HSBC Live+ Credit Card Review
10% cashback on dining + grocery + food delivery (cap 1K/month), 1.5% unlimited base, 4 lounges/yr. April 2026.
Who this is for
The HSBC Live+ is a category-specialist cashback card. Its 10% rate on dining, food delivery, and grocery is the highest accelerated rate in the Indian market for these categories combined. Targets urban professionals spending 8-15K monthly on these three categories — the ₹1,000 monthly cap pays the fee back 12x over at max utilisation. The 1.5% unlimited base is also competitive for general spending, making it a strong primary card for foodies and regular shoppers.
Fees & welcome
| Head | Detail |
|---|---|
| Joining + Annual fee | 999 + GST (~1,180 all-in) |
| Fee waiver | 2,00,000 annual spend |
| Welcome (Jan-Mar 2026 cohort) | Amazon eGift Voucher of 250 after Video KYC completion |
| Welcome bonus (ongoing) | 1,000 cashback on 20,000 spend in 30 days (app-driven) |
| Forex markup | 3.5% |
Reward structure
- 10% accelerated cashback on dining, food delivery, and grocery spends (cap 1,000/month = 12,000/year)
- 1.5% unlimited cashback on all other spends (no cap)
- Cashback credited automatically to statement
Travel & lifestyle
- 4 domestic airport lounge visits per year (max 1 per quarter)
- Dining discount: Up to 15% off at 200+ partner restaurants via HSBC Live+ Dining Programme (stackable with 10% cashback)
- No international lounges
Compared with alternatives
| Card | Fee | Top cashback | Base rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| HSBC Live+ | 999 | 10% on dining/grocery/food | 1.5% unlimited |
| SBI Cashback | 999 | 5% flat on online | 1% offline |
| HDFC Swiggy HDFC Bank | 500 | 10% on Swiggy only | Lower base |
| Axis Rewards | 1,000 | 3.2% apparel/dept | 0.32% base |
| SCB Manhattan (closed) | 999 | 5% grocery (cap 500/mo) | ~1% |
Eligibility
- Age: 18-65 salaried / 25-65 self-employed
- Minimum income: 6 lakh p.a. salaried / 12 lakh p.a. self-employed
- Available in 18 HSBC India service cities: Chennai, Gurgaon, Delhi NCR, Pune, Noida, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kochi, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Amritsar, Baroda, Indore, Lucknow
- Indian resident; primary + supplementary cards eligible for app-driven welcome benefit
What we like
Where it falls short
- 1,000/month cap = 12,000/year max on 10% accelerator
- 3.5% forex markup is standard (not concessional)
- Only 4 domestic lounges/year is modest
- No international lounges
- HSBC's branch network is limited vs HDFC/SBI/ICICI
Should you apply?
Apply if: You spend 8K+ per month on dining, food delivery, or groceries combined; you want a strong 1.5% unlimited base on other spends; you meet HSBC eligibility and live in a served city.
Skip if: Your categories don't include dining/grocery/food (SBI Cashback's 5% flat online may suit better), or you need low forex (look at SCB Ultimate 2% or ICICI Times Black 1.49%).
The bottom line
HSBC Live+ is the best dining/grocery/food-delivery cashback card in India. At 999 fee with 2L waiver, it pays back 10-15x its fee for urban professionals hitting the 10K/month on target categories. Combined with 1.5% unlimited base, it's a strong primary card for the right user. Only caveats: 1,000/month cap on 10% and modest 4-lounge-access feature.
Verified against HSBC India's official Live+ product page and April 2026 listings. 10% accelerator applies to MCC-coded dining, food delivery aggregators, and grocery merchants. 1,000 monthly cap applies to accelerator only; base 1.5% is unlimited.