HSBC Advance Review

At 1.5% cashback, HSBC Advance is a pretty straightforward card. Like many other cards in this category, it is unexciting but simple to use. There are no category nor minimum spend requirements, and you get a relatively low cashback in return for the simplicity.

Spend more than S$2,000 within a month, however, and the cashback rate gets a bit better at 2.5% cashback.

It’s definitely not the most rewarding credit card around, but that isn’t really the point of HSBC Advance. Instead, it is meant for those who want one card for most of their everyday spending without having to keep track of categories, merchant types or complicated bonus conditions.

	Quick Info
Earn Rate	1.5% or 2.5% cashback on eligible spend
Min. Spend	1.5% cashback – no min spend 2.5% cashback – min spend of S$2,000.01
Cap	S$70 cashback per calendar month (S$2,800 spend)
Tracking	Calendar month Posting date
Annual Fee	S$196.20; first year waived
Apply	Here

HSBC Advance earns:

• 1.5% cashback when eligible monthly spend is S$2,000 or below
• 2.5% cashback when eligible monthly spend is above S$2,000
• Maximum S$70 cashback per calendar month

There are no categories to keep track of and most retail transactions would earn the cashback.

Exclusions to note

HSBC Advance has a fairly typical list of exclusions that will not get any cashback. These exclusions include:

• Utilities
• Insurance premiums
• Education
• Hospitals
• Government payments and taxes
• Donations
• E-wallet and stored-value top-ups
• Investments and brokerage transactions
• Money transfers
• CardUp and iPayMy
• Professional services
• Property management and certain rental payments
• Parking under MCC 7523
• AXS payments

It’s pretty much what you’d expect to be excluded by credit cards, and these are quite typically found in the exclusion lists of other cards too.

CardUp and ipaymy, however, aren’t usually excluded by other credit cards, but will not earn rewards across HSBC credit cards. At either 1.5% or 2.5% cashback, HSBC Advance isn’t a card you should use with such services anyway, but it’s still something to take note of.

2.5% cashback on up to S$2,800 spend

While 1.5% cashback is a fairly common earn rate among cashback cards for general spend, HSBC Advance offers a higher tier of 2.5% cashback when more than S$2,000 of spend is reached within the calendar month.

Note that you have to spend above S$2,000 to qualify for 2.5% cashback. Spending exactly S$2,000 gets you just S$30 of cashback (1.5%), while S$2,000.01 will get S$50 cashback (2.5%).

The higher cashback rate will apply to the entire month’s eligible spend, and is capped at S$70 which is reached with S$2,800 of spend. This can make it quite a good backup card to use when you have a larger transaction around the S$2,000 to S$2,800 range that other cards cannot deal with.

It would be great if amounts above S$2,800 of spend continues to earn 1.5% cashback, but HSBC Advance does not offer unlimited cashback like other cards within its category.

Only transactions posted within the calendar month will count towards the month’s spend amount, so try not to hit the S$2,000.01 minimum spend too close to the end of the month.

Complimentary travel insurance is a nice extra

HSBC Advance offers complimentary travel insurance underwritten by MSIG if you charge your full travel fare to the HSBC card to activate the coverage. Flight tickets redeemed with miles can also qualify if the taxes and applicable payment are charged to the card.

Some of the coverage includes:

Benefit	Coverage
Accidental death / permanent disablement	Up to S$500,000 per adult
Emergency medical evacuation and repatriation	Up to S$1,000,000
Trip cancellation	S$2,000 per person / S$4,000 family
Travel delay	Up to S$500
Missed connection	Up to S$300 per person
Luggage delay	Up to S$200 per person
Loss of luggage	Up to S$500 per person

I wouldn’t use it for overseas spending

While the card provides travel insurance, it’s generally a bad idea to use this card for overseas spending and foreign currency transactions. The card charges a total of 3.25% in foreign currency transaction fee, which is comparable to many other credit cards, but the cashback rate of this card does not recoup the fees incurred.

Higher income requirement than you might expect

From October 2025, HSBC increased its annual income requirement for credit cards, even entry-level ones like HSBC Advance, to S$65,000. This is well beyond the S$30,000 regulatory requirement.

HSBC customers with at least S$50,000 in Total Relationship Balance can get a reduced requirement depending on their profile.

Profile	With TRB < S$50,000)	With TRB ≥ S$50,000
Singaporeans / PR (Salaried Employees)	S$65,000	S$30,000
Singaporeans / PR (Self-employed / Commission-based)	S$65,000	S$40,000
Foreigners	S$65,000	S$65,000

This makes HSBC Advance less accessible than many mainstream cashback cards.

Sign up

One of the best reasons to apply for this card is perhaps its sign-up reward. 28,000 Max Miles is worth at least S$504 if you redeem them for flights, and those who just want to keep things simple can get S$450 in cash which is very generous. Other gift options are also available and you should sign up for this card by 15th September:

The Verdict

As a fuss-free general spend card, HSBC Advance isn’t meant to be a flashy card. Cards that offer around 1.5% cashback are for those who prioritise simplicity over rewards maximisation, and HSBC Advance is indeed a very simple card to use.

The card edges out the competition within the same space by having the higher 2.5% cashback tier. This makes HSBC Advance one of the best general spend cards for those who can hit between S$2,000.01 and S$2,800 of spend within a month.

Again, it’s definitely not the card you want if your objective is to squeeze the absolute maximum rewards out of every dollar spent. There are plenty of cards offering 4%, 5% or even higher rewards if you are willing to deal with specific categories, minimum spends and multiple cashback caps.

That said, HSBC Advance can also work well as a backup card for soaking up larger expenses. If your main cards have already hit their monthly reward caps, or a big-ticket purchase does not fall neatly into any bonus category, putting the spend on HSBC Advance can still get you up to 2.5% cashback without having to think too much about it.

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Seth Wee was a licensed financial adviser representative from 2009 to 2025, with over 16 years of experience in Singapore’s financial advisory industry.

He started Sethisfy.com in 2019 to share practical insights on credit cards, banking products, and miles strategies, helping readers identify financial products that deliver the best value. Seth has been featured in CNA, Channel 8, Today, and a host of other publications. In 2025, he was also part of a panel at CPF’s Ready For Life festival.

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