the fee once as the mileage enrollment fee is charged at customer level.โ€

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