HSBC Cash Rewards Credit Card Review & Details
HSBC just announced the release of their new Cash Rewards Mastercard credit card. It earns cash back which you can redeem as a statement credit, towards gift cards, via their travel portal, or towards merchandise. It has potential to be your new non bonus spend card, at least for the first 6 months.
Details on the Bonus
Get $150 cash back after spending $500 or more in the first 3 months from account opening.
Earning Structure
The card is a simple cash back card with the following earning rates:
- Get 2% cash back on all purchases for the first 6 months of card membership
- Get 1.5% cash back on all purchases after the first 6 months
- 10% anniversary bonus on all cash rewards earned each year. Which means the card earns 2.2% for the first 6 months.
Cardmember Perks
The card comes with some nice perks for a no annual fee card:
- 10% Anniversary Bonus on all Cash Rewards earned each year (worth mentioning a second time)
- No foreign transaction fees
- Purchase Assurance covers most purchases up to $1,000 against accidental damage or theft for 90 days from the date of purchase.
- Extended Warranty doubles your original warranty for up to one additional year.
- Price Protection can refund the difference if you buy an item and then see it advertised for less within 60 days.
- Some car rental coverage.
Sign up Bonus Value – $150
Since there is no annual fee, you get to keep the full $150.
Analysis
The HSBC Cash Rewards credit card doesn’t seem all that special at first sight. There are plenty of 2% cash back cards out there and this one only has it for 6 months. That may be useful for someone who has high levels of non bonused spend and needs to increase their bandwidth. But, for most of us it wouldn’t be a big deal. That is until you notice the 10% anniversary bonus on the card. That makes this card a 2.2% earner for the first 6 months.
If you are a gift card or merchandise reseller, or you have ways to “increase your spend”, that little bit can make a difference. If you are buying and reselling large amounts of gift cards at close to break even then this can widen your margins. Especially with the death of 5x earning on the Ink cards at PayPal we need to look at every opportunity. Once the 6 months is up the card can be thrown in the sock drawer.
The HSBC Cash Rewards credit card does have some nice perks for a fee free card. I am surprised to see the extended warranty and damage coverage on a no annual fee card.
Conclusion
The HSBC Cash Rewards card has the potential to be a 2.2% cash back earner for the first 6 months of card membership. That would put it near the very top of the market for cash back, non bonus spend. That may not matter to most of us but this is good news for some heavy spenders out there.
The downfall is you have to wait 12 months to get the extra .2%. If you are unable to get a Discover card that earns 3% for the first year this is an option to replace it. The $150 sign up bonus is a nice addition but that shouldn’t be the reason you get this card.
The card does not have much use outside of the first 6 months except for maybe large purchase that you would like the extended warranty on. That is a nice perk that is usually reserved for annual fee cards.
Let us know in the comments what you think about the offer and if you are considering the card.
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
