Start here: HSBC RewardCash — earn, keep, pool and redeem RewardCash

Step 1: What RewardCash is and who it suits

You will learn: who runs the programme, how much of it HSBC can change, and which cards and profiles it covers.

The programme is operated by HSBC [1]. HSBC may offer, vary, suspend or withdraw different benefits, schemes or arrangements under the programme, which include RewardCash e-Shop/R+ Mall, the RewardCash Certificate Scheme, Instant RewardCash Redemption at Merchants and the Mileage Programme [1]. The English version of the terms prevails over the Chinese [1].

It suits holders of personal credit cards issued by HSBC in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China of the types HSBC specifies: unless HSBC says otherwise, eligible cards include Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay, may be primary or additional, and may be denominated in HKD, Renminbi or US dollars [1]. Standalone private label cards and the iCAN card are not eligible [1]. It also suits an eligible HSBC customer who has successfully enrolled in the Standalone RewardCash Programme via Reward+ [1].

Go deeper: Start here: cards and transfers and the card selection framework.

Step 2: How you join: your card or a Standalone profile

You will learn: the two routes into the programme and the condition HSBC attaches to earning and using RewardCash.

The first route is holding an eligible personal credit card issued by HSBC in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China: HSBC has the right to specify and vary the types of card that qualify and may exclude any card type, or any benefit, scheme or arrangement, from the programme [1]. The second route is enrolling in the Standalone RewardCash Programme through Reward+, which makes an eligible HSBC customer eligible to participate as well [1].

Eligibility is not the same as an entitlement to earn: HSBC has the right not to award RewardCash, or to allow it to be used, unless the credit card and the Standalone RewardCash Programme Profile, whichever applies, are valid and in good standing [1].

Go deeper: supplementary card earning for how spending on additional cards is treated.

Step 3: How earning works

You will learn: the base earning rates in clause 5, the spending that earns nothing, and how rounding and instalments are handled.

Under clause 5, a credit cardholder earns $1 RewardCash for every HKD 250 spent with an eligible card denominated in HKD, for every US$30 spent with the USD Visa Gold Card, and for every RMB250 spent with the Renminbi sub-account of the UnionPay Dual Currency credit card [1]. Credit cardholders and those enrolled in the Standalone RewardCash Programme can also earn RewardCash by completing different missions shown on Reward+ or by joining activities, promotions and campaigns that HSBC may launch [1].

Spending that does not earn currently includes cash advances; fees and charges; withdrawals under a cash or spending instalment plan; and online bill payments to the Inland Revenue Department, under the bill type of policy loan repayment to insurance companies, and to finance companies, in each case made with any credit card, as well as online bill payments made with a Classic, Gold or UnionPay Dual Currency credit card [1]. Eligible online bill payments earn only on the first HKD 10,000 in each monthly statement cycle [1]. Quasi-cash transactions also earn nothing: betting and gambling, transactions at non-financial institutions such as purchases of foreign currency, money orders and travellers cheques, transactions at financial institutions, wire transfers, and purchases or reloads of stored value cards or e-wallets, except reloads through the Octopus Automatic Added Value Service [1].

A transaction earns nothing while it is unposted, and nothing if it is posted but later cancelled, reversed or refunded in whole or in part, including a tax refund on a purchase [1]. Odd dollars spent are carried forward to the next card transaction, and odd dollars remaining on a statement date are carried forward to the following statement month [1]. Under an instalment plan, RewardCash is earned as and when each instalment amount is posted [1].

Go deeper: Asia Miles card earning for how card spending is turned into a mileage currency, and earning rate for the general concept.

Step 4: How to use RewardCash

You will learn: four of the ways to use RewardCash covered in this course and the rules attached to each.

At RewardCash e-Shop/R+ Mall, $1 RewardCash equals HKD 1, RewardCash must be used in whole numbers, and the minimum RewardCash required for each item is shown in the e-Shop [1]. A credit cardholder may redeem an item using the full amount of RewardCash or a combination of RewardCash and cash, paying the cash portion with an HSBC credit card through HSBC Internet Banking, while a holder of a Standalone RewardCash Programme Profile only may redeem using the full amount of RewardCash [1].

Instant RewardCash Redemption at Merchants pools, for a primary credit cardholder, all RewardCash earned on cards issued under the same Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China identity card or passport number and related additional cards; an additional cardholder can use only RewardCash earned on their own card [1]. Where the purchase price is less than the RewardCash available, RewardCash equal to the price is deducted; where the price is greater, the entire amount of available RewardCash is deducted and the shortfall is paid with an HSBC credit card, and the cardholder cannot specify the amount to be deducted [1]. iCAN cards and UnionPay Dual Currency credit cards are not eligible for this redemption [1].

Pay with RC lets a primary credit cardholder use RewardCash to pay credit card statements and transactions through channels HSBC designates [1].

Through the Mileage Programme, a holder of an eligible credit card or a Standalone profile may transfer RewardCash to a frequent flyer programme account maintained in their personal capacity with a participating airline while the card account or profile is valid and in good standing [1]. Application must be made with each participating airline on that airline's enrolment form, even if the member already belongs to its frequent flyer programme, and the airline may accept or decline it [1]. Transfer is only to the member's own account: RewardCash cannot be transferred to a frequent flyer programme account in another person's name [1]. The minimum transaction amount may vary and the conversion rate differs by airline and may be varied by notice, with the latest details on Reward+ or HSBC's website [1]. RewardCash can be transferred only before its expiry date, and after transfer it cannot be moved back to the card account or Standalone profile or re-transferred to another airline's programme [1]. An annual fee may apply and may be waived at HSBC's discretion; if it applies, it is non-refundable and must be paid in the manner HSBC specifies [1]. Once a redemption request or purchase order is accepted, it cannot be changed, cancelled or refunded [1]. HSBC Prive and HSBC EveryMile Credit Cards cannot receive RewardCash transferred from any cardholder, and items or mileage redeemed with RewardCash earned on them must be handled through the Reward+ App rather than HSBC Internet Banking [1].

Go deeper: the transfer points checklist for the checks to run before any conversion, Asia Miles card earning for one mileage currency side, transfer ratio and minimum transfer for the two figures that differ by airline.

Step 5: Keeping RewardCash: no tiers, expiry, pooling and loss

You will learn: what the terms say about status, expiry dates, moving and pooling RewardCash, and when HSBC can cancel it.

The terms describe no status tiers for the RewardCash Programme [1].

RewardCash earned with credit cards is usually valid for at least one year and for up to two years, RewardCash earned with HSBC Prive has no expiry date, and RewardCash earned with the HSBC Premier MasterCard is valid for up to three years [1]. The expiry date for RewardCash earned on a card is the date of the card statement of the expiry month, regardless of the year, and the expiry month is shown in the card statement and, if applicable, in the HSBC Internet Banking profile [1]. Expiry of RewardCash earned under a Standalone RewardCash Programme Profile is dealt with in the Standalone RewardCash Programme Terms and Conditions [1].

RewardCash is not transferable unless HSBC specifies otherwise, but it may be transferred from one cardholder to another through the Reward+ App [1]. A cardholder may pool RewardCash earned with various credit cards issued under the same Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China identity card or passport number, or under their Standalone profile, and a primary cardholder may also pool RewardCash earned with additional cards [1]. HSBC may forfeit or cancel accumulated RewardCash and terminate the card or Standalone profile where, in its reasonable opinion, there is fraud or abuse in the earning, pooling, redeeming or using of RewardCash, including obtaining a refund of a transaction after earning RewardCash for it [1]. HSBC may also cancel accumulated RewardCash when the card or Standalone profile is terminated, whether by the customer or by HSBC [1].

Go deeper: card points expiry for how expiry dates are set, issuer points pooling for combining balances, and transferable points when closing a card for the order to do things in before a card goes.

Step 6: Your first concrete action

You will learn: five checks to complete before you spend, transfer or cancel anything.

1. Check the expiry month of RewardCash earned on your cards in your card statement or HSBC Internet Banking profile (for a Standalone profile, expiry is set by the Standalone RewardCash Programme Terms and Conditions and its information is on Reward+ only), and read the RewardCash Programme Terms and Conditions that apply to your card or Standalone profile [1].
2. Open Reward+ to see the missions, RewardCash e-Shop/R+ Mall items and Mileage Programme details available to you [1].
3. Before converting to miles, apply to the participating airline on its own enrolment form, even if you are already a member of its frequent flyer programme, and make sure the frequent flyer account is in your own name, because a transfer cannot be reversed or re-transferred [1].
4. Use or convert RewardCash before its expiry date, because a transfer is allowed only prior to expiry [1].
5. Before cancelling a card or Standalone profile, use the RewardCash on it, because HSBC may cancel accumulated RewardCash when the card or profile is terminated [1].

Next: go to the HSBC RewardCash Programme hub for every page on this programme, and run the transfer points checklist before any conversion.