Cashback credit cards are really gaining popularity with consumers in Singapore these days. During the credit card promotion by SingSaver in March, Standard Chartered Unlimited Cashback Credit Card received overwhelming response that processing took a little longer than expected! Unfortunately, that particular promotion by SingSaver had already ended. In its place, SingSaver has released 6 credit cards that would feature in its promotion for the month of July. One particular credit card caught the eye of Heartland Boy and that was the HSBC Advance Credit Card. Jumping onto the cashback bandwagon, HSBC did a major refresh of the HSBC Advance Credit Card which was made effective from 1 June 2017 onwards. In summary, HSBC Advance Credit Card is a cashback card that competes well when compared against with the very popular Standard Chartered Unlimited Cashback Credit Card.
1) 1.5% to 3.5% Cashback On All Types Of Spend

Explaining how cashback is earned for the HSBC Advance Credit Card
The amount of cashback earned varies between two interconnected conditions:
- the amount that Cardholders spend in a month and
- whether Cardholders have an existing HSBC Advance banking relationship.
So this is how the cashback credit card works. For spend of less than $2,000 per month, Cardholders who are also HSBC Advance bank account clients enjoy 2.5% cashback while cardholders who are not existing HSBC Advance banking clients get 1.5% cashback. For spend of more than $2,000, the cashback increases by 1% for both categories to reach 3.5% for existing HSBC Advance Banking clients and 2.5% for non-HSBC Advance banking clients respectively. Therefore, it is evident that HSBC Advance Banking clients enjoy a bonus cash back rate of 1% in every category tier.
The simplicity of HSBC Advance Credit Card is that retail purchases made locally or overseas, online transactions and recurring bill payments* would all qualify for cashback. There is no need to curtail your spending according to specific categories to qualify. The high cashback offered beats a host of other cashback credit cards out there, including the Standard Chartered Unlimited Cashback Card.
The downside is that the maximum cashback per month for the HSBC Advance Credit Card is capped at $125 and $70 for HSBC Advance Banking clients and non HSBC Advance Banking clients respectively. Therefore, to mitigate this downside, Heartland Boy added a row into the table above where he recommends the maximum spend to be incurred per month for each category. This is to ensure that your per dollar cashback does not drop unnecessarily. In this regard, HSBC really wants you to work for your cashback because you have to monitor your spending in order to ensure that you stay within the most lucrative band.
*Some common exceptions are payments made at AXS machines, top up to EZ Link Cards etc. Readers are advised to check the terms and conditions for details.
2) Savings Galore For Movie Buffs
HSBC Credit Cards are well loved by movie buffs because of its special tie-up with Golden Village. HSBC Credit Card and Debit Card holders are entitled to purchase HSBC Movie Card from Golden Village. The HSBC Movie Card contains a stored value of 10 movie tickets which can be redeemed at any Golden Village Outlet. Depending on the type of HSBC Movie Card you purchase, HSBC Card holders can save between $15 to $30. For instance, the All Days Movie Card effectively prices a weekend ticket at $8.50 as compared to the usual $11.50. This Golden Village offer works out to be a very useful credit card deal for all HSBC Card holders. Therefore, by owning the HSBC Advance Credit Card, you would also be eligible to purchase the various HSBC Movie Cards from Golden Village as well! This is fantastic savings for movie-holics.
3) Low Eligibility Barrier
HSBC Advance Credit Card is again a credit card that is very suitable for young adults. With only a $30,000 annual income requirement, it would be very suitable for a fresh graduate just entering the workforce. Besides, the annual fee is waived for the first year and that means no cash upfront from the applicant. This truly makes it one of the best credit cards in Singapore for cashback.
Awesome Cashback Card If You Qualify For HSBC Advance Banking
At 3.5% cashback for existing HSBC Advance banking clients, the HSBC Advance Credit Card is one of the best cash back credit cards in Singapore. If you have an existing Advance banking relationship, which acts like a pseudo entry-level type of Preferred Banking programme, using this credit card for your purchases is a no-brainer. To qualify for HSBC Advance status, customers may either:
i) total relationship balance of at least $30,000 with HSBC (could be in the form of deposits, investments, insurance). There is a 6 months grace period to place the funds
ii) Home Loan starting from a quantum of S$200,000
iii) Credits a salary of minimum $3,500 per month or re-occuring deposit of $2,5000 per month and have applied/hold a HSBC Credit Card or HSBC personal loan (Heartland Boy has an article on how to optimise this to elevate to Advance status easily)
iv) Reoccuring deposit of at least $2,500 per month, with 24 months grace period to reach Total Relationship Balance of at least $30,000
Besides enjoying a higher tier cashback, customers with HSBC Advance status also enjoys perpetual waiver of annual fees.
If the HSBC Advance Credit Card suits your lifestyle, you can apply via this link.
*Note that Heartland Boy earns a small fee for every successful referral
How do we qualify as advance banking client?
Hi Robert,
I think the criteria are rather “relaxed”. You can refer to the T&C here.
http://www.hsbc.com.sg/1/2/hsbc-advance/apply-now
I am mulling over getting one myself!
Rgds,
Alison
If we did not hit the minimum spend, are we still eligible (no outstanding payment) to have the member fees waived?
yes, i would think so. the min spend criteria is only to determine eligibility for the freebies from either SingSaver or HSBC itself.
So how much did you earn from the standard chartered referral? Is this blog for to monetise or to teach financial awareness? I see so many bloggers out there just blogging for money only
Hi Richard,
Thanks for dropping by my bog. This blog serves to increase financial awareness first and foremost. If commercial partners request for a collaboration, I do spend time to curate the products and assess their suitability before promoting them to my readers. I am a user of SCB Unlimited Cashback Card, and a very satisfied one. I think it is a great product for all young adults. Using the right credit card for your type of spend is a low-hanging fruit to pluck since it can be achieved by anyone. It is one of the strategies that I have been using for myself to reduce my expenses.
Hi Alison,
What are your thoughts on BOC’s cashback card? Looks like the best in the market by far (5% to 7%). Was wonder if there is a catch..
http://www.bankofchina.com/sg/bcservice/bc1/201605/t20160503_6891836.html
Thanks!
Hi J,
Generally, this is a pretty good credit card. Better than OCBC 365 in general. There are quite a lot of people who use this in combination with the BOC Savings account to earn higher interest rates.
I read the T&C (http://pic.bankofchina.com/bocappd/singapore/201611/P020161129585183358382.pdf) the catch is that to get the 5% to 7% rebate, you need to hit min spend of $500 per month. For the bonus cashback on sup cards, you need to hit min $200 per month within a calendar quarter.
Basically, if you think that you are likely to spend more than $500 per month with this card and your cashback is unlikely to exceed $100 per month, this is a very good credit card to have.
Thanks Alison!
Hi, how about the annual fee after 1 year? How much will it cost.
Hi what do you think about the impending change in Nov to the advance credit card? Do we just open a global account and free to shut down the advance account?
Hi Wilson,
My thoughts are: If you open the everyday global account, you can still earn higher interest rate by performing monthly $2k FAST in and out. Need to maintain min.balance of $2k to avoid fall below fee. If you shut down the advance account (which would be converted to a personal account), I understand that you lose the opportunity for the annual fee for your Advance CC to be automatically waived in the first 2 years. You would then have to rely on hitting annual spend of $10K to get the fee waived. My thought now is that post 1 Nov, I may just keep the CC to get the Entertainer. May be worthwhile to use UOB One to hit $2000 monthly spend and get 5% interest.