It wasn’t too long ago that the HSBC Revolution looked down and out. With a maximum earn rate of just 2 mpd and HSBC nerfing points for insurance and utilities, the last vestige of a use case had all but disappeared.
And then came a comeback worthy of Lazarus. In August 2020, the HSBC Revolution received a major makeover: the annual fee was permanently removed, while the earn rate was buffed to 4 mpd on a wide range of everyday transactions including dining and supermarkets. Overnight, it went from paperweight to wallet essential, and remains an absolute must-have till today.
 HSBC Revolution | |
| 🦁 MileLion Verdict | |
| ☑ Take It ☐ Take It Or Leave It ☐ Leave It | |
| With 4 mpd on travel, shopping, groceries, dining, and transport, the no-fee HSBC Revolution is as close to a no-brainer as they come. | |
| 👍 The good | 👎 The bad |
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| Full List of Credit Card Reviews | |
Overview: HSBC Revolution
Let’s start this review by looking at the key features of the HSBC Revolution.
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| 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 | •SIA •Cathay Pacific |
| FCY Fee | 3.25% | Transfer Fee | S$43.20 (per yr.) |
| Local Earn | 0.4 mpd | Points Pool? | No |
| FCY Earn | 0.4 mpd | Lounge Access? | No |
| Special Earn | 4 mpd on selected online and contactless payments | Airport Limo? | No |
| Cardholder Terms and Conditions | |||
How much must I earn to qualify for a HSBC Revolution?
The HSBC Revolution is positioned at the entry level, with a S$30,000 annual income requirement.
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.
Sign-up gift
HSBC offers new-to-bank customers a choice of welcome gifts:
- Samsonite Prestige 69cm Spinner Exp with built-in scale
- S$150 cashback
A minimum spend of S$1,000 must be charged to the card by the end of the month following approval. For example, if my card is approved on 15 March 2023, I will need to meet the minimum spend by 30 April 2023.
New-to-bank customers are defined as those who:
- do not hold any existing HSBC principal credit card
- did not cancel any HSBC principal credit card within the past 12 months
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.
At the time of writing, this offer is available till 31 August 2023. That said, it’s been periodically extended, so do refer to this link for the latest offer.
The T&Cs can be found here.
How much is the HSBC Revolution’s annual fee?
| Principal Card | Supp. Card | |
| First Year | Free | Free |
| Subsequent | Free | Free |
The HSBC Revolution’s S$160.50 annual fee was removed on 1 August 2020, and both principal and supplementary cards are now free for life.
There are only a handful of credit cards in Singapore without an annual fee, and most of them are rather abject. So hats off to HSBC for waiving the annual fee, while simultaneously improving the value proposition.
How many miles do I earn?
| 🇸🇬 SGD Spending | 🌎 FCY Spending | ➕ Bonus Spending |
| 0.4 mpd | 0.4 mpd | 4 mpd on travel, shopping, groceries, dining, transport paid online or via contactless payments |
Regular SGD/FCY Spending
The HSBC Revolution earns:
- 1 HSBC Point for every S$1 spent in Singapore Dollars
- 1 HSBC Point for every S$1 spent foreign currency (FCY)
1 HSBC Point is worth 0.4 airline miles, so that’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.
Bonus Spending
Cardholders will earn an additional 9 HSBC Points for every S$1 spent on selected online and offline contactless payments, whether in local currency or FCY. That’s a total earn rate of 10 HSBC Points per S$1 spent (4 mpd).
This is capped at S$1,000 per calendar month. Any spend in excess of this cap earns 0.4 mpd.
The following MCCs are eligible for bonus points:
| Category | MCCs | Examples (non-exhaustive) |
| Airlines, Car Rental, Lodging, Cruise Lines & Travel Agencies | 3000 to 3350, 3351 to 3500, 3501 to 3999, 4411, 4511, 4722, 7011 | Singapore Airlines, Scoot, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Klook, Expedia, Hotels.com |
| 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 | Amazon, Best Denki, Book Depository, Courts, Harvey Norman, Lazada, Qoo10, Shopee, Taobao |
| Supermarkets, Dining & Food Delivery | 5411, 5441, 5462, 5499, 5811, 5812, 5813, 5814 | Cold Storage, Deliveroo, NTUC FairPrice, Sheng Siong, foodpanda, GrabFood, WhyQ |
| Transportation & Membership Clubs | 4121, 7997 | Comfort, Grab (excluding GrabPay top-ups), gojek, TADA, Ryde, Fitness First |
| Bonuses apply regardless of whether spend is in SGD or foreign currency | ||
While it’s a shame that the HSBC Revolution adopts a whitelist approach (where only specified MCCs will earn bonus points) rather than a blacklist approach (where only MCCs specified will not earn bonus points), the bonus categories are fairly broad and cover a wide range of day-to-day spending.
It’s noteworthy that the HSBC Revolution is currently the only unisex 4 mpd dining card on the market, a gap that sorely needed filling after the demise of the UOB Preferred Platinum AMEX. Moreover, since restaurants and hotels are both bonus categories, there’s no longer any need for head scratching as to whether a restaurant inside a hotel will code as a restaurant or a hotel.
Once again, all transactions must be made online, or offline via contactless payment in order to earn 4 mpd. This includes:
- Apple Pay (in-app or in-store spend)
- Google Pay (in-app or in-store spend)
- Visa Paywave (tapping the physical card)
There is currently no support for Garmin Pay, Fitbit Pay, or Samsung Pay.
When are HSBC Points credited?
The 1X base HSBC Points are credited when the transaction posts, usually within 1-3 working days.
The bonus 9X HSBC Points will be credited by the end of the following calendar month from the date of transaction, and will be reflected in the cardholder’s statement no later than the last day of the second calendar month.
For example, if you make an eligible transaction in April, your bonus points will be credited by the end of May, and appear in your statement for June.
| Base Points (1X) | Credited when transaction posts |
| Bonus Points (9X) | Credited by the end of the following calendar month |
How are HSBC points calculated?
Here’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 1.0 |
| Bonus Points (9X) | Sum all eligible transactions (including cents) and multiply by 9.0. Round down transaction to the whole number |
While the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa (the HSBC Revolution’s closest competitor) awards points in blocks of S$5, the Revolution awards points in blocks of S$1. This is a key advantage, because it means you lose fewer points to rounding. Consider the following illustration:
 HSBC Revolution |  UOB 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 |
If you’re an Excel geek, here’s the formulas you need to calculate your points:
| Base Points (1X) | =ROUND (X,0)*1 |
| Bonus Points (9X) | =ROUNDDOWN (Y*9,0) |
| 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 aren’t eligible for HSBC Points?
The following transactions are not eligible for HSBC Points.
| ❌ HSBC Revolution Exclusion List |
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The key exclusions to note are charitable donations, education, government services GrabPay top-ups, insurance, professional services providers, and utilities.
HSBC also explicitly excludes CardUp, ipaymy and RentHero transactions.
What do I need to know about HSBC Points?
| ❌ Expiry | ↔️ Pooling | ✈️ Transfer Fee |
| 37 months | No | S$43.20 for unlimited conversions (12 mo.) |
| ⬆️ Min. Transfer | ✈️ No. of Partners | ⏱️ Transfer Time |
| 25,000 HSBC Points (10,000 miles) | 2 | ~1 week |
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 |
| 1-30 September 2021 | 31 October 2024 |
| 1-31 October 2021 | 30 November 2024 |
| 1-30 November 2021 | 31 December 2024 |
This means that the validity is technically 37-38 months, depending on when the points were earned.
Pooling
HSBC Points do not pool across cards. If you have 10,000 HSBC Points on the HSBC Revolution, and 15,000 HSBC Points on the HSBC Visa Infinite, for example, you won’t be able to combine the two when redeeming (however, you won’t need to pay multiple conversion fees; see next section)
Since points do not pool, you will have to transfer all your HSBC Points before cancelling the HSBC Revolution, or else forfeit them.
Partners and Transfer Fee
HSBC Points can be transferred to frequent flyer programmes at a 5:2 ratio, with a minimum transfer block of 25,000 HSBC points.
| Frequent Flyer Programme | Conversion Ratio (HSBC Points: Miles) |
 | 25,000: 10,000 |
 | 25,000: 10,000 |
Instead of charging a fee per conversion, HSBC instead charges cardholders an annual S$43.20 Mileage Programme fee, which covers unlimited conversions for a 12-month period. Alternatively, you can pay 9,000 rewards points for a program fee waiver (totally not worth it).
Even though your HSBC Points do not pool, you will only pay a single Mileage Programme fee regardless of how many HSBC credit cards you have. This covers transfers to both KrisFlyer and Asia Miles (i.e. there’s no need to register again for the 2nd frequent flyer program).
Transfer Time
HSBC points transfers are batched and processed on a weekly basis, which means your waiting time could be anywhere from 1-7 days.
Other perks
Free Entertainer subscription
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 “premium” card, you won’t get nearly as many offers as HSBC Visa Infinite & HSBC Premier cardholders. That said, you’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$79.
1% bonus cashback with HSBC EGA
HSBC Revolution Cardholders can earn an additional 1% cashback on all transactions with the HSBC Everyday Global Account (EGA).
This is available to customers who deposit the following fresh funds into an EGA each month:
- HSBC Personal Banking: S$2,000/month
- HSBC Premier and Jade: S$5,000/month
If they also perform at least five eligible transactions (i.e. not those stated in the exclusions section above) of any amount each month, they’ll earn 1% cashback capped at S$300 per month for HSBC Personal Banking and S$500 per month for HSBC Premier and Jade.
Terms and Conditions
Summary Review: HSBC Revolution
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| Apply |
The HSBC Revolution is a no-brainer to add to your wallet. With 4 mpd on dining, groceries, transport, and travel, this could even be a suitable option for those lazy to carry around multiple cards (though I certainly wouldn’t condone using it everywhere!).
Just remember that you’ll need to pay online or via contactless payments in order to earn the bonus. Any magnetic strip or chip transactions won’t qualify.
Add the fact that there’s no annual fee, and there’s very little to dislike.
So that’s my review of the HSBC Revolution. What do you think?
| 🦁 MileLion Verdict | |
| ☑ Take It ☐ Take It Or Leave It ☐ Leave It |
4mpd for simplygo?
nope. 4111 not included
Do you get the base points (1point = $1) for using SimplyGo? It only says you don’t get the bonus points. But how about the base points?
why would you want to earn only 0.4 mpd with simply go though?
Better than earning 0.0mpd
Use other cards like UOB PRVI visa or mastercard
Hi if I use fave pay, does it count as contact less payment?
Don’t users get 4mpd also for contactless dining with the UOB Preferred Platinum VISA?
sure, but it’s not a specialized dining card. and amazingly, some places still don’t have paywave
But HSBC Revolution also requires dining payments to be contactless. So, how’s that different?
I have both cards and I see it as an additional card to fully maximize my 4mpd earnings per month for my dining expenditure.
Does ‘contactless’ include waving physical card at PayWave terminals unlike UOB PPV ? Incidentally, Do fuel purchases fall under the transportation or retail category ?
Yes. It counts when you tap the card contactless or via Apple Pay
Fuel purchases not sure. Gotta ask the drivers here.
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 you’re getting any affiliate bonus that way – I see the affiliate code from your link but because sign-up is via app I don’t see how you get any credit (if indeed you were expecting that).
Also sign-up via app is very frustrating…
thanks for the heads up! quite frankly, i have no idea how it works too…all i know is that signing up via mobile browser is supposed to be the best because they dont ask you to download, sign, scan and email a form.
It’s a shame we can only use this card for up to $1,000 a month
They should bump it up to a higher number, and I’m sure the additional usage over the first $1K will shoot thru the roof
So any spend above $1k in that month will not earn the bonus miles?
… any thoughts on HSBC Infinite card vs Revolution or other HSBC cards. I’m looking to drop my Infinite card?
Didn’t see hospital in the exclusion list, does this mean 4mpd for contactless payment at both public/private hospitals?
HSBC Revolution’s 4mpd goes by MCC whitelist approach as mentioned in the article, and as far as I see hospital MCCs aren’t included.
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!
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 doesn’t say anything about ShopeePay.
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..
“The only caveat I’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. ”
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?
Would contactless payments overseas in the same categories qualify for 4mpd as well?
yes, so long as the MCCs are on the list.
I’m trying to use this card to make an online purchase on a local website that sells cookies. Will it quality for 4mpd?
Hi
I’m planning some purchases at Mustafa. Does anyone know for sure the MCC for Mustafa Centre in at Syed Alwi Road? I’ve checked Whatcard and the Visa Supplier Locator – seems to be either 5331 or 5311? And what about the MCC for Mustafa Online? Should we use the HSBC Revo?
Thanks in advance
Is WhatCard.com updated for this? It still lists the Revolution as 2 mpd for dining.
whatcard has not been updated for a while already.
Thanks for the useful review as usual! Which rate applies if the transaction is both online AND in FCY, 0.4mpd or 4mpd? Thanks
4 mpd if eligible category
Hey, I just got this card with the latest biggest promo! Thanks for these articles.
Wanted to ask about this –>
“Instead 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.”
Will I get billed for this immediately or when I first want to transfer my miles? Thanks in Advance!
Upon your first transfer and then valid for 12 months.
based on my experience and info from HSBC’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.
How about MCC for Shopee and Shopee supermarket?
Would it make sense to pair this with the Amaze card? Say for restaurants that don’t use contactless?
Amaze works for mastercard only. This aint
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
I’d encourage people not to get too hung up about the star ratings. In fact I thought about removing them. They don’t really tell you much to the extent that there’s a false accuracy in saying a 5 star card is definitively better than a 4.5 one. In fact, I think I’d rather change ratings to simply recommend vs don’t recommend.
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.
Contact HSBC customer support for the Entertainer VIP code and it should give you access!
Thanks Guy!
Hmm… Any idea which day of the week is the cutoff for miles transfer? I did my transfer on Thu but seems like it’s still pending. 😡
Opps! Wrong emoticon. 🙁
any idea if the 4mpd will stack for supplementary card holders?
Is Harvey Norman eligible for 4mpd? I remembered checking the MCC once, seems like it’s not on the whitelist?
Anybody else having difficulty applying for this card? I applied for it in May and still haven’t heard anything from HSBC. I called a few times to inquire – sometimes they tell me they can’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 it’s not an issue on my end.
Their systems cock up, my application can even went missing for 3 weeks. Finally got the card after 7 weeks!
Good to know. I called them like 4 times and got a different reason every time (missing document, can’t find application, “due to overwhelming demand…”). Such a mess!
Their system quite bad. I also kena slow. needed to call and chase a few times.
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 didn’t qualify for the 9x points. I am totally confused.
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
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 🙂
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. “We 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.” 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 perhaps… Read more »
Will there be contactless payments abroad if not then there are much better cards with better offers.
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.
I havent receive any bonus miles since my first usage in June 2022. I’ve spent at Harvey Norman and contactless dining areas. This is really strange, any one facing the same issue?
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.
Hi, it was previously mentioned that need to physically tap the card. This is no longer needed?
Isn’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 UOB’s $5 blocks.
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.… Read more »
hi, does 4mpd applies to iCloud and Google Drive storage?
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?
shared cap.
The HSBC points earned from supplementary cards will be stacked together with principle card?
Hi Aaron.. I’m curious, since there are no annual fee, does that mean we have to payS$42.80 Mileage Programme fee annually instead?
I’m pretty sure it’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!)
Would we still earn the 4mpd if we pay for petrol via the CaltexGO app
Hi do dinning in restaurants is eligible for 10 X HSBC points? Thanks.
Yes, Provided contactless.
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. 🙂
Read again.
“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.”
Does anyone know whether iherb considered as online retail spending
Telegram DP codes it as 5499 which makes it an eligible MCC
Thanks Bent 🙂
YMMV for Expedia since it is an aggregator – I booked a car rental via Expedia and it was coded as 7512 which is not an eligible MCC.
HSBC didn’t even reply my email requesting for an appeal.
Is the 4 mpd given for the following? Google Pay (mcdonald’s app, fairprice app, ), favepay and xnap? Thanks
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.
Calendar month and post date.
Bonus reward w b credited a month later.
Thanks. 🙂
The qualifying spend is $1000 for the Samsonite luggage
thanks! have fixed that. $500 was the previous offer.
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? I’m thinking of filing an appeal
hello! just to check, why would you not condone using it everywhere?
The bonus spending capped at S$1,000 per calendar month, is based on transaction date or when the transaction was posted?
Post Date
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 we’ll see.
The CSO is wrong. The fee only needs to be paid once (this has been confirmed by HSBC’s corp comms team).
“The customer needs to only pay for the fee once as the mileage enrollment fee is charged at customer level.”