HSBC
Live+
The HSBC Live+ is a top-tier "lifestyle essentials" card, delivering a massive 10% cashback on dining, food delivery, and groceries. While its ₹1,000 monthly reward cap on these categories limits its ceiling, the unlimited 1.
Direct link to the issuer's website. Terms apply — verify current offer with the bank.
Data last updated 27 May 2026.
At a Glance
Annual Fee
₹999
Joining Fee
₹999
Fee Waiver
Spend ₹2,00,000 annually
Lounge Access
See details
Forex Markup
3.5%
Effective Yield
1.5% – 10%
Our Take
The HSBC Live+ is a top-tier "lifestyle essentials" card, delivering a massive 10% cashback on dining, food delivery, and groceries. While its ₹1,000 monthly reward cap on these categories limits its ceiling, the unlimited 1.5% cashback on all other spends and quarterly domestic lounge access make it a robust daily driver for urban professionals.Formerly known as the HSBC Cashback card, the 2026 Live+ avatar maintains its status as a "grocery and dining" champion. The 10% rate is industry-leading but comes with a strict combined monthly cap, meaning your "sweet spot" spend is exactly ₹10,000 per month in those categories. An unbiased look reveals its major weaknesses: a high 3.5% forex markup and the total exclusion of utilities, fuel, and rent from earning any rewards. However, the Buy-One-Get-One (BOGO) Saturday movie offer via BookMyShow and the accessible ₹2 lakh annual fee waiver keep it highly competitive against the SBI Cashback card for moderate spenders.
Pros
- Market-Leading 10% Food & Grocery Rate: Earns a massive 10% cashback on dining, food delivery, and groceries. This is merchant-agnostic, meaning it works across Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit, Zepto, and physical grocery stores, making it the best 'refrigerator-filling' card in India.
- Unlimited 1.5% Base Cashback: Unlike many entry-level cards that offer a measly 0.5% or 1%, the Live+ provides a flat 1.5% unlimited cashback on almost all other retail spends. This makes it a very strong 'general spend' card for categories that don't hit the 10% accelerator.
- Direct Statement Credit: There is zero friction in reward redemption. The cashback is automatically credited to your card statement in the following billing cycle. There are no reward portals, no 'points-to-rupee' conversion devaluations, and no redemption fees.
- Accessible Annual Fee Waiver: The renewal fee of ₹999 is waived on annual spends of ₹2 Lakhs. For an urban professional using this for daily food and grocery needs, this is one of the easiest milestones to hit to effectively make the card 'Lifetime Free'.
- Complimentary Lounge Access: Despite being a value-segment card, it offers 4 domestic lounge visits per year. While capped at one per quarter, it provides a layer of travel utility that many other 'pure' cashback cards (like the Axis ACE) have recently stripped away.
Cons
- Tight ₹1,000 Monthly Cashback Cap: The 10% accelerated rate is capped at ₹1,000 per billing cycle (on spends up to ₹10,000). For a large family or a frequent 'fine-diner,' this limit is reached very quickly, after which the rate drops to the base 1.5%.
- Restrictive Lounge Usage Policy: The '1 visit per quarter' rule is highly inflexible. If you travel twice in one month and not at all in the next three, you lose out on the benefit, making it less useful for seasonal or occasional travelers.
- High Foreign Currency Markup: At 3.5% + GST, this card is expensive for international use. Even with the 1.5% base cashback, you are looking at a net loss of over 2% on every international transaction, making it a poor choice for overseas trips or 'foreign' website spends.
- Geographic Eligibility Constraints: HSBC remains very selective about its 'serviceable areas.' Unlike SBI or ICICI, you typically need to reside or work in a major Tier 1 city (like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, etc.) to get approved, limiting its reach for a national affiliate site like CreditGully.
Earning & Redemption
How You Earn
| Category | Reward rate | Yield % | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dining, Food Delivery & Groceries | 10% Cashback | 10.00% | ₹1,000 per billing cycle (Combined) |
| All Other Eligible Retail Spends | 1.5% Cashback | 1.50% | No Upper Cap |
| Excluded Categories | No Cashback | 0.0% | — |
Milestone Rewards
| Spend | Benefit | Value | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0.2 Lakh | Welcome Cashback0 pts | ₹1,000 Cashback | Awarded on spending ₹20k within 30 days and logging into the HSBC India app. |
| ₹2 Lakh | Fee Waiver0 pts | ₹999 + GST Savings | Annual fee waived for the following year upon reaching this spend target. |
Redemption Value
| Channel | Value per point | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Statement Credit (Auto-Credit) | ₹1.00 per ₹1 Cashback1:1 Ratio | Seamless (Auto-credited within 45 days of statement generation) |
What You Need to Know
Low Accelerated Cap
The 10% cashback is capped at ₹1,000 per month across all three categories.
Impact: Yield drops to 1.5% once you spend more than ₹10,000 in these categories.
Quarterly Lounge Restriction
Lounge access is strictly limited to 1 visit per calendar quarter.
Impact: If you have a return flight in the same quarter, you can only use it for one leg.
MCC Sensitivity
10% cashback depends on the Merchant Category Code (MCC) assigned by the bank.
Impact: Dining at a hotel might code as 'Travel' rather than 'Dining', earning only 1.5%.
Zero-Earning Bills
Utility and insurance payments earn 0% cashback and do not contribute to milestones.
Impact: Users should avoid using this card for large annual insurance premiums.
Essential Fine Print
Reward Exclusions
No Cashback Categories: Fuel, Property Management/Rental payments, Wallet loading, Government services, Cash advances, and Quasi-cash transactions.
Welcome Offer
Cashback worth ₹1,000
₹1,000 cashback when you download and log on to the HSBC India Mobile Banking app and spend INR20,000 within the first 30 days of getting your card.
Amazon Voucher worth ₹250
₹250 Amazon eGift Voucher when you apply online, verify yourself by video and receive your card.
Voucher worth ₹750
Receive a voucher worth up to INR750 for Amazon Pay, Zomato and Swiggy when you activate your card with a single transaction of INR300 or more.
Lounge Access
Domestic Lounge Access
4 complimentary domestic airport lounge visits per calendar year (restricted to 1 visit per quarter).
Travel Benefits
Enjoy complimentary flight seat selections
Twice a year on domestic flights booked with MakeMyTrip.
Earn 15% cashback with MakeMyTrip
Get cashback added to your MakeMyTrip Wallet in 'My Cash' for hotel stays in India when you book with MakeMyTrip – using promo code: VISASIGNATURE.
Dining Benefits
10% Accelerated Cashback
10% cashback on dining, food delivery, and grocery spends, capped at ₹1,000 per billing cycle.
Save on dining and movies with the District app by Zomato
Get 10% off on transactions of INR3,500 or more, and enjoy movies on the big screen for less with buy-one-get-one cinema tickets.
Milestone Benefits
Annual Fee Waiver
Renewal fee of ₹999 is waived if total annual spends exceed ₹2,00,000 in the preceding year.
Additional Features
Zero Lost Card Liability
Report loss immediately to ensure zero liability for any unauthorized transactions.
Fees & Charges
| Fee Type | Amount / Details |
|---|---|
| Joining Fee | ₹999 |
| Annual / Renewal Fee | ₹999 |
| Fee Waiver Threshold | Spend ₹2,00,000 annually |
| Forex Markup | 3.5% |
| Fuel Surcharge Waiver | 1% surcharge |
Eligibility Criteria
Age
Primary cardholder must be between 18 and 65 years of age.
Income
Minimum annual income of ₹6,00,000 required for salaried individuals and ₹12,00,000 for self-employed individuals.
Location
Resident of India and residing in select cities. (Chennai, Gurgaon, Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), Pune, Noida, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kochi, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Amritsar, Baroda, Indore or Lucknow)
Ready to apply for Live+?
Annual fee: ₹999 · Waived on ₹2,00,000 spend
Annual fee
₹999
1.5% – 10% yield