This is for anyone who has landed on HSBC's card page and found four products with different currencies and one that requires a banking relationship. It settles which HSBC card fits which person, using the fees after GST, the real value of the points and cashback, and the Premier rule that decides whether the best card is available to you at all.
Quick Answer: Live+ for everyday cashback at ₹1,179 a year, TravelOne for points that transfer to airlines and hotels at ₹5,899, Premier Metal if you are an HSBC Premier customer, and Visa Platinum only as a free card to hold; there is no middle rung between TravelOne and Premier.
Fee table
| Feature | Visa Platinum | Live+ | TravelOne | Premier Metal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joining fee | ₹0 | ₹999 + GST (₹1,179) | ₹4,999 + GST (₹5,899) | ₹12,000 + GST (₹14,160) |
| Annual fee | ₹0, lifetime free | ₹999 + GST (₹1,179) | ₹4,999 + GST (₹5,899) | ₹20,000 + GST (₹23,600) |
| Fee waiver | Not needed | ₹2 lakh spend | ₹8 lakh retail spend | Waived for qualifying Premier customers |
| Currency | Reward Points, ₹0.20 catalogue | Cashback | Reward Points, ₹0.50 on Travel with Points, ₹0.20 catalogue | Reward Points, ₹0.50 on Travel with Points, ₹1 at Apple, 1:1 miles |
| Base earn | 2 points per ₹150, about 0.27% | 1.5% cashback | 2 points per ₹100, about 1% | 3 points per ₹100, about 1.5% |
| Accelerated earn | Up to 6X on Travel with Points redemptions | 10% on dining, food delivery, grocery, shopping and utilities, ₹1,200 cap a month | 4 points per ₹100 on travel and international spend, about 2% | Up to 12X on Travel with Points redemptions |
| Welcome benefit | 2,000 points on ₹5,000 in 30 days via the app | ₹1,000 cashback on ₹25,000 in 30 days, plus ₹750 and ₹250 vouchers | ₹1,000 cashback + ₹3,000 Postcard Hotels voucher + 3 months EazyDiner Prime on ₹25,000 in 30 days | 20,000 points on first use |
| Milestones | ₹250 quarterly fuel cashback on ₹10,000 contactless fuel | ₹250 quarterly fuel cashback on ₹10,000 contactless fuel | 10,000 points at ₹12 lakh annual spend | None |
| Domestic lounges | None | 2 a year | 6 a year | Unlimited |
| International lounges | None | 1 a year, plus a 1GB global eSIM | 4 a year via LoungeKey | Unlimited, plus 8 guest visits a year |
| Forex markup | 3.5% | 1.99% | 3.5% | 0.99% |
| Income bar | ₹4 lakh a year, select cities | Not published | ₹10 lakh a year salaried, ₹12 lakh self-employed | HSBC Premier relationship |
HSBC's September 2026 revisions changed several of these. Live+ widened its 10% category list to shopping and utilities and raised the cap to ₹1,200, cut its lounge visits from four spend-gated ones to two unconditional ones, and its forex markup is 1.99%. TravelOne's welcome package now needs ₹25,000 of spend in the first month. Premier's fee waiver bar rose from ₹40 lakh to ₹50 lakh of relationship balance, and its Taj welcome extras came off the page.
The Premier rule
HSBC Premier is the bank's affluent tier, and the Premier Metal card is only issued to Premier customers. That single rule shapes the whole lineup: there is nothing between TravelOne at ₹5,899 and Premier Metal at ₹23,600, and no amount of spend on TravelOne earns an upgrade. You either qualify for Premier or you do not.
Qualifying means one of: an average quarterly total relationship balance of ₹50 lakh across deposits and investments with HSBC, a net monthly salary credit of ₹3 lakh, or, from 1 January 2026, a mortgage of ₹1.15 crore with HSBC alongside the balance criterion. Meet one of those and the ₹20,000 + GST (₹23,600) renewal fee is waived; the ₹12,000 + GST (₹14,160) joining fee is charged and returned as 20,000 points on first use.
What Premier Metal gives for that: 3 points per ₹100 worth ₹0.50 on Travel with Points and ₹1 on Apple products, 1:1 conversion into airline miles, up to 12X value on Travel with Points redemptions, unlimited lounges in India and abroad for primary and supplementary cardholders plus eight international guest visits a year, EazyDiner Prime, ₹1 crore of air accident cover, and a 0.99% forex markup that is the lowest of any card we track. For someone who already banks at Premier level, it is one of the better premium cards in India. For everyone else it is not on the menu.
TravelOne: the points card for non-Premier customers
TravelOne costs ₹4,999 + GST (₹5,899), waived at ₹8 lakh of retail spend, with an income bar of ₹10 lakh a year salaried or ₹12 lakh self-employed. It earns 2 points per ₹100 on domestic spend and 4 per ₹100 on travel and international spend, uncapped, with 10,000 bonus points at ₹12 lakh of annual spend. Lounge access is 6 domestic and 4 international visits a year, golf is 4 green fees and 12 lessons a year, and the forex markup is 3.5%.
The points are worth ₹0.50 each through Travel with Points, HSBC's booking and transfer platform, where they redeem against flights, hotels and car rentals or convert to airline and hotel partners. On the rewards catalogue they are worth ₹0.20. At the Travel with Points value the base rate is 1% and the travel rate 2%; at the catalogue value it is 0.4% and 0.8%. Redeem through Travel with Points or the card does not make sense.
Live+: the cashback card
Live+ costs ₹999 + GST (₹1,179), waived at ₹2 lakh, and pays 10% cashback on dining, food delivery, grocery, shopping and utility spends up to ₹1,200 a statement month, then 1.5% on everything else with no cap. The ₹1,200 cap binds at ₹12,000 of category spend a month; above that the category earns 1.5% like everything else. Lounge access is two domestic and one international visit a year, EazyDiner gives 30% off up to ₹1,000 four times a month, BookMyShow gives a second ticket free up to ₹250 monthly, and there is ₹250 of cashback each quarter on ₹10,000 of contactless fuel spend.
The number that surprises people is the forex markup: 1.99%, lower than TravelOne's 3.5%. On ₹3 lakh of international spend a year, Live+ saves ₹4,530 over TravelOne in markup, which is most of the difference in their fees.
Visa Platinum: the free card
Visa Platinum is lifetime free, needs ₹4 lakh of annual income and is issued in select cities. It earns 2 points per ₹150, which is about 0.27% at the catalogue value, and up to 6X on Travel with Points redemptions. The welcome offer is 2,000 points on ₹5,000 of spend within 30 days through the HSBC app, plus ₹1,000 of cashback on a ₹1,000 spend for applicants who submit income documents through Account Aggregator. It is a card to hold for the HSBC relationship and the fuel cashback, not to earn with.
Decision by income
| Your position | Card |
|---|---|
| ₹4 lakh a year, want an HSBC card with no fee | Visa Platinum |
| Any income, spend ₹10,000 or more a month on dining, delivery, grocery, shopping and bills | Live+ |
| ₹10 lakh a year, book your own travel, want transferable points | TravelOne |
| Spend abroad often but do not hold Premier | Live+, for the 1.99% forex markup |
| ₹3 lakh a month salary or ₹50 lakh with HSBC | Premier Metal |
Rewards in practice
Annual spend split as ₹1.2 lakh on Live+ categories (₹10,000 a month), the rest general, with ₹1 lakh of travel and ₹1 lakh international where relevant. Points at Travel with Points value.
| Annual spend | Live+ | TravelOne | Premier Metal |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹3 lakh | ₹12,000 on categories + ₹2,700 on the rest = ₹14,700; fee waived | 6,000 points = ₹3,000; fee ₹5,899 | 9,000 points = ₹4,500; renewal waived for Premier |
| ₹6 lakh | ₹14,400 (cap) + ₹7,200 = ₹21,600 | 8,000 base + 8,000 on travel and international = ₹8,000 | 18,000 points = ₹9,000 |
| ₹12 lakh | ₹14,400 + ₹16,200 = ₹30,600 | 20,000 + 8,000 + 10,000 milestone = ₹19,000; fee waived at ₹8 lakh | 36,000 points = ₹18,000, plus unlimited lounges |
Live+ out-earns both points cards at every spend level on ordinary purchases. TravelOne and Premier Metal earn their keep on travel redemptions, transfers and lounges, not on the base rate.
Who should get it
Get Live+ if:
- Your household spend on dining, delivery, grocery, shopping and utilities is ₹10,000 a month or more.
- You want the lowest forex markup available without a Premier relationship.
Get TravelOne if:
- You book flights and hotels yourself and want points that transfer to airline and hotel programmes.
- You spend ₹8 lakh a year so the fee is waived, and you value 6 domestic and 4 international lounge visits.
Get Premier Metal if:
- You are, or can become, an HSBC Premier customer; nothing else in the lineup comes close.
Get Visa Platinum if:
- You want a lifetime-free card and an HSBC relationship, and you will not rely on it for rewards.
Skip HSBC if:
- You want a ladder to climb. There is no upgrade path from TravelOne to Premier, and HSBC's card book is small.
- Your city is not on HSBC's serviceable list; Visa Platinum and TravelOne are issued in select cities.
Common questions
Best HSBC card? Live+ for most people; TravelOne for transferable points; Premier Metal if you qualify.
Premier eligibility? An HSBC Premier relationship: ₹50 lakh balance, ₹3 lakh monthly salary or a ₹1.15 crore mortgage with the balance criterion.
TravelOne transfer partners? Yes, through Travel with Points, at about ₹0.50 a point.
Lowest forex? Premier Metal at 0.99%, then Live+ at 1.99%.
Is Visa Platinum worth it? As a free card, yes; as a rewards card, no.
Next steps
- HSBC Live+ Credit Card
- HSBC TravelOne Credit Card
- HSBC Premier Credit Card (Metal)
- HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card
- All HSBC cards ranked
- The older HSBC lineup guide
Last verified: 2026-09-17 against https://www.hsbc.co.in/credit-cards/products/live-plus/, https://www.hsbc.co.in/credit-cards/products/travelone/, https://www.hsbc.co.in/credit-cards/products/premier/ and https://www.hsbc.co.in/credit-cards/products/visa-platinum/.