Should you keep the HSBC Revolution after “Revo Up” ends?

Back in July 2025, the HSBC Revolution Card launched a new promotion called Revo Up, which not only reinstated bonuses for travel-related and contactless spending, but also increased the monthly bonus cap by 50% to S$1,500.

This promotion was originally due to end on 31 October 2025, but has since been extended twice — first to 28 February 2026, and then again to 31 March 2026, giving cardholders a nine-month window to enjoy the enhanced benefits.

As welcome as the latest extension is, I think we all know that at some point in the future, HSBC will pull the plug. So let’s address the elephant in the room: should you cancel your HSBC Revolution when that happens?

Not necessarily. As sad as that day will be, I can think of several compelling reasons to keep the card, even after Revo Up ends.

Recap: What happens when Revo Up ends?

HSBC Revolution Card

Apply (HSBC)

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The Revo Up promotion is currently slated to end after 31 March 26, barring any further extensions. Following this, the HSBC Revolution will revert to status quo, which means:

• Bonuses for travel-related transactions will be removed
• Contactless spending will no longer be eligible for bonuses
• The monthly bonus cap will be cut from S$1,500 to S$1,000

The table below summarises the changes.

	Revo Up	Regular
Dining	4 mpd Online Contactless	4 mpd Online
Shopping	4 mpd Online Contactless	4 mpd Online
Transport & Membership Clubs	4 mpd Online Contactless	4 mpd Online
Travel	4 mpd Online Contactless	N/A*
Bonus Cap	S$1,500 per c. month	S$1,000 per c. month
*Only 0.4 mpd will be awarded, regardless of payment method

Here’s a reminder of how HSBC defines each of these bonus categories.

Why keep the HSBC Revolution?

It still covers several important categories

Even with the loss of the Travel category and the reinstatement of the “online only” requirement, the HSBC Revolution will continue to earn 4 mpd on several important spending categories.

Atome

Get S$10 off first Atome purchase

Atome transactions code as online spend under MCC 5999 (Miscellaneous and Specialty Retail Stores), a whitelisted bonus category.

Atome breaks up transactions into three interest-free instalments, with the first payment due at the time of purchase, and the second and third payments due 30 and 60 days later.

This basically allows you to stretch your cashflow, at no additional cost, while also optimising bonus caps, converting ineligible MCCs into rewards-earning ones (especially for education partners), and earning Atome+ points.

For a full guide to Atome (and alternative cards), refer to the article below.

What’s the best card to use for Atome?

Fraser gift cards

FRx gift card purchases code as online spend under MCC 5965 (Direct Marketing- Combination Catalog and Retail Merchant), a whitelisted bonus category.

These can be spent at participating stores across the Frasers Experience portfolio, and serve as an MCC converter (in the sense that merchants with a wide range of MCCs are standardised to a single MCC via gift cards). They also enable you to break up large transactions into smaller amounts that stay within monthly bonus caps.

HeyMax vouchers

Get 200 Max Miles when you sign up for a HeyMax account and complete one transaction

Sign up here

HeyMax voucher purchases code as online spend under MCC 5311 (Department Stores), a whitelisted bonus category.

Note how this list includes merchants such as supermarkets (Giant, NTUC, Sheng Siong) and travel agencies (Klook, Pelago). If you were to transact directly, you wouldn’t earn any bonuses. However, purchasing vouchers through HeyMax circumvents this restriction.

Wogi gift cards

Wogi gift card purchases code as online spend under MCC 5947 (Card, Gift Novelty or Souvenir Shops), a whitelisted bonus category.

While there are plenty of options here, the most useful by far will be eCapitaVouchers, which returned to the platform in September 2025, after a long absence.

eCapitaVouchers can be spent at CapitaMalls across Singapore, and like FRx gift cards, serve as an MCC converter and a way of optimising bonus caps by breaking up large transactions.

Gym memberships

Gym memberships such as Anytime Fitness, Fitness First, and BFT code as MCC 7997 (Membership Clubs), a whitelisted bonus category. This is unique to the HSBC Revolution, as no other specialised spending card whitelists this MCC. 

There’s no annual fee

The HSBC Revolution eliminated its annual fee on 1 August 2020, and both principal and supplementary cards are now free for life.

Therefore, there’s no real cost to keeping the card (there’s arguably an opportunity cost if this card is the only thing standing between you and new-to-bank status, but we’ll address that later).

Entertainer with HSBC membership

This is somewhat related to the previous point— because the HSBC Revolution has no annual fee, it’s a free way of getting an Entertainer with HSBC membership. 

This comes with numerous 1-for-1 offers for dining, attractions and retail, and while it’s not as comprehensive as a full-fledged Entertainer subscription, should still save you some money over the course of a year.

HSBC points are extremely flexible

HSBC points are arguably the best rewards currency in Singapore, in terms of transfer partner variety, minimum conversion blocks, conversion speeds and conversion fees.

Points can be transferred to a total of 20 airline and hotel partners, at the ratios in the table below.

✈️ 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
	30,000 : 10,000
	30,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000
	25,000 : 10,000

🏨 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

The minimum transfer block is 10,000 miles or points (5,000 points for Accor), but the subsequent block is just 2 miles (1 point for Accor). In other words, you could choose to transfer 10,002 miles or 20,958 miles, which helps you avoid orphan points. 

All conversions are processed instantly, with the exception of Hainan (five business days) and JAL (10 business days). Conversions are free of charge, and HSBC points are pooled across cards.

Why should you cancel the HSBC Revolution?

While I’m certainly going to be sticking with the HSBC Revolution even after the Revo Up promotion ends, cancellation might make sense for a certain group of people. 

If you want to reset your new-to-bank status

If you’re a relatively modest spender, and your online spending can be fully covered by the bonus caps of the Citi Rewards and DBS Woman’s World Card, then it might be worth cancelling your HSBC Revolution in order to reset your new-to-bank status.

HSBC has a time-out period of 12 months before a former principal cardholder qualifies as new-to-bank again. Based on the current slate of welcome gifts — which include a Dyson Airstrait, 25,000 Max Miles, or S$400 cash — the potential upside could be quite attractive, assuming the offers remain just as generous next year.

If you only want KrisFlyer miles

HSBC uses four different transfer ratios for its 20 partners, and the effective earn rate depends on the partner you choose.

For example, 10 HSBC points per S$1 is equivalent to 4 mpd only if you choose a partner with a 25,000 points = 10,000 miles transfer ratio, like British Airways Executive Club or EVA Air Infinity MileageLands. If you choose KrisFlyer, where the ratio is 30,000 points = 10,000 miles, then the earn rate is 3.33 mpd.

Granted, if your only goal was to earn KrisFlyer miles, then you might not have been using the HSBC Revolution in the first place, even with the Revo Up promotion. However, there might be a group of people out there who were willing to settle for 3.33 mpd because of the expanded bonus categories and bonus cap. For this group, the conclusion of Revo Up might tip the balance towards cancelling.

Conclusion

The HSBC Revolution Card recently extended its Revo Up promotion by a further month, but it’s only a matter of time before it reverts to status quo. When that happens, the bonuses for travel and contactless spending will be removed, and the bonus cap will be reduced to S$1,000 per calendar month. 

I expect there to be some natural attrition, as some cardholders ditch the Revolution to reset their new-to-bank status, or switch to the Maybank XL Rewards and/or UOB Lady’s Cards for travel spending. However, I still think there’s a solid use case for the HSBC Revolution as the go-to card for Atome, HeyMax vouchers, gym memberships, FRx gift cards and Wogi gift cards (in particular eCapitaVouchers).

The absence of an annual fee and the versatility of HSBC points are further reasons to stick around, even after HSBC calls time on the party. 

Would you bet on another extension for the HSBC Revolution?