HSBC Revolution Card
Earn 4 miles per dollar on selected online spend
HSBC Revolution Card Overview:
The HSBC Revolution Credit Card is a no-annual-fee rewards card, offering 4 miles (or 10 HSBC Rewards Points) per dollar on online spending, capped at S$1,000 per calendar month, and 0.4 miles per dollar earn rate beyond this cap. It’s ideal for everyday spending, allowing points redemption for travel miles and supports point pooling with other HSBC cards.
Local Earn Rate for all other spending | 0.4 miles per dollar (1 HSBC point) |
Foreign Currency Earn Rate | 0.4 miles per dollar (1 HSBC point) |
Bonus Earn Rate(for selected local online spending) | 4 miles per dollar (10 HSBC points) |
Minimum Transfer | 25,000 HSBC Points (10,000 miles) |
Miles Earned in Blocks of | S$1 |
Spending Cap for Bonus Earn Rate (Per calendar month) | S$1,000 |
Foreign Currency Fees | 2.25% |
Transfer Fee (inclusive of GST) | Transfer Fee is waived indefinitely |
Points Expiry | 37 months |
Points Pooling | Yes (from 28 May 2024 onwards) |
Other Card Privileges | Entertainer App; 1% extra cashback with HSBC EGA (Effective 2 May 2024, this will be removed) |
Eligibility & Fees:
- Minimum Age: 21 years old
- Minimum Annual Income: S$30,000 (locals/PRs); S$40,000 (foreigners)
- Annual Fee: FREE
Key Benefits:
- Earn 4 miles per dollar (10 HSBC points per S$1) spent with selected online payment in local & foreign currency capped at S$1,000 per calendar month
- Earn 0.4 miles per dollar (1 HSBC point per S$1) spent in all other purchases in local or foreign currency
- No annual fee
How to Best Optimise it:
Best for Online Spending Only
- You can only earn 4 miles per dollar bonus on selected ONLINE spend categories below may it be spent locally or overseas. Bonus points are capped at 9,000 Reward points per calendar month. This works out to S$1,000 spending cap per calendar month.
Category | MCCs | Example |
Department Stores & Retail Stores | 4816, 5045, 5262, 5309, 5310, 5311, 5331, 5399, 5611, 5621, 5631, 5641, 5651, 5655, 5661, 5691, 5699, 5732 to 5735, 5912, 5942, 5944 to 5949, 5964 to 5970, 5992, 5999 | Amazon, Best Denki, Book Depository, Courts, Harvey Norman, Lazada, Qoo10, Shopee, Taobao, Atome (Use this to buy from agoda – but make manual payment from 2nd and 3rd payment) |
Dining (excluding hotel dining) | 5441 – Candy, Nut and Confectionery Stores 5462 – Bakeries 5811 – Caterers 5812 – Eating Places and Restaurants 5813 – Bars, Cocktail Lounges, Discotheques, Nightclubs and Taverns–Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) | 5441: See’s Candies, Candy Empire, Laderach, TWG Tea, Venchi 5462: BreadTalk, Krispy Kreme, Four Leaves, Bengawan Solo, Chateraise, Awful Chocolate, Bread Society, Emi Cakes, Bakerzin, Crystal Jade My Bread, Dunkin Donuts 5811: Stamford Catering, How’s Catering, Neogarden 5812: Putien, Saizeriya, Ashton’s Specialities 5813: Harry’s, Wine Connection |
Transportation & Membership Clubs | 4121, 7997 | Comfort, Grab (excluding GrabPay top-ups), Gojek, TADA, Ryde, Fitness First, Anytime Fitness, Core Collective, HomeTeamNS |
Travel Related (Effective 1 January 2025, this will only earn 0.4 miles per dollar) | 3000 to 3350, 3351 to 3500, 3501 to 3999, 4411, 4511 | Singapore Airlines, Scoot, Cathay Pacific, Emirates |
Best To Pool Points Together with other HSBC Reward Points Earning Credit Cards
- If you own the HSBC TravelOne, you can pool the points from both cards in one transfer, saving you transfer fees. HSBC just announced that the transfer fees will be waived indefinitely!
Best for Redeeming Miles with Airlines Other Than Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer
- With 20 transfer partners (including 8 new ones), HSBC now has the most options in Singapore for using points. See “Transfer Partners” below.
- For example, you can use just 25K miles to redeem a one-way business class ticket with Infinity Mileagelands on Eva Air to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, or Korea, instead of 35K to 40K miles on Singapore Airlines for the same flight class and destination.
Use HSBC’s Free Entertainer Program
- You can get 1-for-1 discounts for dining places etc., and 15% discounts for selected restaurants with HSBC’s ENTERTAINER programme
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:
Buffs:
- Recently, HSBC announced that the rewards points conversion fee will be waived until 31 January 2025, but now, they are waived indefinitely—transferring your points is completely free!
Nerfs:
- The transfer rate from HSBC to KrisFlyer is set to be devalued. Until 16 January 2025, you can convert your rewards points at the existing rate of 25,000 points for 10,000 miles. After this date, the rate will change to 30,000 points for 10,000 miles. As a result, converting to KrisFlyer will no longer earn 4 miles per dollar.
- HSBC will only earn 0.4 miles per dollar (1x reward points) for these categories:
MCCs affected | Examples | Effective |
MCC 3000-3299, 4511 (Airlines), 3300-3499 (Car Rental), 3500-3999 (Lodging), 4411 (Cruise Lines) | Singapore Airlines, Scoot, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Avis, Hertz, Sixt, Europcar, Accor, Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises | 1 January 2025 |
5814 Fast Food | McDonald’s, Starbucks, Subway, Stuff’d, XNAP merchants, Old Chang Kee | 1 May 2024 |
5411 Grocery Stores/Supermarkets | Sheng Siong, NTUC, Giant, Don Don Donki, Redmart, etc. | 1 May 2024 |
5499 Misc Food Stores – Default | 7-Eleven, Hockhua Tonic, Nespresso, Deliveroo, foodpanda, GrabFood, WhyQ, Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks, Crave, Garrett, iHerbs | 1 May 2024 |
3000 to 3350, 3351 to 3500, 3501 to 3999, 4411, 4511 Travel related merchants. | Singapore Airlines, Scoot, Cathay Pacific, Emirates | 31st Dec 2024 |
7011 Lodging- Hotels, Motels and Resorts | Millennium Hotels & Resorts, M Social, Pan Pacific Hotels (including their restaurant), Rakuten Travel, Resorts World Sentosa, Airbnb, Marina Bay Sands | 1 January 2024 |
4722 Travel Agencies & Tour Operators | Agoda, Changi Recommends, Expedia, Hotels.com, Kayak, KKday, Klook, Pelago, Skyscanner, Traveloka, Trip.com, All brick-and-mortar travel agents (e.g. Chan Brothers, CTC, Dynasty, EU Holidays, Nam Ho etc.) | 1 January 2024 |
Is it Worth it:
Advantages:
- No annual fee forever; saves you the hassle of calling for an annual fee waiver
- You can earn 4 miles per dollar on daily spends or 2.5% cashback
- Transfer Fee is waived indefinitely
Disadvantages:
- Limited monthly spending cap of S$1,000
- Nerfed so many spending categories until it’s difficult to use
- May not be a great card to spend in foreign currency even with a 4 miles per dollar earn rate
Transfer Partners:
Here is the list of their current transfer partners:
- You should choose the ones with conversion rate of 25:000 to 10:000 for the best value. Since I find that conversion to hotel partners isn’t always worthwhile, so I’m sticking to airline partners.
Airline Partner | Conversion Ratio |
 | 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 |
 | 25,000:10,000 (Until 15 Jan 2025) 30,000:10,000 (From 16 Jan 2025) |
 | 30,000:10,000 |
 | 35,000:10,000 |
 | 35,000:10,000 |
 | 35,000:10,000 |
 | 35,000:10,000 |
 | 35,000:10,000 |
 | 50,000:10,000 |
Hotel Partners | Conversion Ratio |
 | 25,000:5,000 |
 | 25,000:10,000 |
 | 30,000:10,000 |
 | 25,000:10,000 |
Frequently Asked Questions:
- When will my points be credited: Usually after 1-3 working days of the transaction posting, 1X base HSBC Points are credited. Bonus 9X HSBC Points will appear on the cardholder’s statement at the end of the second calendar month, and they will be credited by the end of the subsequent calendar month from the date of transaction.
- How long are my points valid for: 37 months. Just before it expires, you can transfer it to Krisflyer, and once the points are correctly credited into Krisflyer, you’ll receive an additional 36 months. This provides you with a considerable amount of runway—roughly six years—to burn through the miles.
- How do I claim miles for HSBC revolution: I covered it in a TikTok video here.
- Will my points still remain in my HSBC account if i carry other HSBC credit cards: Points will be pooled across all credit cards for redemption purposes, but if you’re planning to cancel a credit card, make sure to redeem all points you’ve earned on that card. If not, it will be gone.
Final Thoughts:
- For travel-related spending, consider transitioning to the DBS Women’s World Mastercard for its benefits. If you prefer using the HSBC Revolution for travel, paying via Atome can yield 4 miles per dollar, but manual payment triggers are necessary as auto-deductions may not qualify. Atome also offers excellent hotel pricing on Agoda, allowing interest-free installment payments; you can use my Atome referral link for S$10 off your first purchase. For contactless spending, the Citi Rewards + Amaze combo is versatile, covering expenses like doctor visits, TCM, and Google Ads at 4 miles per dollar. As backups, UOB Lady’s or UOB PPV cards work but aren’t as comprehensive. While the HSBC Revolution isn’t ideal for overseas use due to its 3.25% foreign currency fee, it serves as a solid backup card, pooling points with other HSBC cards and earning 4 miles per dollar on gym memberships, online shopping, ride-hailing services, and payments via Atome, ShopBack Pay, or Kris+.
- Updates on 5th Dec: I was planning to transfer HSBC points by January 2025 to leverage free transfers, requiring an initial 25K points followed by blocks of 5. However, I have decided to keep the card because HSBC cards can transfer to a large variety of airline partners. For example, you can fly on business class on Eva Air for 25K miles to Taiwan, HongKong, Japan, Korea, China but for the same route on SQ business class, it would cost 35K-40K miles.
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