HSBC Live+ Card
Earn up to 5% cashback on dining, entertainment and shopping
HSBC Live+ Card Overview:
With this newly launched card, the HSBC Live+ Credit Card offers a tiered cashback program rewarding up to 8% cashback. This 8% cashback is made up of 5% cashback on dining, entertainment, and shopping, with an additional 3% bonus cashback on those categories until the end of 2024 31st March 2025. After which, it will be purely 5% cashback. There is a minimum spend required monthly of S$600 in each quarter.
Eligibility & Fees:
- Minimum Age: 21 years old
- Minimum Annual Income: The amount of Total Relationship Balance—combined value of your deposits, investments, and insurance with HSBC, based on average monthly balance over the last 3 months— will determine the income requirement
- Less than S$50,000 TRB
- Salaried (locals/PRs): S$65,000
- Self-Employed/Commission-based (locals/PRs): S$65,000
- Foreigners: S$65,000
- S$50,000 and above TRB
- Salaried (locals/PRs): S$30,000
- Self-Employed/Commission-based (locals/PRs): S$40,000
- Foreigners: S$65,000
- Less than S$50,000 TRB
- Annual Fee: S$196.20 (first year waived)
Key Benefits:
- Earn 5% cashback on Dining, Entertainment and Shopping with a minimum spend of S$600 per calendar month, in a calendar quarter!
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Cardholders with a card issued between 1 April 2025 and 30 September 2025, who meet the minimum spending requirement will be eligible to receive an additional 3% cashback on eligible purchases made with Dining, Shopping, and/or Entertainment merchants. This offer applies to the first two quarters following the card issuance date, including the quarter in which the card was issued
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Earn 5% cashback on Shell/Caltex Gas Stations
- Earn 0.3% cashback on other spendings
Quarter | Qualifying Period per Quarter |
1st Quarter | Between 1 January and 31 March, both dates inclusive |
2nd Quarter | Between 1 April and 30 June, both dates inclusive |
3rd Quarter | Between 1 July and 30 September, both dates inclusive |
4th Quarter | Between 1 October and 31 December, both dates inclusive |
How to Best Optimise it:
Best Used for Dining, Shopping, and Entertainment MCCs
- Dining Merchants are under these MCCs:
MCC Code | Examples |
5811 (Caterers) | Eatz, How’s Catering, Purple Sage Group, Richfood |
5812 (Eating Places and Restaurants) | Din Tai Fung, Aburi-En, Sushiro, Canton Paradise, Aston’s Specialities |
5462 (Bakeries) | Polar Puffs & Cakes, Four Leaves, Krispy Kreme, Awfully Chcolate |
5814 (Fast Food Restaurants) | Mcdonalds, Starbucks, Ya Kun Kaya Toast, KFC, Kopitiam |
*”Hotel Dining” and Bars/Clubs that serve alcohol may not be included
- Shopping Merchants are under these MCCs:
MCC Code | Examples |
5262 (Marketplaces) | Shopee, Qoo10, Konyo Konyo Market, Oppo Intel |
5309 (Duty Free Stores) | KrisShop, iShopChangi, Lotte Duty Free |
5310 (Discount Stores) | Lotte Mart, Main Street Deli |
5311 Departmental Stores | Lazada, Takashimaya, Taobao (App), Daiso, Metro, Isetan, BHG, heymax |
5331 (Variety Stores) | Muji, Mustafa Centre |
5611 (Men’s and Boys’ Clothing and Accessories Stores) | Steve Madden, Benjamin Barker, Mr Porter, The Assembly Ground |
5621 (Women’s Ready to Wear Stores) | Zara, Lovebonito, Sheike, Petal & Pup, Mango, Mothercare |
5631 (Women’s Accessory and Specialty Stores) | Louis Vuitton, Celine, Longchamp, La Senza, Lovisa |
5641 (Children’s and Infants’ Wear Stores) | Ergobaby, Gentle Armour, Mums Club, Pupsik Studio |
5651 (Family Clothing Stores) | Uniqlo, Armani Exchange, Desigual, Dolce & Gabbana |
5655 (Sports and Riding Apparel Stores) | Nike, Lululemon, JD Sports, Adidas |
(Shoe Stores) 5661 | Skechers, Aldo, Pedro, Bata, Timberland |
5691 (Men’s and Women’s Clothing Stores) | Chanel, Dior, G2000, Prada |
5699 (Miscellaneous Apparel and Accessory Shops) | YSL, Bottega Veneta |
5941 (Sporting Goods Stores) | Decathlon, Evolve Skateboard, The WOD Life |
5948 (Luggage or Leather Goods Stores) | Samsonite, Rimowa, Tumi, Goyard |
- Entertainment Merchants are under these MCCs:
MCC Code | Example |
4899 (Cable, Satellite and Other Pay Television/Radio/Streaming Services) | Netflix, HBO, Prime Video, Disney Plus, Hulu |
5735 (Record Stores) | Wolfgang, Tunes, iTunes, Coastal Rhythm Cafe & Bar |
5815 (Digital Goods Media – Books, Movies, Digital artwork/images, Music) | Spotify, Patreon |
7832 (Motion Picture Theaters) | Cathay Cineplexes, Shaw Theaters, Golden Village, WE Cinema |
Good for Caltex or Shell service stations:
(if minimum spend is met)
- Petrol Merchants are under these MCCs:
MCC Code | Notes |
5541 (Service Stations) | Caltex and Shell service stations only |
5542 (Automated Fuel Dispensers) |
Buy HeyMax Vouchers To Hit Minimum Monthly Spending If Needed:
- Since heymax‘s MCC is coded 5311, it qualifies for the 5% cashback (plus 3% cashback until 31st Dec 2024). You can buy FairPrice online vouchers, Amazon.sg, TADA, Grabgifts, Courts, IKEA, Best Denki Vouchers and even Klook vouchers on heymax then redeem them on the merchant website.
- Pro-tip: you should sign up for a heymax account first to receive 200 miles upon signing up and 500 miles upon completing onboarding tasks before doing so.
Achieve Your First Quarter’s Spend Requirement with Just S$1,000 Spending:
- If you just signed up for the card, refer to the fixed quarter calendar below:
Quarter | Qualifying Period per Quarter |
1st Quarter | Between 1 January and 31 March, both dates inclusive |
2nd Quarter | Between 1 April and 30 June, both dates inclusive |
3rd Quarter | Between 1 July and 30 September, both dates inclusive |
4th Quarter | Between 1 October and 31 December, both dates inclusive |
- The bank has a clause that allows new cardholders to spend S$1,000 to qualify for the entire quarter’s spend requirement to get 8% cashback (as long as the spending is posted within the quarter) when you apply mid-quarter.
- Assuming you applied for the card on a date that is within the third quarter (1 Jul to 30th Sep), whether you apply for the card on 1 Jul or 28th Sep, you have from that card approval date till 30th Sept to hit the spending requirements of just S$1K for that quarter. So you should probably take that into consideration when applying for the card.
Maximise Cashback At S$3,125 Spending Per Subsequent Quarter:
- To earn the maximum cashback of S$250 per quarter, you need to spend a total of S$3,125 throughout the quarter. However, you don’t have to spend this amount evenly each month. You can spend S$600 in July, S$1,000 in August, and S$800 in September and still receive the full 8% cashback on your total spending, as long as you hit the minimum spend of S$600 per month for all three months. In addition, there are no subcategory caps – you can earn the maximum cashback on any category of spending.
Use HSBC’s Free Entertainer and Live+ Dining Program
You can get 1 for 1 discounts for dining places etc., and 15% discounts for selected restaurants with:
What to Avoid:
Exclusion List:
MCC | Description |
4829 | Money Transfer |
4900 | Utilities – Electric, Gas, Water and Sanitary |
5199 | Nondurable Good |
5960 | Direct Marketing – Insurance Services |
6010 | Financial Institutions – Manual Cash Disbursements |
6011 | Financial Institutions – Automated Cash Disbursements |
6012 | Financial Institutions – Merchandise, Services, and Debt Repayment |
6050 | Quasi Cash—Customer Financial Institution |
6051 | Non-Financial Institutions – Foreign Currency, Non-Fiat Currency (for example: Cryptocurrency), Money Orders (Not Money Transfer), Travelers Cheques, and Debt Repayment |
6211 | Security Brokers / Dealers |
6300 | Insurance Sales, Underwriting, and Premiums |
6513 | Real Estate Agents & Managers – Rentals |
6529 | Remote Stored Value Load – Member |
6530 | Remote Stored Value Load – Merchant |
6532 | PSP-Member-Payment Transaction |
6533 | PSP-Merchant-Payment Transaction |
6534 | Money Transfer Member |
6536 | Moneysend – Intracountry |
6537 | Moneysend – Intercountry |
6538 | Moneysend funding |
6540 | Non-Financial Institutions – Stored Value Card Purchase/Load |
6555 | Mastercard Imitated Rebate |
7299 | Other Services–Not Elsewhere Classified |
7349 | CLEAN/MAINT/JANITORIAL SERV |
7399 | Business Services Not Elsewhere Classified |
7511 | Quasi Cash – Truck Stop Trxns |
7523 | Automobile Parking Lots and Garages |
7801 | Government Licensed On-Line Casinos (On-Line Gambling) (US Region only) |
7995 | Betting, including Lottery Tickets, Casino Gaming Chips, Off-Track Betting, and Wagers at Race Tracks |
8062 | Hospitals |
8211 | Elementary and Secondary Schools |
8220 | Colleges, Universities, Professional Schools, and Junior Colleges |
8241 | Correspondence Schools |
8244 | Business and Secretarial Schools |
8249 | Vocational and Trade Schools |
8299 | Schools and Educational Services (Not Elsewhere Classified) |
8398 | Charitable Social Service Organizations |
8651 | Political Organizations |
8661 | Religious Organizations |
8999 | Professional Services (Not Elsewhere Classified) |
9211 | Court Costs, Including Alimony and Child Support |
9222 | Fines |
9223 | Bail and Bond Payments |
9311 | Tax Payments |
9399 | Government Services (Not Elsewhere Classified) |
9402 | Postal Services – Government Only |
9405 | Intra-Government Purchases – Government Only |
9754 | Gambling-Horse Racing Dog Racing State Lotteries |
Past Buffs/Nerfs:
Nerfs:
- Effective 01 October 2025, the minimum income requirement will change depending on your total relationship balance with HSBC; existing cardholders will not be affected by this
- Effective 1 April 2025, 8% cashback is dropped to 5% cashback on bonus categories. However, cards issued from 1 April 2025 until 30 September 2025 will continue to receive the additional 3% cashback for the first 2 quarters
Is it Worth it:
Advantages:
- Relatively lower minimum spend as compared to similar cashback cards in the market
- Easy to achieve cashback via heymax
- Easy S$1,000 to achieve in the first quarter
Disadvantages:
- Limited to spend on the MCCs listed above (but there are workarounds)
- Need to hit consistent $600 and above in a quarter to achieve quarterly cashback
Frequently Asked Questions:
When will the bonus cashback be credited: It will be credited within 2 months, after the end of each calendar quarter.
Final Thoughts:
For Singaporeans who value high cashback and who spend a lot on dining out or already have a high value item in mind to purchase from the above MCCs or heymax workaround, the HSBC Live+ card is a very appealing choice for the next 6 months!
💳 Credit cards change their T&Cs every so often and it is difficult to stay updated. That’s why I created a Telegram Broadcast where you can receive timely bite-sized updates to get the most out of your spending.
💡 We believe in always paying our credit card bills on time and in full. It is only by doing that, can we fully maximise our credit card benefits.
