HSBC Live+ Credit Card Review 2026 — Fees, Rewards & Benefits

Rewards

10% accelerated cashback on dining, food delivery and groceries (capped monthly) plus 1.5% unlimited cashback on other spends, with complimentary domestic lounge visits.

Dining, food delivery & groceries	10% cashback (capped ~₹1,000/month)
All other eligible spends	1.5% cashback, unlimited
Crediting	Auto-credited to the statement

Features & benefits

10% on food and groceries

Accelerated 10% cashback on dining out, food delivery apps and grocery purchases, capped at around ₹1,000 per month.

1.5% unlimited base rate

All other eligible spends earn 1.5% cashback with no cap — among the better base rates in the market.

Domestic lounge visits

Complimentary domestic airport lounge visits each year per the prevailing program.

Auto-credited cashback

Cashback posts to the statement automatically — no redemption thresholds or portals.

Global card controls

Full control over limits, channels and international usage via the HSBC India app.

Pros & cons

Pros

10% cashback on dining, food delivery and grocery spends
1.5% unlimited base cashback beats most cards' unaccelerated rates
Complimentary domestic lounge visits each year
Cashback credits to the statement automatically
Reasonable ₹999 fee with a ₹2 lakh waiver bar

Cons

10% category cashback is capped at around ₹1,000 per month
HSBC issues cards in a limited list of cities and serviceable pin codes
3.5% forex markup despite the international brand

Joining fee	₹999 + GST
Annual fee	₹999 + GST (waived on ₹2 lakh annual spend)
Interest rate	Around 3.49% per month (approx. 41.9% p.a.)
Forex markup	3.5% on international transactions
Late payment fee	Up to ₹1,300 depending on outstanding amount

Joining fee

₹999 + GST

Annual fee

₹999 + GST (waived on ₹2 lakh annual spend)

Interest rate

Around 3.49% per month (approx. 41.9% p.a.)

Forex markup

3.5% on international transactions

Late payment fee

Up to ₹1,300 depending on outstanding amount

Age	21 to 65 years
Income	Around ₹4 lakh+ annual income; serviceable-city residence required
Credit score	750+ recommended
Documents	PAN, address proof, and income proof (salary slips or ITR)

Age

21 to 65 years

Income

Around ₹4 lakh+ annual income; serviceable-city residence required

Credit score

750+ recommended

Documents

PAN, address proof, and income proof (salary slips or ITR)

In-depth review

Overview

The HSBC Live+ takes aim at the single biggest line item in most urban Indian budgets: food. Dining out, ordering in and grocery runs all earn 10% cashback, with a solid 1.5% unlimited rate underneath for everything else. It is HSBC's most mainstream Indian card in years, and a genuinely competitive one.

Rewards and benefits

The 10% rate on dining, food delivery and groceries is the widest food-category acceleration on any mainstream Indian card, though the monthly cap of around ₹1,000 in accelerated cashback means roughly ₹10,000 of monthly food spending captures the full benefit. Beyond the cap, and on everything else, the 1.5% unlimited base rate quietly does the heavy lifting — it beats the 1% floor most cashback cards offer. Cashback credits to the statement automatically, and complimentary domestic lounge visits are a pleasant extra at this fee level.

Fees and fine print

The ₹999 + GST fee is waived at ₹2 lakh annual spend, an easy bar for the card's target household. Interest is around 3.49% per month and forex markup a standard 3.5%. The bigger constraint is availability: HSBC issues cards only in a limited set of cities and pin codes, so eligibility depends partly on where you live.

Verdict

For a household spending ₹8,000–₹12,000 a month on food and groceries, the Live+ effectively pays for itself several times over from the accelerated category alone, with the 1.5% base making it a credible everything-card too. If you live in a serviced city and food dominates your budget, it deserves a place on your shortlist alongside the SBI Cashback Card.

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