This was the most recent card that I applied for (and even then it seems like ages ago but it was less than six months ago). To be frank, it was mainly so I could get 10% cash back on my car insurance and after I had the minimum spend completed, I just put it away after I made my car insurance purchase and am waiting for the cash back. Here’s my HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard review.
HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard Review
This is a pretty decent cash back credit card in Canada if you make online purchases and if you factor in the welcome bonus. However, after the welcome bonus the cash back percentages aren’t that great to be honest.
Here’s the regular cash back percentages:
- 1.5% on up to $6000 in online purchases (including streaming services, online subscriptions, and food delivery)
- 1% cash back on gas, grocery, and drugstore purchases
- 0.5% on everything else
The benefit of this cash back card is that you only need to have a minimum of $25 cash back available in order to redeem for a statement credit.
The current Welcome Offer for the HSBC Cash Rewards card is pretty good, it is 12.5% cash back in the first 180 days up to $1000 spend.
Essentially, that’s $125 cash back on this card.
You have to keep the account open for 180 days (meaning you don’t get paid out your Welcome Offer until about 6 months after you open the card and complete the qualifying transactions).
That can feel like a long time to wait for an impatient card churner.
Another caveat is that if you have applied for this card in the preceding 12 months, you will not be eligible for the welcome offer of 12.5% cash back.
HSBC Cash Rewards Benefits
There are some pretty good insurance benefits of this no fee cash back card, consider it has zero annual fee.
The insurance benefits of this card include:
- Mobile Device Insurance
- Purchase Assurance
- Extended Warranty Insurance
- Zero Liability Protection
As mentioned, one great perk considering this is a zero annual fee card is the Mobile Device Insurance.
From what I’ve seen looking at dozens and dozens of credit cards, this would be something a card charging an annual fee would offer.
The Mobile Device insurance covers your cell phone, smart phone, or tablet gets damaged or stolen or lost or breaks down, up to $1000. However, it is important to note that there is a deductible that you have to pay. If the total cost of your mobile device is $600 or more, you still have to pay a deductible of $100 and depreciation costs are factored in as well.
Also, Mobile Device Insurance stops 2 years after your mobile device purchase.
As expected with a card that has a zero annual fee, there is travel and medical insurance available for purchase. It is not included as a credit card benefit and you’ll have to pay extra for it. The travel and medical insurance is $69 per year extra.
The Insurance coverage is underwritten by American Bankers Life Assurance Company.
HSBC Cash Rewards Annual Fee
The annual fee is $0.
Income Requirements
There is no explicit income requirement, it is not a high threshold to apply for this credit card unlike many other credit cards (for example, the Visa Infinite credit card or the World Elite credit cards).
Other requirements include being the age of majority in a Canadian province and a Canadian resident. To apply online, you also have to have a Passport, a Driver’s License, or government issued photo identification.
Genymoney.ca’s Verdict
The high promotional cash back of this credit card makes it very attractive to use for those planned bigger purchases that you have to make (for example, annual car insurance payment is a good one).
Although the benefits are not that great (well except maybe for the Mobile Device Insurance), this is a zero annual fee credit card so there’s not really any downside to getting this card except for the credit score hit when applying for a new card.
It’s a great card for using the welcome bonus (for example, the higher percentage cash back for the first few months) and then putting it nicely away until you receive your bonus.
This would be a great card for someone who wants mobile device insurance but doesn’t want to keep paying an annual fee for that added perk. This would be a great card for students or young adults with expensive mobile devices that don’t want fork out another $900 for their cell phone if they accidentally drop it.
The major downside if you are a student is that it doesn’t include travel insurance.
If you have higher income and are a big grocery shopper and want $200 cash back instead of $125, the Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite is a popular cash back card.
You may also be interested in:
- TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite card Review
- TD Us Dollar Visa Credit Card review
- CIBC Dividend Visa Cash Back review
- RBC Avion Visa Infinite Review
- Travel credit cards for seniors in Canada
What’s your HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard review?
GYM is a 30 something millennial interested in achieving financial freedom through disciplined saving, dividend and ETF investing, and living a minimalist lifestyle. Before you go, check out my recommendations page of financial tools I use to save and invest money. Don’t forget to subscribe for blog updates, a free dividend yield spreadsheet, and the free Young Money Bootcamp eCourse.