Start here: HSBC Rewards Programme in Singapore — earn, redeem, transfer to miles and keep your points

Step 1: What the HSBC Rewards Programme is and who it suits

You will learn: who runs the Programme, which cards and cardholders it covers, and who it is built for.

HSBC's Rewards Programme is open to all principal cardholders holding valid HSBC Visa and Mastercard credit cards issued by HSBC Bank (Singapore) Limited, except HSBC Advance credit cards unless otherwise stated [1]. Cardholders holding a valid HSBC Live+ Credit Card with a card issuance date on and from 21 June 2024 are not eligible to participate [1]. An HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card with a card number starting with 492160 and an issuance date before 21 June 2024 became known as an HSBC Live+ Credit Card from 21 June 2024, and any unutilised Reward points can still be redeemed in the HSBC Singapore mobile app before the points expiry date [1].

Points are not transferable to any other person, and HSBC's decision on all matters relating to the Programme is final and binding on cardholders [1].

The Programme suits principal cardholders of eligible HSBC credit cards issued in Singapore who want a single points balance that can be spent on statement credits, vouchers and merchandise as well as on airline miles and hotel points [1]. It is not open to supplementary cardholders or corporate and company cardholders [1].

Go deeper: Singapore card points programmes compared and HSBC Singapore credit cards.

Step 2: How you join: principal cardholders and good standing

You will learn: what "good standing" means in practice, who cannot take part, and what ends your participation.

Participation is subject to the card account being, in HSBC's sole determination, in good standing during the Programme and at the time of fulfilment, and Reward points are forfeited for cards with a status of blocked, delinquent and/or fraud [1]. Corporate and company cardholders and supplementary cardholders are not eligible to participate, although amounts charged by a supplementary cardholder are consolidated under the principal cardholder's card account for the purposes of the Programme [1].

If you voluntarily terminate your card account, or HSBC terminates it at any time for any reason, both the principal and supplementary cardholders are disqualified from the Programme, any unutilised Reward points are automatically cancelled, and those points cannot be transferred to any other card account [1]. If a supplementary cardholder's account is terminated, the principal cardholder can continue to participate unless HSBC determines otherwise [1].

Go deeper: supplementary card earning and the card selection framework.

Step 3: How earning works

You will learn: the base earn rates, what counts as a Qualifying Transaction, and how quickly points appear.

A Singapore dollar denominated card earns one Reward point for every S$1 charged to the card on Qualifying Transactions made locally and overseas, while a US dollar denominated card earns one point for every US$0.70 charged on Qualifying Transactions made locally and overseas [1]. The earn rate may be accelerated in accordance with the terms and conditions specific to certain cards [1].

Qualifying Transactions are posted retail purchases, including HSBC Spend Instalment, where only the total purchase amount in the month of purchase qualifies [1]. The terms exclude many kinds of payment, among them foreign exchange transactions, donations to charitable, social and religious organisations, quasi-cash and gambling transactions, payments to financial institutions and brokerages, money transfer services, prepaid card, stored-value card and e-wallet top-ups, government payments, AXS and ATM transactions, tax payments other than through the HSBC Tax Payment Facility, insurance premiums, education, utilities, instalment amounts, fees, and unposted, cancelled, disputed or refunded transactions [1]. A separate list of excluded Merchant Category Codes applies and may be updated by HSBC from time to time without prior notice [1]. The merchant's acquiring bank assigns the MCC, and HSBC does not determine a merchant's MCC [1].

The number of points awarded and redeemed is reflected in the card account statement and shown in the relevant page of the HSBC Singapore Mobile App, and HSBC may correct or revise that number at any time to correct computational or recording errors [1]. Where a charge is reversed, or is found to relate to a corporate or business transaction, points awarded for it are cancelled, and if those points have already been redeemed HSBC may charge their equivalent cash value to the card account [1]. Points details are made available through the app up to seven working days after a transaction is posted [1].

Go deeper: earning rate and KrisFlyer card earning.

Step 4: How to use points: miles, hotel points, Pay with Points and more

You will learn: what points can be redeemed for, where to do it, how long each type takes, and what cannot be undone.

Only cardholders whose card accounts are valid and in good standing will be eligible to use points [1]. Points can be redeemed for airline miles, hotel membership points, Pay with Points statement credits, gift cards, vouchers and merchandise through the Rewards Marketplace, flights, hotels and/or car rental bookings under the name "HSBC Rewards | Book your Flight", and tree planting through the One Tree Planted programme [1]. Redemption can only be performed in the HSBC Singapore Mobile App, which shows the number of points required for airline miles, hotel points, Pay with Points and One Tree Planted [1].

Most airline miles and hotel points redemptions are completed within one working day, except Hainan Airlines' frequent flyer programme at five working days and JAL Mileage Bank at ten working days; Pay with Points within two working days, gift cards and vouchers within seven working days, merchandise within twenty-one working days, "HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points" bookings within one working day, and One Tree Planted redemptions in the month following the request [1]. Once a redemption has been accepted by HSBC it cannot be cancelled or exchanged by the cardholder [1].

Pay with Points produces statement credits that offset outstanding payments due on a card or settle future purchases, and the credits cannot be exchanged for cash [1]. Each redemption is subject to a minimum of S$10 and is rounded to the nearest whole dollar, and the conversion rate for points to statement credits is shown in the HSBC Singapore Mobile App and may be revised by HSBC from time to time [1]. An accepted Pay with Points redemption cannot be cancelled or reversed [1].

For airline miles and hotel points, cardholders must first be enrolled, or already be enrolled, with a participating airline's frequent flyer programme or a participating hotel's points programme, and points must be transferred into their own personal membership account there [1]. Points must be transferred before their expiry date as notified by HSBC, and an accepted transfer cannot be cancelled, reversed or moved to another airline's frequent flyer programme or hotel points programme [1]. HSBC's credit card travel insurance and related benefits do not apply to flight award tickets issued under an airline's frequent flyer programme where the miles used were generated from the transfer of points [1]. Strictly no urgent requests for transfers or cancellation will be entertained, the redemption fee for miles and hotel points redemptions is waived until such time as HSBC determines, and where a transfer is unsuccessful the points are reinstated to the card account [1].

Go deeper: HSBC Rewards Singapore to KrisFlyer transfer, Start here: KrisFlyer, transfer ratio and Pay with Points.

Step 5: Keeping points: no tiers, expiry and changes

You will learn: how long points last, what cancels them, and how the Programme can change.

The terms describe no membership tiers under the Programme [1]. Points expire at the end of a 37-month period, unless otherwise stated, which begins in the month subsequent to the month in which the points were awarded; the terms illustrate this with points earned between 1 and 31 August 2023, which expire on 30 September 2026 [1]. On termination of a card account, any unutilised Reward points are automatically cancelled and no longer available for redemption [1].

Fraud and abuse relating to the earning of points or to redemptions may result in forfeiture of accrued points as well as cancellation of the cardholder's cards [1]. HSBC may update the terms and conditions and the Programme, including the duration of the Programme (which may include its termination), the points required for redemption, the validity of points already awarded (which may include their cancellation), and the availability of rewards items [1]. To the extent reasonably practicable it will give reasonable notice before changes take effect, by contacting you directly, placing signs or notices at branches, publishing the change on its website, and/or another method it considers reasonably appropriate [1]. If you do not agree with a change, you can cancel your existing card after paying all amounts you may owe and redeeming all your remaining points [1].

Go deeper: card points expiry and transferable points when closing a card.

Step 6: Your first concrete action

You will learn: the checks to make this week so nothing is lost later.

1. Confirm that you are the principal cardholder of an eligible HSBC Visa or Mastercard credit card — not an HSBC Advance card, and not an HSBC Live+ card issued on or from 21 June 2024 — and read the Rewards Programme terms and conditions effective from 31 March 2025 [1].
2. Open the HSBC Singapore Mobile App to see your points and the number of points required for each redemption, and check each batch against the 37-month rule, since points must be used before the expiry date HSBC notifies [1].
3. Before any airline miles or hotel points transfer, enrol in the partner programme in your own name and check the points required in the app, because an accepted redemption cannot be cancelled, reversed or moved to another programme [1].
4. Keep the card account in good standing, since blocked, delinquent or fraud statuses forfeit points and reversed or business transactions can cancel them [1].
5. Redeem before you cancel the card, because terminating the card account cancels any unutilised points and they cannot be moved to another card account [1].

Next: read the HSBC Rewards (Singapore) programme hub for every Flyerfolio page about this programme, and use HSBC's own HSBC Rewards page for the programme as HSBC publishes it.