Last week, HSBC launched the HSBC Live+ Card, a new cashback card that offers 8% cashback on dining, entertainment and shopping.
An 8% cashback rate is certainly attractive โ perhaps better than 4 mpd in some situations โ though it’s only available till the end of 2024, and you’ll have to contend with some finicky mechanics surrounding minimum spend and delayed crediting.
But assuming that’s not an issue, SingSaver has now launched some lucrative welcome offers for the Live+, which allow new-to-bank customers to stack gifts worth up to S$699 with HSBC’s offer of an additional S$100 cashback.
HSBC Live+ Card welcome offers
 HSBC Live+ Card |
||
| Apply | ||
| Card T&Cs |
New-to-bank customers who apply for the HSBC Live+ Card via the links in this article can enjoy both of the welcome offers below.
SingSaver
 |
| T&Cs |
| Apply by 30 September 2024 |
Customers who spend at least S$500 by the end of the month following approval will receive one of the following gifts:
- FLUJO SmartTrax Standing Desk (worth S$699)
- Xiaomi Robot Vacuum S10+ (worth S$569)
- Sony WF-1000XM5 (worth S$429)
- S$330 Lazada voucher
For example, if your card is approved in June 2024, the minimum spend must be clocked by 31 July 2024.
Don’t forget to fill out the SingSaver Rewards Redemption Form that will be sent to your email, within the first 14 days of application. Ensure that the name, mobile number and email address submitted to SingSaver are the same as that used in the credit card application.
Gifts are fulfilled within three months of meeting the qualifying criteria.
HSBC
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| T&Cs |
| Apply by 30 September 2024 |
Customers who make at least one qualifying transaction by the end of the month following approval will enjoy S$100 cashback from HSBC.
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.
This gift will be fulfilled according to the following timeline.
| Card Account Opening Date | Qualifying Spend Period | Notification Date |
| 21-30 Jun 24 | 21 Jun to 31 Jul 24 | By last week of Aug 24 |
| 1-31 Jul 24 | 1 Jul to 31 Aug 24 | By last week of Sep 24 |
| 1-31 Aug 24 | 1 Aug to 30 Sep 24 | By last week of Oct 24 |
| 1-30 Sep 2024 | 1 Sep to 31 Oct 24 | By last week of Nov 24 |
| 1-14 Oct 2024 | 1 Oct to 30 Nov 24 | By last week of Dec 24 |
Eligibility
The above offers are valid for new-to-bank customers, defined as those who:
- do not currently hold any existing HSBC principal credit card (excluding the HSBC TravelOne Card or HSBC Visa Infinite)
- did not cancel any HSBC principal credit card (excluding the HSBC TravelOne Card or HSBC Visa Infinite) within the past 12 months
I want to emphasise again 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
Also note that applicants must 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. Do not forget this step, or you won’t receive a gift.
Recap: HSBC Live+ Card
The HSBC Live+ Card has a minimum income requirement of S$30,000 and an annual fee of S$196.20, waived for the first year. Subsequent years’ annual fees will be waived with a minimum spend of S$12,500, though it remains to be seen how strict HSBC is with that requirement.
Cardholders will earn up to 8% cashback on dining, entertainment, shopping and Caltex/Shell as follows:
| HSBC Live+ Card |
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| Category | Regular | Bonus Ends 31 Dec 24 |
| Dining, Entertainment, Shopping | 5% | 3% |
| Petrol (Caltex and Shell) |
5% | – |
| All other spend | 0.3% | – |
Category definitions are given below.
Dining, Entertainment, Shopping
Dining, Entertainment and Shopping are defined as online and offline transactions in either SGD or FCY, with the following MCCs.
Dining
| 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 |
Shopping
| 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 |
Entertainment
| 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.
Do note that after 31 December 2024, the maximum cashback rate will be reduced to 5%, as the 8% rate consists of a limited-time 3% bonus.
A minimum spend of S$600 per calendar month, for all three months in a calendar quarter is required. If the minimum spend is not met, a flat rate of 0.3% cashback will be awarded for everything.
| ๐ First quarter concession |
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If this is your first calendar quarter, the minimum spend to trigger the up to 8% cashback rate is S$1,000 for the entire quarter, instead of S$600 per month. For example, if you are approved on 23 June 2024, you will need to spend S$1,000 from 23-30 June 2024 to earn up to 8% cashback for Q2 2024. From Q3 2024 onwards, you will need to spend S$600 per calendar month, in each calendar month within that quarter. |
The maximum cashback that can be earned with the Live+ is capped at S$250 per calendar quarter. There are no sub-limits for each of the bonus categories.
This cashback will be credited to your account within two months after the end of each quarter.
Should you wait till July?
It might not be the worst idea to delay your application until July.
Why? Today is 23 June. Let’s say HSBC takes three days to approve your application. That leaves you with just four days to clock the S$1,000 spend needed to earn 8% cashback for this quarter.
“That’s no problem”, you say. “I’ll just start spending in July”. Well you could, but then you’ll have wasted your first quarter concession. From July to September 2024, you’ll need to spend at least S$600 per calendar month to earn the 8% cashback, since your concessionary quarter ended on 30 June 2024.
Now lets say you applied in July instead. Your first quarter concession would run from July to September 2024, allowing you to make one big ticket expenditure of up to S$3,125, earn 8% cashback, and forget about the card until October rolls around. The only downside here is that you’ll have wasted one quarter’s opportunity to earn 8% cashback, since this rate is only for a limited time.
I mean, if you know for sure you’ll have a big ticket expenditure to make by the end of June, go ahead and apply now, but it might be a nerve-wracking wait for your card to show up.
Conclusion
| HSBC Live+ Card |
||
| Apply |
New-to-bank applicants for the HSBC Live+ Card can now stack SingSaver and HSBC welcome gifts when they spend at least S$500 by the end of the month following approval.
It shouldn’t be too hard to meet the entire minimum spend on 8% categories, though you’ll need to spend at least S$1,000 in the first quarter to trigger that rate, and S$600 per month for every month in each quarter subsequently.
Remember that the 8% cashback rate is only valid till 31 December 2024, but on the plus side, the S$250 quarterly cashback cap has no sub-limits, unlike other cards. You can choose to spend on just a single category if that suits you best.
Be careful with those SingSaver promos. I’ve had multiple situations where SingSaver claimed the application was ineligible because “the source code of your application is not under SingSaver” even thought I followed the required steps.
And good luck getting anyone to help you. The bank and SingSaver will just point to each other and leave you stranded and out of luck.
Same! I didn’t get the promo gift for the recent Maybank card application too. Sadly.
i’ve seen you spamming the same comment on multiple posts. do you work for moneysmart? have signed up for many past offers and the gift always arrived eventually
I sent a message to Singsaver but they do not know whether it is stackable. May I know where you got the source that they are stackable from?
https://milelion.com/2023/09/22/the-customer-service-officer-isnt-always-right/
I’m confused with this statement
‘…allowing you to make one big ticket expenditure of up to S$3,125, earn 8% cashback and forget about the card until October rolls around’
Doesn’t the 8% cashback requires a min spend of $600 every month for that quarter?
Seems like the use of Live+ on HeyMax has been blocked. Was fine over the weekend. But today, voucher purchase cannot be completed using Live+. No issues with others cards. Interestingly, voucher purchases with HSBC Revolution still works.