When it comes to cashback credit cards, some of the popular options are SBI Cashback, Flipkart Axis, Axis Ace and AU Xcite Ace. But, we have some other good options as well like the Airtel Axis Bank credit card and the HSBC Live+ credit card. HSBC Live+ credit card offers 1.5% cashback on retail spends. But the USP is the 10% cashback on select categories like dining, food delivery and grocery spends. All three are essential spends and this is where the HSBC Live+ credit card is useful.
Eligibility
- Age: Between 18 and 65 years
- Minimum annual income for salaried individuals: Rs 4 Lakh
- City of Residence: Bangalore, Chennai, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi, Noida, Pune, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Jaipur and Ahmedabad
HSBC does not provide the Live+ credit card to self-employed individuals. There are some rare exceptions if there is an existing saving account with a high balance. You would need a high NRV for this to work.
Fees
Joining Fee | Rs 999+GST |
Welcome Benefit | Rs 1000 cashback for downloading and loading on to HSBC Mobile Banking app and spending Rs 20,000 within 30 days of card issuance Rs 250 Amazon GV for applying online and completing video KYC |
Annual Fee | Rs 999+GST |
Annual Fee Waiver | Spend Rs 2 Lakh in a membership year |
Renewal Benefit | None |
The joining fee including GST is well compensated with the cashback and Amazon GV.
Cashback
Type of Spend | Cashback | Cap |
---|---|---|
Retail Spends | 1.5% | None |
Dining, Food Delivery and Grocery Spends | 10% | ₹ 1000/statement |
Fuel, Wallets, Rent, Property Management, Education, Government, Insurance, Jewellers, Tolls, Financial Institutions, Wholesale Clubs | None |
That is quite an exhaustive list of exclusions for 1.5% cashback. But, the HSBC Live+ credit card it is still a good option as other retail spends still get unlimited 1.5% cashback.
The 10% cashback on dining, food delivery and grocery spends is a big plus. It is valid for any spend in these categories. So, you can spend at any grocery shop or order from Swiggy/Zomato and get 10% cashback. If you can maximize on this, this alone will give you Rs 12000 worth of cashback in a year. We used the HSBC Live+ credit card at multiple online and offline stores to check the cashback. We got 10% cashback at DMart, Reliance Fresh, Swiggy Instamart, Swiggy food felivery, Zomato food delivery and blinkit. So it is quite easy.
Cashback Redemption
The earned cashback in a billing cycle is credited to the card account within 45 days of the card statement date.
Complimentary Airport Lounge Access
- Domestic Airport Lounge Access: 4 visits/year
- International Airport Lounge Access: Not Available
BookMyShow BOGO Offer on HSBC Live+ Credit Card
HSBC and BookMyShow run a BOGO offer for booking movie tickets on Saturdays for shows running on any day of the week. The maximum price of the free ticket is capped at Rs 250.
Other Key Benefits & Charges
- Foreign Currency Markup: 3.5%+GST ~4.13%
- Fuel Surcharge Waiver: Not Available
HSBC Live+ Credit Card vs Other Cashback Credit Cards
If you have multiple cashback credit cards and want to know which is the best one for your spends, refer to our handy chart below. It has cashback percentage comparisons across multiple cashback credit cards to find the best one for your spends.
Final Thoughts
HSBC Live+ is one of the best cashback credit cards today. With 1.5% to 10% cashback on spends, it is a must have cashback credit card. We get an annual fee waiver at ₹ 2 Lakh spend. This is quite easy to achieve as major spend categories like dining, grocery and food delivery offer 10% cashback.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, there is no cap on this.
Yes, the 10% cashback on food delivery, grocery and dining spends is capped at Rs 1000 per billing cycle.
Yes, HSBC allows holding multiple credit cards.
HSBC Live+ Credit Card
CardMaven
9 thoughts on “HSBC Live+ Credit Card Review”
1. I currently hold an hsbc visa platinum cc. Can I still apply for this and hold two hsbc cards ?
2. If we fall short of 2L spend; Does hsbc provide annual fee waiver via requesting their cc team (like we can do in amex cards) ?
Need your valuable suggestion..
1. Yes, we can.
2. No idea on this.
Will my spends on grocery/dining over 10k in a statement cycle earn 1.5 % cashback ?
No cashback for grocery/dining spends beyond 10K
Further there is no clarity on cashback is applied for which spends listed in the statement, it happens to be some restaurants are not added to their Merchant list so 10% CB not applied for it. In Nov’24 my spending on Dining was Rs.5038.82 + other expenses were Rs.15500, but Cashback credited against these spends was just Rs.509 which doesn’t give any clarity on expenses that were omitted for CB. Even if we consider 10% spends on Dining & Stationary the CB should be Rs.503.
No. Whatever you spend on Dining & Grocery above 10K doesn’t gain 1.5% unlimited cash back. Last month 1 spent 22K on Dining & Grocery but, got cashback of Rs.1000 only. That’s the main disadvantage of this card.
I recommend you use SMS expense manger like Axio (I’ve been using for past 10 years) to track card expense so that you can spend card wisely and thereby maximize savings!!
When cashback will be posted on statement? Any redemption fee associated ?
The earned cashback in a billing cycle is credited to the card account within 45 days of the card statement date. No redemption fee.