HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard Review: No Longer Available
The Bottom Line
4.5
It's a solid choice as an everyday, top-of-wallet card for those who aren't interested in keeping track of bonus categories. But better options may exist.
Rates, fees and offers
Annual fee
$0
Rewards rate
1.5%
Bonus offer
None
Intro APR
0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 12 months.
Ongoing APR
APR: 12.99% - 22.99%, Variable
Cash Advance APR: 24.99%, Variable
Balance transfer fee
Either $10 or 4%, whichever is greater, will apply on each balance transfer
Foreign transaction fee
0%
More details from HSBC
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
- Earn an Introductory 3% Cash Back on all purchases in the first 12 months from Account opening, up to the first $10,000 in purchases
- No Annual Fee.
- 0% Intro APR for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers, then a 12.99% - 22.99% variable APR.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $0 liability for unauthorized purchases.
- Terms Apply.
Pros and Cons
Pros
High rewards rate
No annual fee
0% Introductory APR on credit card purchases and balance transfers for the first 12 months from account opening, then a variable APR of 12.99%-22.99% will apply
No foreign transaction fee
Cons
Potentially complicated redemption
Detailed Review
» This card is no longer available
The HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card is no longer accepting applications, as of December 2021. However, certain HSBC credit cards are still available in the U.S., including these two. Otherwise, see our best cash back credit cards for other options. Below is our review from when the HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card was still available.
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The defining feature of the HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card is a first-year rewards rate that you won't find on most other cash-back cards in its class.
Instead of an upfront sign-up bonus, it earns 3% back on all purchases within the first 12 months of opening your account, up to the first $10,000 in spending. After that, you earn 1.5% back on everything.
That 3% rate is eye-catching, especially for a $0-annual-fee card. But it's really just a repackaging of a traditional bonus offer.
If you're planning to spend $10,000 in your first year, you'd get just as much value back from a normal 1.5% flat-rate card with an upfront $150 sign-up bonus. And if you spend less than that in Year One — but still enough to snag that upfront bonus — the HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card is the worse deal of the two.
The card does offer multiple redemption options beyond just cash, which may appeal to those seeking flexibility. But those options typically aren't a good value and require you to jump through some hoops.
HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card: Basics
Card type: Cash back.
Annual fee: $0.
Sign-up bonus: None.
Rewards: Earn an introductory 3% cash back on all purchases in the first 12 months from account opening, up to the first $10,000 in purchases. After that, the card earns 1.5% back on everything.
You also have the option of redeeming your rewards for things like travel, merchandise or gift cards. But when you do that, you typically get less than full value — as low as 67 cents on the dollar for gift cards and 80 cents for travel and merchandise — so those options are not a wise use of rewards.
APR: 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 12 months, then a variable APR of 12.99%-22.99% will apply.
Balance transfer fee: 4% of the amount transferred, or $10, whichever is greater.
Foreign transaction fee: None.
Other benefits: Travel accident insurance, rental car insurance, plus discounts and other Mastercard benefits.
Compare to Other Cards
Benefits and Perks
Solid ongoing rewards
Max out this card's first-year offer and you'll snag $300 in rewards in those initial 12 months. Thereafter, you'll get 1.5% back on everything. That's solid earning potential. But it should be noted that this is not the best deal for lower spenders who may hit, say, a $1,000 spending requirement for a traditional bonus, but not a $10,000 first-year cap. For them, a normal 1.5% flat-rate card with a $150 bonus upfront would offer greater value.
Multiple redemption options
Taking your rewards as a credit on your statement is the easiest and least restrictive option for most cardholders. But if you have an eligible HSBC bank account, you can choose to redeem your cash back as a direct deposit into that account. You can also redeem rewards for eligible charitable giving. In all three cases, you'll get full value for your rewards. There are other ways to use your rewards, including for travel (airfare, hotels, rental car, etc.), merchandise, gift cards and credit for the application fee for the TSA Precheck or Global Entry program. As noted above, redemption values for these alternatives will be poor, but you do have options.
No foreign transaction fees
Unlike many cash-back cards, the HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card travels well abroad. You'll pay no foreign transaction fees on purchases internationally.
Valuable side perks
As a cardholder, you’ll get a complimentary ShopRunner membership that offers unlimited free two-day shipping and free return shipping at over 140 online stores. You’ll also get $5 off on Postmates orders of $25 or more (not including taxes, delivery fees and tips). Other side perks include rental car coverage, cell phone insurance and more.
Drawbacks and Considerations
No upfront bonus
There's no shortage of 1.5% cash-back cards that offer traditional upfront welcome offers. One example is the $0-annual-fee Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card, which offers the following to new cardholders: Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.
Other cards offer a higher ongoing rate
The Citi Double Cash® Card earns 2% cash back on every purchase: 1% when you buy, plus 1% as you pay it off. The annual fee is $0. If you're willing to pay an annual fee — and willing and able to join the Alliant Credit Union — you could also consider the Alliant Cashback Visa® Signature Credit Card. The annual fee is $0. But you'll earn an unlimited 3% cash back on all purchases in the first year and a whopping 2.5% back on everything else.
Short 0% period compared with competitors
The HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card offers a 0% intro APR period on purchases and balance transfers, but you can find cards with longer interest-free windows and lower balance transfer fees. The U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card doesn't earn rewards, but it does offer an intro 0% intro APR for 18 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 17.99%-28.99% Variable APR. If your goal is to pay down debt, you may also consider cards that don't charge balance transfer fees.
Redemption restrictions
With the HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card you may face certain redemption restrictions: You may be limited to using your cash rewards only for eligible airline tickets, or you may need to contact HSBC representatives for certain redemptions. There's also a $15 ticket service fee when you book airfare through the Online Travel Rewards option. For fewer redemption hurdles, consider the $0-annual-fee Discover it® Miles, which earns 1.5 miles per $1 spent on all purchases. You can redeem rewards for a statement credit to cover travel purchases or you can redeem them for other options, like cash at the same value. It offers a potentially generous sign-up bonus, which the issuer phrases this way: "UNLIMITED BONUS: Unlimited Mile-for-Mile match for all new cardmembers—only from Discover. Discover gives you an unlimited match of all the Miles you’ve earned at the end of your first year. You could turn 35,000 Miles to 70,000 Miles. There’s no signing up, no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a Miles-for-Miles match."
You can also visit NerdWallet's roundup of the best credit cards to get to see how these options compare.
How To Decide If It's Right For You
The HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card is a solid option for those who want a flat-rate cash-back card with a few unique features.
Otherwise, there are some cash-back credit cards that can provide more redemption flexibility and better rewards.
This card earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases, but it also offers a rich welcome bonus: Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. Plus, there's a lengthy intro APR offer: 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months; 19.49%-29.49% variable APR after that; balance transfer fee applies.
Looking For Something Else?
Methodology
NerdWallet reviews credit cards with an eye toward both the quantitative and qualitative features of a card. Quantitative features are those that boil down to dollars and cents, such as fees, interest rates, rewards (including earning rates and redemption values) and the cash value of benefits and perks. Qualitative factors are those that affect how easy or difficult it is for a typical cardholder to get good value from the card. They include such things as the ease of application, simplicity of the rewards structure, the likelihood of using certain features, and whether a card is well-suited to everyday use or is best reserved for specific purchases. Our star ratings serve as a general gauge of how each card compares with others in its class, but star ratings are intended to be just one consideration when a consumer is choosing a credit card. Learn how NerdWallet rates credit cards.
