HSBC Revolution nerfing bonuses for groceries, food delivery and fast food

The HSBC Revolution has already suffered one round of nerfs this year, with travel agencies, AirBnB and most hotels getting the cut in January 2024.

Unfortunately, HSBC isn’t done yet, because there’s further nerfs coming from May 2024, when grocery stores, food delivery and fast food restaurants will earn just 0.4 mpd, instead of the current 4 mpd.

With the previous nerf, you could tell yourself that travel is an occasional event, and the day-to-day value proposition of the card remained untouched. Well, you can’t argue that anymore, because this nerf severely hamstrings the HSBC Revolution as an everyday spending card. 

HSBC Revolution further narrowing bonus whitelist

From 1 May 2024, the HSBC Revolution will no longer earn 4 mpd on the following MCCs:

Such transactions will only earn 0.4 mpd, like all other non-bonus categories.

These are some big nerfs, make no mistake about it:

• Excluding MCC 5411 means no more bonuses at supermarkets like Cold Storage, NTUC FairPrice and Sheng Siong
• Excluding MCC 5499 means no more bonuses at convenience stores like 7-Eleven and Cheers, as well as merchants which skirt the definitions of dining, like Hockhua Tonic, iHerb and Nespresso
• Excluding MCC 5814 means no more bonuses on Burger King, KFC, McDonald’s and Starbucks

But the problems go beyond just the obvious. MCC 5499/5814 are used by food delivery services such as Deliveroo, Food Panda and GrabFood (these can sometimes code as MCC 5812, but will you really take the risk?).

MCC 5814 is also used by all XNAP merchants, even if they have nothing to do with fast food (e.g. florists, wet market vendors), so you won’t be able to use the HSBC Revolution for this either. 

MCCs can often be opaque to the customer, but if you’re uncertain, here’s three ways of looking it up prior to purchase:

Not the first nerf for the HSBC Revolution in 2024

What makes this more annoying is that it’s not even the first nerf for the HSBC Revolution this year.

Back in January 2024, the HSBC Revolution removed MCCs 4722 and 7011 from its bonus whitelist, which meant no more 4 mpd on travel agencies such as Klook, Pelago and Trip.com, as well as AirBnB and many hotels. 

But at least there were workarounds in that case. You could continue to earn points on such transactions by paying with a BNPL service like Atome, where available (Atome codes as MCC 5999, which continues to be on the Revolution’s whitelist).

I don’t think BNPL providers have much interest in partnering with fast food outlets and grocery chains, so there is no workaround for the current nerf, other than to switch to a different card.

Alternative cards to use

For what it’s worth, the HSBC Revolution is not the only card to earn bonuses on these MCCs. 

The following cards still earn 4 mpd on MCC 5411 Supermarkets.

💳 Best Cards for MCC 5411
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Citi Rewards Apply	4 mpd (online)*	Max S$1K per s. month Review
DBS WWMC Apply	4 mpd (online)	Max S$1.5K per c. month Review
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month. Must choose Family as bonus category Review
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	4 mpd	Max S$2K per c. month. Must choose Family as bonus category Review
UOB PPV Apply	4 mpd (online or in-store mobile payment)	Max S$1.1K per c. month Review
UOB Visa Signature  Apply	4 mpd (in-store contactless payment)	Min S$1K, max S$2K per s. month Review
*Or pair with Amaze for offline spend

And of course, there’s still the DBS yuu Card, which earns an unbeatable 18% rebate for Cold Storage and Giant until further notice.

The following cards still earn 4 mpd for MCC 5499 Misc. Food Stores and MCC 5814 Fast Food.

💳 Best Cards for MCC 5499/5814
Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Citi Rewards Apply	4 mpd (online)*	Max S$1K per s. month Review
DBS WWMC Apply	4 mpd (online)	Max S$1.5K per c. month Review
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month. Must choose Dining as bonus category Review
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	4 mpd	Max S$2K per c. month. Must choose Dining as bonus category Review
UOB PPV Apply	4 mpd (online or in-store mobile payment)	Max S$1.1K per c. month Review
UOB Visa Signature  Apply	4 mpd (in-store contactless payment)	Min S$1K, max S$2K per s. month Review
*Or pair with Amaze for offline spend

HSBC Revolution revised bonus categories

From 1 May 2024, here’s what the HSBC Revolution’s bonus whitelist will look like.

It still looks like a very comprehensive list of merchants, but the squeeze is definitely on. I would focus on using the HSBC Revolution mainly for airlines, car rental, department stores, restaurants (where I’m certain the MCC is 5812), and taxi/ride-hailing transactions. 

Conclusion

From 1 May 2024, the HSBC Revolution will no longer earn 4 mpd on groceries, food delivery or fast food restaurants, which is a big blow to its value proposition. 

Keep in mind, this card was already nerfed once at the start of this year with the loss of travel agencies and many hotels, and it feels like HSBC is trying to kill this card by inches. 

There’s still uses for the HSBC Revolution to be sure, but you’re going to have to rejig your strategy and divert some spending to other bonus cards, which will further stress their caps. In a worst case scenario, it could mean fewer miles earned overall, for someone who’s now busting the limit.