HSBC has launched the HSBC Live+ Card, a new cashback card that offers up to 8% cashback on dining, entertainment and shopping.
This normally wouldn’t be on my radar, but I figure it’s still worth covering because:
- SingSaver will be offering a new-to-bank sign-up deal that stacks with HSBC’s regular offer (normally you have to pick one or the other)
- An 8% cashback rate is objectively good, even if it’s only till 31 December 2024
- This goes some way to explaining the demise of the HSBC Revolution
Here’s my analysis of the Live+ Card and what to look out for- or you can just click here if all you care about is the welcome offer (which goes live on 24 June 2024, so hold your fire till then).
Details: HSBC Live+ Card
 HSBC Live+ Card |
||
| Card T&Cs | ||
| Income Req. | Annual Fee | FCY Fee |
| S$30,000 |
S$196.20 | 3.25% |
The new HSBC Live+ Card has a minimum income requirement of S$30,000 and an annual fee of S$196.20, with a first year fee waiver.
Cardholders who spend at least S$600 per calendar month, for all three months in a calendar quarter, will earn up to 8% cashback as follows
| Regular | Bonus [till 31 Dec 24] |
|
| Dining, Entertainment, Shopping | 5% | 3% |
| Petrol (Caltex and Shell) |
5% | – |
| All other spend | 0.3% | – |
Do note that after 31 December 2024, the maximum cashback rate you can enjoy will be reduced to 5%, as the 8% consists of a limited-time 3% bonus.
Cashback is computed based on the posting date of transactions. For example, if a transaction is made on 30 June 2024 but posts on 3 July 2024, it will count towards July’s minimum spend and quarterly cap. Therefore, making transactions towards the end of the month is risky. Be sure to settle your minimum spend early.
If the minimum spend is not met, a flat rate of 0.3% cashback will be awarded for everything, and the maximum cashback that can be earned with the Live+ is capped at S$250 per calendar quarter.
I have mixed feelings about this mechanic. On the one hand, 8% cashback is a very generous return indeed. For a 4 mpd card to beat this, you’d need to value a mile at at least 2 cents each.
On the other, most 4 mpd cards don’t have minimum spends, and with the Live+, you must hit the minimum spend of S$600 consistently each month for an entire calendar quarter to unlock that rate.
That hampers the use case for big ticket spending, since you can’t simply spend S$3,125 in a single month and be done with it. Instead, the maximum you can spend in one month, assuming you want to stay under the S$250 quarterly cashback cap, is S$1,925 (then S$600 for the remaining two months).
First quarter concession
Given these mechanics, you might be wondering what happens when you first sign up. For example, today is 21 June. Two of the three months in this quarter have lapsed already, so how do you spend S$600 per quarter?
Well, HSBC has a special concession for the first quarter only. In your first calendar quarter of approval, the up to 8% cashback rate is triggered if you spend at least S$1,000 on your card, with no restriction on which particular month it must be in.
Here’s an illustration of how it works for someone who gets approved on 21 June 2024.
| Quarter | Min. Spend |
| Q2 2024 (1 Apr to 30 Jun 24) |
S$1,000 per period |
| Q3 2024 (1 Jul to 30 Sep 24) |
S$600 per month |
| Q4 2024 (1 Oct to 31 Dec 24) |
S$600 per month |
This means that in the first quarter, this card can work as a solution for big ticket spending, since you can clock the entire S$3,125 at one go and take home S$250 cashback, without needing to spend anything in the remaining months of the quarter (if any).
In fact, if you’re facing a situation where you have a big-ticket purchase that can’t be split over multiple cards, then the HSBC Live+ will almost certainly be a better choice than a miles card, because the 0.4 mpd rate post bonus cap really drags down your average with the latter.
For example, consider a S$3,000 transaction made on:
- UOB Lady’s Solitaire Card: 8,400 miles (S$2,000 @ 4 mpd + S$1,000 @ 0.4 mpd)
- HSBC Live+: S$250 cashback (S$3,000 @ 8%)
I think most people would take the S$250 cashback in that case!
When is cashback posted?
Unlike other cashback cards where you get the cashback the following month (or where it’s used to offset the current month’s bill), the Live+ has a much longer runway.
Cashback will be credited to your account within two months after the end of each quarter. This means that in some cases you’ll be waiting up to five months to see your cashback!
This also affects your exit strategy- you can’t exit mid-quarter, or you’ll forfeit your pending cashback. And when you do decide to cancel, there’ll be a moratorium of sorts on spending for a two-month period while you wait for your previous quarter’s cashback to come in.
Officially, you’ll need to spend at least S$12,500 per annum on this card to qualify for an annual fee waiver from the second year onwards. I certainly hope that HSBC isn’t strict on this criteria though, because this might make things unpleasant. Imagine a situation where your previous quarter’s cashback hasn’t come in yet, but the annual fee for the next year due- it’s like you’re being held hostage.
How are categories defined?
Dining
Dining transactions refer to online and offline transactions, in SGD or FCY, with the following MCCs.
| MCC | Examples |
| 5811 Caterers |
Eatz, Neo Garden, Stamford Catering |
| 5812 Restaurants |
Crystal Jade, Jumbo Seafood, Paradise Group |
| 5814 Fast Food |
Burger King, KFC, McDonald’s, Starbucks |
| 5462 Bakeries |
Bread Talk, Bengawan Solo, Four Leaves |
What’s interesting here is that MCC list is different from the HSBC Revolution’s.
On the one hand, it includes MCC 5814 Fast Food, which the Revolution nerfed back in April. This is also used for food delivery (along with MCC 5812), so there should be no issues using the Live+ for your Deliveroo/GrabFood/foodpanda needs.
On the other, it does not include MCC 5813 Bars & Nightclubs, which is odd given how HSBC is positioning the Live+ as an entertainment card. It also doesnt include MCC 5441 Candy, Nut and Confectionary Stores (e.g. Candy Empires, TWG), which the Revolution has.
Shopping
Shopping transactions refer to online and offline transactions, in SGD or FCY, with the following MCCs.
| MCC | Examples |
| 5262 Online Marketplaces |
Shopee, Qoo10 |
| 5309 Duty Free Stores |
DFS, KrisShop, The Shilla |
| 5310 Discount Stores |
Brands Delicatessen, Daily Treats, Lotte Mart |
| 5311 Department Stores |
Taobao, Isetan, Marks & Spencer |
| 5331 Variety Stores |
Muji, Mustafa, Miniso |
| 5611 Men’s Clothing |
Benjamin Barker, Dockers, Superdry |
| 5621 Women’s Ready to Wear |
bYSI, Coast, Forever21 |
| 5631 Women’s Accessories |
Bimba Y Lola, Chomel, Coach |
| 5641 Children’s and Infants’ Wear |
Abercrombie Kids, Cotton On Kids, Kidstyle |
| 5651 Family Clothing |
ASOS, Bossini, Desigual |
| 5655 Sports Apparel |
Adidas, Nike, Lululemon |
| 5661 Shoe Stores |
ALDO, Bata, Birkenstock |
| 5691 Men’s and Women’s Clothing |
Prada, G2000, Ezbuy |
| 5699 Accessory and Apparel |
LeSportsac, Crumpler, Esprit |
| 5941 Sporting Goods Stores |
Decathlon, Converse, New Balance |
| 5498 Luggage or Leather Goods Stores |
American Tourister, Samsonite, Rimowa |
Again, there are differences here compared to Revolution. The Live+ has MCC 5941 and 5498 included, but lacks MCC 4816, 5045, 5992 and 5999 to name a few. That means no bonuses for Atome (5999), so be careful.
But MCC 5311 is included, which is good news for those who buy gift cards on HeyMax. All such purchases code under 5311, so this is a way of “changing the MCC”, letting you enjoy the bonus cashback while spending at places which aren’t on the Live+ whitelist.
Entertainment
Entertainment transactions refer to online and offline transactions, in SGD or FCY, with the following MCCs.
| MCC | Examples |
| 4899 Cable, Satellite, Streaming Services |
HBO, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus |
| 5735 Record Stores |
iTunes, iCloud |
| 5815 Digital Goods |
Spotify, Deezer |
| 7832 Motion Picture Theatres |
Golden Village, Cathay Cineplexes, Shaw Cinema |
Petrol
Petrol transactions consist of Caltex and Shell service stations with MCC 5541 or 5542. This is only valid for spending in Singapore.
Live+ dining programme
HSBC is also launching the Live+ dining programme, which offers 15% off dining at over 200 restaurants across Asia, including Alma by Juan Amador, Gotti Italiano, Meatsmith, OSO Ristorante and TungLok Peking Duck in Singapore.
Discounts are also available in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Do note that only some of these offers are Live+ exclusives; others can be enjoyed by any HSBC cardholder.
Like all other HSBC cards, Live+ cardmembers will also enjoy a complimentary copy of ENTERTAINER with HSBC, featuring more than 1,000 1-for-1 deals in Singapore and worldwide.
Welcome offers
SingSaver
 |
| Offer will launch on 24 June 2024 at 5 p.m |
New-to-bank customers who apply for a HSBC Live+ Card via SingSaver will be entitled to additional gifts. These have yet to be confirmed, but for reference, you can currently enjoy a Dyson V8 Slim Fluffy, Apple iPad 9th Gen or S$350 eCapitaVoucher with the HSBC Advance. I would expect the gifts for the Live+ Card to be similar.
A minimum spend of S$500 must be made by the end of the month following approval (e.g. if you’re approved in June, the spending must be made by 31 July).
Applicants must also 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.
This offer will only launch on 24 June 2024 at 5 p.m, so hold your fire till then. A new article will be published and a notification sent to MileLion Roars when that happens.
HSBC
New-to-bank customers who apply for HSBC Live+ Card can also enjoy S$100 cashback when they make at least one qualifying transaction by the end of the month following approval. This transaction can be of any amount, and the only exclusions are the usual suspects like insurance, education, utilities etc. Basically, there’s no reason why you should miss it.
For avoidance of doubt, this offer is stackable with the SingSaver one mentioned above. This is rare, because normally you have to choose one or the other.
This offer is valid from 21 June to 30 September 2024, subject to further extension.
T&Cs can be found here.
Eligibility
| ❓ Definition |
|
New-to-bank customers are defined as those who:
*Except the HSBC TravelOne Card or HSBC Visa Infinite |
Once again, let me emphasise that holding the HSBC TravelOne Card and/or HSBC Visa Infinite does not, in and of itself, make you ineligible for this offer. HSBC sees these two cards as a separate category from the Live+/Revolution/Advance. I’ve explained this strange (but beneficial) distinction in the post below.
PSA: HSBC’s unusual definition of new and existing customers
Viva la revolution?
The HSBC Live+ Card ostensibly replaces the HSBC Visa Platinum, but it’s hard not to feel like it also plays some role in the HSBC Revolution’s untimely demise.
The past few months have seen the HSBC Revolution undergo a series of crippling nerfs (with more to come soon, if you can believe it), and now it’s clear that HSBC is basically robbing Peter to pay Paul. 8% cashback isn’t cheap to offer, after all. That money needs to come from somewhere, and it looks like that somewhere is the Revolution. By removing bonus categories from the Revolution and getting the min-maxers to show themselves the door, budget gets freed up.
With the launch of the Live+, I think it’s safe to say we won’t be seeing much investment in the Revolution for the foreseeable future, as HSBC has a new golden child.
Conclusion
The new HSBC Live+ Card is live, with 8% cashback on dining, entertainment and shopping till the end of 2024.
8% cashback could very well trump 4 mpd, but you’ll need to spend at least S$600 per month for an entire calendar quarter to enjoy that rate (though there’s a first quarter concession of S$1,000 which makes it amenable to a big ticket transaction). Also bear in mind that the cashback posts two months after the end of the calendar quarter, which has implications for timing your exit.
If you’re a new-to-bank customer, SingSaver will launch some lucrative welcome gifts from Monday, which are stackable with an easy S$100 from HSBC. Alternatively, if you feel that there’ll be a challenge meeting the S$1,000 first quarter minimum spend by 30 June, you might want to delay your application till July rolls around.
Supermarkets isn’t a whitelisted MCC, so this card is still a hard no for me
Not including supermarkets. I still miss the old days with revo.
Am I right in my understanding – seems that it would be cutting it pretty close if you only apply on 24 June (5pm) AND you are hoping to clock a large spend under the special concession for the first quarter (where your transaction has to post by 30 June). I guess you can most likely only have one or the other?
depends how fast you get approved, but yes i see your point. it may be better to wait till july to apply in that case.
Nice! There’s a $50 cashback sign-up gift when you spend $500 on the card for existing customers.
8% + $50 on the first quarter for a big ticket item, sounds good 👍
There is no reason to have this card if you already have Maybank F&F, Citi Cashback, UOB ONE.
Lack of subcategory caps unlike Maybank F&F.
Provided they give you the card even if you meet requirements.
Pity. This card won’t work for me. Otherwise 8% cashback would be fantastic
100% correct. What I cannot figure is how Singapore regulators allow Singsaver to continue to operate. Fraud. Scam. These sort of words describe Singsaver pretty well.
Had the HSBC Visa Platinum with the same quarterly cashback mechanism. 5 months delay for the cashback is totally deal beaker. Dropped it & never look back.
Won’t bother about this card as long as it still keeping this quarterly bullshit.
They copy UOB one card method, spend for 3 calendar months
Aaron, your UOB LS Eg- isn’t it 8,400 miles and not 4,800 miles? and $250 cash back Eg is based on $3,125 spending, vs your miles Eg Based on $3,000 spending..
yes, will fix that thanks