The HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard features an attractive unlimited cash reward rate on all purchases, and an anniversary bonus on all cash rewards earned, once a year.
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The HSBC Cash Rewards Card is, at first glance, a solid everyday spending card. There is one feature in particular that puts it ahead of similar cards, however, and that’s the annual 10% anniversary cash back bonus. It’s also a decent card for balance transfers.
In this review:
If you’re looking for a card that doesn’t require you to keep up with rotating categories but works well for everyday spending, this HSBC credit card could be an attractive option.
The HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard features a fairly average signup bonus of $150 after you spend at least $2,500 in the first three months after opening an account.
>> Read More: Compare the best credit card sign-up bonuses
The everyday rewards rate for this HSBC card is 1.5% cash back. The cash back is unlimited and there are no categories to keep track of, making it a simple rewards card for consumers who don’t want to put in extra effort to earn additional cash back in rotating categories.
Even better is the anniversary bonus of 10% on all cash rewards earned each year. For example, if you earned $500 in rewards, you’ll receive an additional $50 anniversary bonus.
Redemption is flexible with the HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard. For cardholders with an HSBC bank account, they can redeem cash back as a direct deposit. Other options include travel, merchandise, and credit for TSA PreCheck. Cash back can also be applied as a statement credit.
The HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard comes with several travel-related benefits:
The shopping benefits available with the HSBC Cash Rewards card are comparable to what’s available with other cards in its class:
Although the 1.5% cash back rate isn’t terrible, if you’re someone who’s willing to be strategic enough with their spending to take advantage of rotating bonus categories, you could see significantly higher rewards-earning opportunities elsewhere.
Other negative card details include the balance transfer fee of 4% is a full percentage point higher than what you’d see with other cards; meanwhile, there’s no introductory APR rate for purchases.
If a minimum payment isn’t made on time, not only will it negatively affect your credit report, but the penalty APR on this card can rise to a whopping 32.24%.
The HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard has competitors with similar offerings, so how does it stack up?
The Capital One Quicksilver credit card offers unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases as well as no annual fee. There are a few ways it exceeds the offerings of the HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard, though.
The Capital One Quicksilver has a 0% introductory APR for the first 15 months after an account is opened on both balance transfers and purchases. Additionally, to take advantage of the $150 signup bonus, you only have to spend $500 on purchases within three months of opening the account, which is significantly lower than the $2,500 threshold with the HSBC card.
The Discover it Cash Back Card features no annual fee and a cash back match at the end of a new cardholder’s first year. On everyday purchases, the card earns an unlimited 1% cash back; however, cardholders can earn 5% cash back in rotating quarterly categories. For someone willing to strategize their spending to take advantage of these bonus categories, the Discover it Card might be a better option than the HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard.
Another option would be using the HSBC Cash Rewards card for everyday spending and the Discover it Card only for bonus category spending, since the HSBC card has a higher everyday rate of 1.5% cash back.
The Citi Double Cash Card offers the opportunity to earn unlimited 2% cash back — 1% on purchases and 1% when you pay. The card has no annual fee, but also no introductory bonus. If you’re able to easily meet the $2,500 spending requirement on the HSBC card, that one is probably the better option — at least at first.
The Citi Double Cash Card’s unlimited cash back rate, meanwhile, beats that of the HSBC Cash Rewards card, even when factoring in the 10% anniversary bonus.
The HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard has some attractive features, including an anniversary cash back bonus, no annual fee, and unlimited rewards. But if you’re willing to spend the time to keep track of rotating bonus categories, you’re likely to earn more rewards with another cash back card.
Although we never recommend carrying a balance, the lack of an intro APR on purchases is another disadvantage with the HSBC card, as is the above-average balance transfer fee of 4%.
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