If you fit the bill, this card can earn you rewards points on your spending, plus an introductory welcome bonus and anniversary bonuses too. And since your rewards points can be redeemed against any purchase you make using your card – it’s as good as cashback. The catch? Redeeming your points is, well, a bit of a kerfuffle – requiring you to use Mastercard’s Pay with Rewards app (or register with the Pay with Rewards website), then specify when you want your next purchase to be paid using your rewards points.
There’s an introductory interest-free period on purchases, allowing you to spread the cost of any large upcoming expenditure over 6 months.
The card also offers an interest-free period on balance transfers, so if you’re paying a hefty sum each month in interest on existing card debt, you could choose to bring it across to HSBC to take a break from interest and focus on clearing the debt. Bear in mind that any balance outstanding at the end of the introductory 0% period will start to accrue interest at the card’s less-favourable standard rate.
Previously only available to Advance customers (Advance sits somewhere between HSBC's entry-level products and its "Premier" products, and offers preferential rates and personalised rewards), this card offers appealing perks to some existing HSBC customers.
| Issuer | HSBC |
| Network | Mastercard |
| Representative APR | 23.9% APR (variable) |
| Annual/monthly fees | £0 |
| Loyalty scheme | Points |
| Incentive | Earn 1 point for every £5 spent on purchases. Bonus 2,500 reward points on anniversary if £10,000 spent in previous year. 1 point = 1p (no min) |
| Incentive on opening | 2,500 bonus reward points after first transaction. |
| Purchases | 0% for 6 months reverting to 23.9% |
| Purchases interest-free period (days) | 56 |
| Balance transfers | 0% for 6 months reverting to 23.9% |
| Potential costs | ★★★★★ |
| Doing its job | ★★★★★ |
| Extras | ★★★★★ |
| Overall Finder rating | ★★★★★ |
| Overall customer rating | ★★★★★ |
| Minimum monthly payment | 2.5% or £5 (whichever is greater) or the total of any interest, default fees and charges plus 1% of the outstanding balance. |
| Annual/monthly fees | £0 |
| Balance transfer fee | 2.99%, min £5 |
| Foreign usage charge (EU) | 2.99% |
| Foreign usage charge (rest of world) | 2.99% |
| Cash advance fee | 2.99% (min. £3) |
| Late payment fee | £12 |
| Duplicate statement fee | £0 |
| Exceeding limit fee | £12 |
| Additional card fee | £0 |
| Dormancy fee | £0 |
| Minimum Age | 18 |
| Minimum income | £6,800 |
| Availability | Available to existing customers who hold an Advance or Premier account or who hold a standard account and have maintained a credit turnover of £1,750 a month for a minimum of 6 months. |
The HSBC Rewards Credit Card is issued on the Mastercard network so it's accepted at more than 50 million merchant locations across more than 210 countries and territories.
Approval for any credit card depends on your status. The representative APRs shown represent the interest rate offered to most successful applicants. Depending on your personal circumstances, the APR you're offered may be higher, or you may not be offered credit at all. Fees and rates are subject to change without notice. It's always wise to check the terms of any deal before you borrow.
You can make manual repayments through HSBC's app by logging in to your online banking or over the phone (0345 7404 404). Alternatively, you may wish to set up a direct debit.
A direct debit protects you from forgetting to make a repayment and either damaging your credit score, getting hit with a penalty fee (£12) or losing any promotional rates as a result.
You can arrange a direct debit for repayments when you apply for the credit card. The table below shows the options available.
| Minimum amount | Fixed amount | Fixed percentage | Full amount |
|---|---|---|---|
First, you can use Finder's eligibility checker to find out if you'd be likely to get approved for the HSBC Rewards Credit Card. This won't impact your credit score. If it's good news, you can then proceed to HSBC's online application, which takes 10–15 minutes to complete.
If HSBC is able to offer you this deal, the offer will specify a personalised credit limit based on HSBC's assessment of your situation. The minimum limit offered on this card is £500 and HSBC does not specify a maximum. Once you've had the card for a while and shown HSBC that you're reliable, you may wish to apply for a credit limit increase.
Although it's possible, withdrawing cash from a credit card account is generally not a good idea, as "cash-like transactions" (such as withdrawing cash at an ATM, getting cashback at the till, spending at a casino or buying currency) often incur steep fees and/or higher rates of interest.
The cash advance fee on the HSBC Rewards Credit Card is 2.99% (min. £3). For example, if you withdraw £50, you'll incur a fee of £3.00. Withdraw £250 and you'll incur a fee of £7.48.
The interest rate on this part of your balance will be 29.9%, which is 25% more than the standard purchase rate (chargeable from the day of the transaction – the card's usual "up to 56 days interest-free" grace period won't apply).
No. HSBC doesn't accept balance transfers from credit cards issued through HSBC group, which includes M&S Bank, John Lewis and first direct cards.
Yes. You can manage this card through HSBC UK's free mobile banking app.
Non-sterling transactions are subject to a 2.99% charge (which is very standard). For example, if you spend 200 euros (£171.22), it'll cost you around £5.12 in fees.
Each month you must pay at least 2.5% of your balance at that point or £5.00 – whichever of the 2 figures is greater. So if you had, say, £180.00 outstanding, you'd pay £5.00, and if you had £800.00 outstanding, you'd pay £20.00.
Paying only the minimum required amount each month is generally not advisable as it tends to be a very expensive way to borrow money which can lead to persistent debt.
Yes, you can request one more. There's no fee for additional cards. Plus, with additional cards, you could earn points at a faster rate. Bear in mind that card debt accrued by additional cardholders is the sole responsibility of the account holder – not the additional cardholder.
Our experts score rewards credit cards to determine their value against similar products on the market. We look at a number of important factors, like welcome bonuses, introductory and ongoing earn-rates, any caps or restrictions on the points you can earn, plus the potential costs involved with running the card both in the short and longer term.
You can read more about our scoring criteria on our credit card methodology page.
