HSBC Live+ vs CASHBACK SBI Card: 10% on Categories or 5% Online?
CASHBACK SBI Card pays more to people who shop online across many sites, 5% up to ₹2,000 a statement cycle, while HSBC Live+ pays more on groceries, dining, food delivery and utility bills, 10% up to ₹1,200 a month. Both cost ₹999 plus GST and drop the renewal fee at ₹2 lakh of yearly spends, so the real question is where your money goes and whether you live in one of the 21 cities HSBC serves.
In short
Pick HSBC Live+ if groceries, eating out and bills are your big spends and you live in an HSBC city; pick CASHBACK SBI Card if most of your spending is online, or hold both and split the spends.
Best for
- HSBC Live+: households spending about ₹12,000 a month on groceries, dining, food delivery and utilities
- CASHBACK SBI Card: online shoppers who spend up to ₹40,000 a cycle across many sites
- Both together: people who can route category spends to one and online orders to the other
Skip it if
- You travel abroad a lot, since Live+ pays nothing on foreign spends and SBI Card charges 3.5% forex
- Rent, fuel, insurance or wallet loads are your largest card payments
- You live outside HSBC's 21 cities, which rules out Live+
Highlights
- Same fee: ₹999 plus GST on both, renewal dropped at ₹2 lakh of yearly spends
- Live+: 10% on dining, food delivery, grocery, shopping and utilities, capped at ₹1,200 a month
- CASHBACK SBI Card: 5% online and 1% offline, ₹2,000 cap each per statement cycle
- Live+ gives 3 lounge visits a year; CASHBACK SBI Card gives none
- Forex markup: Live+ 1.99%, CASHBACK SBI Card 3.5%
Side by side
| Term | HSBC Live+ Credit Card | CASHBACK SBI Card |
|---|---|---|
| Bank | HSBC India | SBI Card |
| Joining fee | ₹999 + GST | ₹999 + GST |
| Annual fee and waiver | ₹999 + GST. Annual fee, including GST, fully reversed if total eligible spend across primary and add-on cards in the anniversary year exceeds Rs 2,00,000 | ₹999 + GST. Renewal Fee is reversed if annual spends for last year >= Rs. 2,00,000. |
| Base reward | 1.5% unlimited cashback on most other spends (exclusions apply) (about 1.5% value) | 1% cashback on offline (POS at merchant outlets) spends, max Rs (about 1% value) |
| Best category | Dining, food delivery, grocery, shopping and utility spends: about 10% value | Online spends: about 5% value |
| Lounges | Domestic: 2 complimentary domestic lounge visits a year, limited to 1 visit every 6 months International: 1 complimentary international lounge visit a year (from 1 September 2026) | Domestic: None listed on card page International: None listed on card page |
| Forex markup | 1.99% of the amount | 3.5% of the amount |
| Network | Visa | Visa |
| Published minimum income | ₹50,000 a month | Stable income; SBI Card says the specific minimum varies by card and does not... |
| Status | Taking applications | Taking applications |
| Add-on card fee | Nil | Nil |
| Earned as | Cashback | Cashback (auto-credited to card account) |
| Higher-reward categories |
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| No rewards on |
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| Value of a point |
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| Redemption fee | None (automatic credit) | Not applicable (cashback is auto-credited) |
| Expiry | Not applicable | Card Cashback does not expire |
| Welcome benefits |
| None published |
| Milestone benefits | None published |
|
| Fuel surcharge waiver | No fuel surcharge waiver (KFS: NA); fuel earns no cashback | 1% waiver on transactions between Rs. 500 and Rs. 3,000 at all petrol pumps in India; max Rs. 100 per statement cycle |
| Insurance cover | Not listed on the card page | None listed on card page |
| Interest on unpaid balances | Up to 3.75% a month (45% a year) | Up to 3.75% a month (45% a year) |
| Late payment fee | 100% of the Minimum Payment Due, minimum Rs 250 and maximum Rs 1,200 a month; charged only if the minimum payment does not reach HSBC within 3 days of the payment due date | Nil up to Rs.100; Rs.100 (Rs.100-500); Rs.500 (Rs.500-1,000); Rs.750 (Rs.1,000-10,000); Rs.950 (Rs.10,000-25,000); Rs.1,100 (Rs.25,000-50,000); Rs.1,300 (above Rs.50,000) of outstanding amount due; plus Rs.100 additional if MAD is missed two consecutive cycles (continues each cycle until MAD is cleared). Taxes extra. |
| Cash withdrawal | 2.5% of the amount, minimum Rs 500; finance charge from the date of withdrawal | 2.5% of transaction amount, minimum Rs.500, at domestic and international ATMs; finance charges from the date of withdrawal (no free credit period); max Rs.15,000 cash per day at ATMs (MCC 6011), within cash limit. |
| Age (salaried) | 18 to 65 years | 21 years or above (minimum). Maximum age stated as 60 years in one place and 70 years in another on SBI Card's listing page |
| Income (salaried) | Minimum Rs 6,00,000 a year | Stable income; SBI Card says the specific minimum varies by card and does not publish it for this card |
| Income (self-employed) | Minimum Rs 12,00,000 a year | Stable income; minimum not published for this card |
| Documents |
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| Last verified | 5 November 2026 | 5 November 2026 |
A category card against a channel card
These two are natural rivals, since both cost ₹999 and both pay plain cashback, not points. But they decide the rate in different ways. HSBC Live+ looks at what you buy: dining, food delivery, groceries, shopping and utility bills earn 10%. CASHBACK SBI Card looks at how you pay, online spends earn 5% whatever the merchant and swiping at a shop earn 1%.
So a supermarket bill paid at the counter earns 10% on Live+ and 1% on the SBI card, while a Flipkart order earns 5% on the SBI card and only 1.5% on Live+, because HSBC keeps Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra out of its 10% group. Most families has both kinds of spending, which is why the answer depends on the mix.
Who each card is for
- HSBC Live+: people in one of HSBC's 21 cities, earning ₹6 lakh a year or more if salaried, whose groceries, restaurant meals, Swiggy or Zomato orders and electricity bills add up to around ₹12,000 a month. They also gets a few lounge visits and a 1.99% forex markup.
- CASHBACK SBI Card: online-first spenders who buy across many sites and apps, people outside HSBC's cities, and applicants who want a card where SBI Card publish no income floor at all.
The verdict in two sentences
In our worked examples Live+ wins a grocery and food month by a wide margin, and CASHBACK SBI Card edges ahead once online shopping is most of the bill. If you can hold both, using Live+ for its 10% categories up to ₹12,000 and the SBI card for online orders gives more than either one alone.
Both are active. CASHBACK SBI Card got its present caps on 1 April 2026, and Live+ was revised on 26 July 2026 when foreign spends stopped earning cashback. Our full reviews of HSBC Live+ and CASHBACK SBI Card cover each card on its own.
Same fee, slightly different waiver and charges
| Charge | HSBC Live+ | CASHBACK SBI Card |
|---|---|---|
| Joining fee | ₹999 plus GST | ₹999 plus GST |
| Annual fee | ₹999 plus GST | ₹999 plus GST from year two |
| Waiver | Annual fee with GST reversed if spends exceed ₹2,00,000 in the anniversary year | Renewal fee reversed if last year's spends are ₹2,00,000 or more |
| Add-on cards | Free | Nil |
| Interest | 3.75% a month, 45% a year | 3.75% a month, 45% a year |
| Late payment | 100% of the minimum due, ₹250 to ₹1,200 | Slabs from ₹100 to ₹1,300 |
| Cash advance | 2.5%, minimum ₹500 | 2.5%, minimum ₹500 |
| Rent | 1% plus taxes | ₹199 plus taxes per payment |
| Utilities | No fee listed | 1% of the total above ₹50,000 a billing cycle |
| Wallet loads | No fee listed | 1% of every load above ₹1,000 |
| Forex markup | 1.99% | 3.5% |
The fee and the waiver
Each card costs ₹999 plus 18% GST, which is ₹1,178.82 (₹999 plus ₹179.82). The waiver mark is the same too: ₹2 lakh a year, or about ₹16,667 a month (₹2 lakh divided by 12). HSBC wants spends above ₹2 lakh across primary and add-on cards and reverses the fee with its GST, while SBI Card reverses the renewal once the previous year reaches ₹2 lakh. Both charges the joining fee in year one in any case.
One trap on the SBI side. Its waiver counts spends, but it doesn't say whether excluded categories count towards it, so don't count on bills that earn no cashback to get you there. Any family which put groceries and online shopping on either card will cross ₹16,667 a month without trying.
Charges that differ
HSBC's late fee equals the full minimum payment due, never below ₹250 or above ₹1,200 a month, and only if the payment hasn't reached HSBC within 3 days of the due date. SBI Card uses slabs: ₹750 on a ₹5,000 outstanding, ₹950 on ₹15,000, ₹1,300 above ₹50,000, and ₹100 extra if the minimum is missed two cycles running. On a large unpaid bill HSBC's ceiling of ₹1,200 is the softer one.
Rent swing the other way. A ₹30,000 rent payment costs ₹300 plus taxes on Live+ (1% of ₹30,000) and ₹199 plus taxes on the SBI card, and neither pay cashback on it. SBI Card also charges 1% on wallet loads above ₹1,000 and on utility bills above ₹50,000 a cycle, and from 1 December 2026 on fuel above ₹50,000 a cycle and transport payments above ₹30,000. HSBC's fee schedule lists none of these for Live+.
How the cashback is earned and capped
HSBC Live+
Dining, food delivery, grocery, shopping and utility spends earn 10%, up to ₹1,200 a month. That cap fills at ₹12,000 of such spends (₹1,200 divided by 10%). Most other spends earn 1.5% with no cap. Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra shopping stay at 1.5%, the Myntra 10% launch offer having ended on 31 October 2026. HSBC doesn't say if category spend above the cap fall back to 1.5%, so we count it at nothing.
Nothing is paid on fuel, e-wallets, rent, education, government, insurance, jewellery, tolls, cash, money transfers or wholesale clubs, and since 26 July 2026 on any foreign currency spend. Cashback will landed on the card within 45 days of the statement date.
CASHBACK SBI Card
Online spends earn 5% and offline spends 1%, each capped at ₹2,000 a statement cycle and ₹4,000 together. The online cap fills at ₹40,000 (₹2,000 divided by 5%). Whether a payment is online is decided by the indicator the network sends. Which is why a tap at a shop is offline even if you ordered on an app before. Transactions under ₹100 earn nothing and cashback is rounded down per transaction.
The exclusion list is long, longer than HSBC's in the places that hurt. Utilities, insurance, railways, rent, fuel, wallet loads, jewellery, schools, gift shops and, since 1 April 2026, digital gaming, tolls and government payments earn nothing. Bills paid by standing instruction or Fetch and Pay on SBI Card's own platforms is out too. Cashback is credited within two working days of the statement and never expires.
Three monthly budgets on both cards
Both renewal fees are reversed in all three, as each budget is more than ₹2 lakh a year.
| Budget and card | Cashback a month | Cashback a year | Renewal fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹25,000 grocery and food month, Live+ | ₹1,350 | ₹16,200 | Reversed |
| ₹25,000 grocery and food month, CASHBACK SBI | ₹510 | ₹6,120 | Reversed |
| ₹40,000 online-heavy month, Live+ | ₹1,490 | ₹17,880 | Reversed |
| ₹40,000 online-heavy month, CASHBACK SBI | ₹1,550 | ₹18,600 | Reversed |
| ₹70,000 heavy month, Live+ | ₹1,860 | ₹22,320 | Reversed |
| ₹70,000 heavy month, CASHBACK SBI | ₹2,200 | ₹26,400 | Reversed |
₹25,000 grocery and food month: supermarket ₹8,000, Swiggy and Zomato ₹3,000, restaurants ₹2,000, electricity ₹2,000, Amazon and Flipkart ₹4,000, other shops ₹6,000. On Live+ the first four make ₹15,000, so 10% would be ₹1,500, cut to ₹1,200; the last ₹10,000 at 1.5% adds ₹150, total ₹1,350. On the SBI card the ₹7,000 of food delivery and Amazon and Flipkart orders is online, 5% gives ₹350, the ₹16,000 at shops and restaurants gives ₹160 at 1%, and electricity earn nothing. That's ₹510.
₹40,000 online-heavy month: Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra ₹20,000, food delivery ₹4,000, cab rides and flight bookings online ₹6,000, groceries at a shop ₹5,000, utility bills ₹2,000, fuel ₹3,000. Live+ pays 10% on ₹11,000 of food delivery, groceries and bills, ₹1,100, and 1.5% on ₹26,000 of shopping and travel, ₹390, total ₹1,490. The SBI card pays 5% on ₹30,000 online, ₹1,500, and 1% on the ₹5,000 of groceries, ₹50. Fuel earns no cashback on either, although SBI waives the 1% surcharge, ₹30 here, a small extra.
₹70,000 heavy month: Amazon and Flipkart ₹25,000, other online ₹15,000, food delivery ₹6,000, restaurants ₹6,000, groceries ₹10,000, utilities ₹4,000, other shops ₹4,000. On Live+ the 10% group is ₹26,000, which would be ₹2,600 but stops at ₹1,200, and ₹44,000 at 1.5% adds ₹660, so ₹1,860. On the SBI card, ₹46,000 online at 5% is ₹2,300, cut to the ₹2,000 cap, plus 1% on ₹20,000 offline, ₹200, so ₹2,200. Split the same month instead, with restaurants, groceries and utilities (₹20,000) and the ₹4,000 of other shops on Live+ and all ₹46,000 of online orders on the SBI card. Live+ gives ₹1,200 at its cap plus ₹60 (1.5% of ₹4,000), the SBI card gives ₹2,000, and the total is ₹3,260 against ₹2,200 on one card.
Lounges, forex, fuel and welcome offers
Lounges and forex
Live+ gives 2 domestic lounge visits a year, no more than 1 in each 6 months, and from 1 September 2026 one international visit a year, with no spend condition stated. CASHBACK SBI Card lists no lounge access of any kind. It's not a big travel benefit, but for someone who fly twice a year it is a real difference.
Abroad, Live+ charges a 1.99% markup and SBI Card 3.5%. On ₹50,000 spent overseas that's ₹995 against ₹1,750, before GST. The catch is that Live+ stopped paying its 1.5% on foreign currency spends on 26 July 2026, so the low markup is a saving, not a earning. SBI Card also charges its 3.5% rate as a currency conversion fee when you pay in rupees at overseas merchants on ₹1,000 or more.
Fuel
SBI Card waives the 1% fuel surcharge on transactions between ₹500 and ₹3,000, up to ₹100 a statement cycle, which covers ₹10,000 of fuel a cycle (₹100 divided by 1%) if every fill falls in that range. Live+ has no surcharge waiver. HSBC does list a separate offer of ₹250 cashback on contactless fuel purchases for spending ₹10,000 a quarter, worth to check before you rely on it.
Welcome offers and milestones
Live+ start stronger in year one. HSBC gives ₹1,000 cashback when you log on to its mobile banking app and spend ₹25,000 in the first 30 days, a ₹750 voucher from Amazon Pay, Zomato or Swiggy for activating with a single spend of ₹300 or more, and a ₹250 Amazon eGift voucher for applying online with video KYC. That's up to ₹2,000 in all, more than the joining fee with GST. CASHBACK SBI Card has no welcome gift and no milestones beyond the fee reversal.
Insurance and the rest
Neither card lists any insurance cover on its card page. HSBC's Live+ Reserve dining programme with Times Prime runs from 1 August 2026, while SBI's card keeps things bare. What you get is cashback and very little else.
Published rules side by side
| Rule | HSBC Live+ | CASHBACK SBI Card |
|---|---|---|
| Age, salaried | 18 to 65 | 21 or above; maximum given as 60 in one place and 70 in another |
| Age, self-employed | 25 to 65 | Above 25 for an online application |
| Income, salaried | ₹6,00,000 a year | Not published |
| Income, self-employed | ₹12,00,000 a year | Not published |
| Where you live | One of 21 listed cities | An area SBI Card services |
| Documents | Salary slip, residence and identity proof, PAN | PAN, masked Aadhaar or other address proof, income papers if asked |
HSBC's city list is the first filter
Live+ is offered only to residents of Chennai, Gurgaon, Delhi NCR, Pune, Noida, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kochi, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Amritsar, Baroda, Indore, Lucknow, Nagpur, Surat and Trivandrum. If you live elsewhere, the comparison end here. The income floor is ₹6 lakh a year salaried, about ₹50,000 a month (₹6 lakh divided by 12), and ₹12 lakh for the self-employed. HSBC's page lists the salary slip and the KYC papers with an "or" between them, so be ready for giving both.
SBI Card asks for less on paper
SBI Card publishes no minimum income for this card or any other. Its card finder files CASHBACK under a monthly income band of less than ₹50,000, a browsing filter rather than a rule. It asks for a stable income and a credit score preferably between 750 and 900, and its page gives a maximum age of 60 in one spot and 70 in another. You can apply online on SBI Card's site, through the ILA chatbot, on the helpline or at an SBI branch; HSBC takes applications online with video KYC, by phone or in a branch.
The RBI leaves the decision with the bank, which has to judge your own income and existing limits, and a rejected applicant must be told the reasons in writing. A published floor, or no floor, is not approval. Help with an SBI application are available from SBI Card customer care.
Which card for which spender
Pick HSBC Live+ if
- Groceries, eating out, food delivery and utility bills come to ₹12,000 or more a month, so you fill the ₹1,200 cap every month.
- You shop in stores more than online. A ₹8,000 supermarket bill gives ₹800 here and ₹80 on the SBI card.
- You live in one of HSBC's 21 cities and meet the ₹6 lakh income line, and you would be using 3 lounge visits a year.
Pick CASHBACK SBI Card if
- Online orders on many sites and apps is your main spending, up to ₹40,000 a cycle.
- You live outside HSBC's cities, or you can't show HSBC's income.
- You want cashback fast: it posts within two working days of the statement.
Or hold both
The two caps barely overlap. Live+ handles groceries, dining and bills up to ₹12,000 at 10%, the SBI card handles online shopping at 5% up to ₹40,000, and both fees are reversed if each card sees ₹2 lakh a year. That is ₹4 lakh across the two, about ₹33,333 a month (₹4 lakh divided by 12), so only a household spending that much should split this way.
When neither fits
If you travel abroad often, neither helps much: Live+ pays nothing on foreign spends and SBI charges 3.5% forex. Heavy rent, fuel or insurance payers gets nothing from either. And if you'd rather pay no fee at all, see our list of lifetime-free cards or the wider best cashback cards roundup. SBI's card is also matched against HDFC Millennia in Millennia vs CASHBACK SBI, and Live+ against a Swiggy card in Swiggy Ornge vs Live+. Both banks' full lineups are on our HSBC India page and SBI Card page.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Live+ pays 10% on dining, food delivery, grocery, shopping and utilities, up to ₹1,200 a month
- Live+ adds 2 domestic and 1 international lounge visit a year and a 1.99% forex markup
- CASHBACK SBI Card pays 5% on online spends at any merchant, up to ₹2,000 a statement cycle
- CASHBACK SBI Card publishes no income floor and credits cashback within two working days of the statement
- Both cards drop the ₹999 renewal fee at ₹2 lakh of yearly spends
Cons
- Live+ pays only 1.5% on Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra and nothing on foreign currency spends since 26 July 2026
- Live+ is open only to residents of 21 cities with at least ₹6 lakh of yearly salary
- CASHBACK SBI Card excludes utilities, insurance, railways and, since 1 April 2026, tolls and government payments
- CASHBACK SBI Card has no lounge access and a 3.5% forex markup
- Neither card lists insurance cover or pays anything on fuel and rent
Frequently asked questions
Do HSBC Live+ and CASHBACK SBI Card cost the same?
How much cashback can each card pay in a month?
Who is eligible for HSBC Live+ and CASHBACK SBI Card?
Which card is better for travel and lounges?
What changed on these two cards in 2026?
Which card pays more on Amazon and Flipkart orders?
Related
- HSBC Live+ Credit Card Review: 10% Cashback Capped at ₹1,200 a Month
- CASHBACK SBI Card Review: 5% Online Cashback and the 2026 Caps
- Best Cashback Credit Cards in India 2026: The Cap Decides the Winner
- Cashback Credit Cards Explained: How Caps, Cycles and Exclusions Work
- Swiggy Ornge HDFC Bank vs HSBC Live+: Which Food Card Pays More?
Sources
- The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, India (HSBC India): HSBC Credit Card Key Fact Statement; Important Terms and Conditions - HSBC Platinum Credit Card and HSBC Live+ Credit Card; HSBC Live+ Credit Card; HSBC Live+ Credit Card (footnote)
- SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd: Most Important Terms & Conditions (PDF 'MITC- Common-30OCT26', Ver FY 27, 16); CASHBACK SBI Card T&C booklet (FAQ 12); CASHBACK SBI Card T&C booklet (section 11); CASHBACK SBI Card T&C booklet (FAQ 21); CASHBACK SBI Card T&C booklet (FAQ 1); CASHBACK SBI Card product page (page content served from SBI Card's card data file)
Last verified: 5 November 2026
Written by Anjali Bhargawa, reviewed by BankCreds Financial Experts
BankCreds does not sell cards or take applications. Fees and rewards change; the bank's own terms on the day you apply are what count, and approval is the bank's decision.