HSBC is Giving You Cashback For Paying Your Taxes? We Review HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme

Wouldn’t it be great to get cashback on our taxes like how we get cashback on our shopping? Hang on a second. We actually can!

HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme gives you cashback for a whole bunch of transactions, including GIRO bill payments for income taxes and insurance premiums. Such inclusions are very unusual for a rewards programme—or, for that matter, any cashback mechanic, be it for a savings account or a credit card.

Is this too good to be true? Is there a hidden catch? Here’s our review of HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme—its benefits, how it works, and if it’s right for you.

Contents:

1. 1. What is HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme?
   2. HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme—Eligibility and minimum balance
   3. How much cashback does HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme give?
   4. Which cards can I use with HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme?
   5. How can I get cashback on income tax with HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme?
   6. How much interest can I earn with the HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme?
   7. Is HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme better than a cashback credit card?
   8. Is HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme worth it for taxpayers?
   9. How does HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme compare with savings accounts?
   10. What is the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme’s sure-win spin?

 

1. What is HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme?

HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme is a rewards programme that gives you interest and cashback for saving and spending with HSBC. It works with the HSBC Everyday Global Account; meaning to say, you need to have this savings account in order to qualify for HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme.

Think of the programme as just another one of those savings accounts mechanics that gives account holders bonus interest. You know how some accounts give you bonus interest for hitting $X amount of monthly credit card spend, and more bonus interest for meeting the next tier? HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme is just one of those tiers for the HSBC Everyday Global Account—albeit a larger and slightly more complex one.

With the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme, you get 1% interest on money deposited into your HSBC Everyday Global Account, and 1% cashback on spending via your HSBC credit cards, your Everyday Global Debit Card, and GIRO bill payments from your Everyday Global Account.

The best part about the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme? The qualifying spend for the 1% cashback includes types of GIRO payments that normally don’t count. We’re talking insurance premiums, school fees, and even income taxes! 

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2. HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme—Eligibility and minimum balance

If you want to enjoy the benefits of the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme, you need to fulfil 3 requirements:

1. Have an HSBC Everyday Global Account. Yup, no other HSBC account will do.
2. Deposit $2,000 for Personal Banking and $5,000 for Premier customers into the account each month. This deposit need not be a salary credit, and can be done in multiple transactions!
3. Make at least 5 eligible transactions per month, which can include transactions made with any HSBC credit card, your HSBC Everyday Global debit card, GIRO bill payments, and fund transfers to a non-HSBC account. Good news: There’s no minimum spend required for any of these transactions.

You’ll notice that the first step to qualifying for the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme is to open an HSBC Everyday Global Account. This is a savings account and multi-currency account that lets you transact in up to 11 different currencies and make free withdrawals at HSBC ATMs in almost 60 countries and territories worldwide. It’s open to Singaporeans, Singapore Permanent Residents, and foreigners, with a minimum initial deposit of S$100.

• Eligible age: At least 18 years old
• Nationality: Singaporeans, Singapore Permanent Residents, and foreigners
• Initial deposit: $100
• Minimum balance (monthly): $2,000
• Fall below fee: $5

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3. How much cashback does HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme give?

The HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme gives you 1% cashback, capped at $300 (Personal Banking) or $500 (Premier customers) each month. Compared to cashback credit cards, this rate and monthly cap aren’t the best. Cards like the Citi Cash Back+ Mastercard and the UOB Absolute Cashback Card will give you a higher cashback rate with no monthly cap, and also with no minimum spend. Here’s a quick look at how the HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme measures up:

Credit card /reward programme	Minimum spend	Cashback rate	Cashback cap
HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme	None	1% on almost all spending categories	$300 (Personal Banking) / $500 (Premier customers) per month
Citi Cash Back+ Mastercard	None	1.6% on all your purchases	Unlimited
UOB Absolute Cashback Card	None	1.7% on everything	Unlimited
HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card	$600/month	5% on dining, groceries and petrol	$250 per calendar quarter
CIMB World Mastercard	$1,000/month	2% on Wine & Dine, Online Food Delivery, Movies & Digital Entertainment, Taxi & Automobile, Luxury Goods	Unlimited
Standard Chartered Simply Cash Credit Card	None	1.5% on all eligible purchases, such as dining, online shopping, local and overseas spend	Unlimited
DBS Live Fresh Card	$600/month	5% on online & Visa contactless spend	$75/month
American Express True Cashback Card	None	3% for the first 6 months, 1.5% thereafter	Up to $5,000 spend for first 6 months, unlimited cashback thereafter

However, what’s great about HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme is the fact that you don’t only get cashback for credit card spending. Here are all the spending components you can earn cashback on:

• Eligible spends on your HSBC credit cards
• Eligible spends on your Everyday Global Debit Card
• GIRO bill payments from your Everyday Global Account—including payments for insurance premiums and income tax!

Basically any GIRO bill payment is eligible for cashback, and this reward is the chief advantage HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme has over a regular cashback credit card. So while the cashback rates and cap for HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme aren’t fantastic, it’s probably the only way you’ll get any cashback at all on your income tax payments.

You might also be wondering what counts as eligible credit card or debit card spending. The answer is pretty much everything—shopping, food, travel, practicality anything goes! The only exceptions are things like donations, payments made to financial institutions, top-ups, and purchases of credits for prepaid cards. Yes, that includes EZ-Link and YouTrip cards. For the full list of exclusions, you’ll have to go through the HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme T&Cs.

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4. Which cards can I use with HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme?

As far as debit cards go, you must use your Everyday Global Debit Card to transact if you want cashback for your purchases under the Everyday+ Rewards Programme. This is the debit card tied to your Everyday Global Account.

On the credit card front, HSBC says eligible spends on any HSBC personal credit card qualify for cashback under the Everyday+ Rewards Programme. This includes the following HSBC credit cards:

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5. How can I get cashback on income tax with HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme?

The HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme is unique in that it lets you earn cashback from income tax payments via GIRO. Considering how much some of us pay in income taxes, that can come up to a pretty hefty cashback figure.

However, there’s something of a trick to earn cashback on income tax with HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme. If you make payment using your HSBC credit or debit card, you won’t get any cashback. But if you pay using GIRO, the 1% cashback applies. In fact, you can get cashback on GIRO bill payments for not just income tax, but also insurance premium payments,  car loan repayments, utility bills, non-HSBC credit card payments, and school fees. So if you’re paying any such recurring bills, ditch card payment. Set up GIRO for them to enjoy up to $300 cashback instead.

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6. How much interest can I earn with the HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme?

HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme lets you earn 1% interest on the money you deposit into your HSBC Everyday Global Account. There’s a minimum monthly deposit amount of $2,000 for Personal Banking customers and $5,000 for Premier customers, as well as an interest cap of $300 for both. Take note, this minimum deposit amount need not be credited as salary. You can just pump into this amount over several transactions in a month.

HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme is for holders of the HSBC Everyday Global Account, which in turn has its own prevailing base interest rate of 0.05% p.a.. Slap the account’s promotional bonus interest rates on top of that, then top it off with the 1% HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme interest, and you end up with pretty generous interest rates.

From now till 31 May 2023, HSBC’s offering an extra 4.30% to 4.40% bonus interest on the ​​Everyday Global Account. This brings the total interest up to a generous 5.50% for Premier customers and 5.35% p.a. for Personal Banking customers:

HSBC Promotion / programme	Premier customers	Personal Banking
Everyday+ Rewards Programme interest	1.00% p.a.
Everyday Global Account bonus interest	4.45% p.a.	4.30% p.a.
Everyday Global Account base interest	0.05% p.a.
Total interest	5.50% p.a.	5.35% p.a.

Whether you’re a new or existing HSBC customer, all you have to do is register by sending an SMS to 74722 in the following format by 31 May 2023:

EGA <space> First 9-digit of your Everyday Global Account number (e.g. EGA 123456789)

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7. Is HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme better than a cashback credit card?

How does HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme compare with a cashback credit card? Especially an unlimited cashback credit card, like the Citi Cash Back+ Mastercard, or a high cashback rate card like the UOB One Card? Let’s take a look at how these compare in 2 different scenarios.

1. Andy has a monthly income of $5,000, amounting to $60,000 a year and a payable income tax amount of $1,950. He spends about $500 a month on retail transactions.
2. Bernard earns $10,000 a month, with an annual income of $120,000. He pays $7,950 in income tax, and his purchases amount to roughly $1,000 a month.

Here’s a look at the cashback gained for these 2 scenarios, assuming both Andy and Bernard are Personal Banking customers with a cashback cap of $300 under HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme.

	HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme	Citi Cash Back+ Mastercard	UOB One Card
Minimum spend	$0	$0	$500
Cashback rate	1%	1.6%	Up to 15%
Cashback cap	$300/month	Unlimited	$300/quarter
Cashback from $500 monthly spend	$5	$8	$75
Cashback from $1,000 monthly spend	$10	$16	$150
Cashback from $1,950 in taxes	$19.50	NA	NA
Cashback from $7,950 in taxes	$79.50	NA	NA
Andy’s cashback over 1 year:	$5*12 + $19.50 = $79.50	$8*12 = $96	$75*12 = $900
Bernard’s cashback over 1 year:	$10*12 + $79.50 = $199.50	$16*12 = $192	$300*4 = $1200 ($300/quarter cap)

Note: The UOB One Card’s 15% cashback is a promotional rate, supported by the enhanced cashback they’re offering new members who sign up by 30 Jun 2023.

Based on our calculations above, a high cashback rate is the most important factor. The UOB One Card’s 15% cashback is only for a limited time, but it beats out HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme and the Citi Cash Back+ Mastercard hands down. The fact is, the programme’s cashback rate of 1% is low, and so the monthly cap of $300 (for Personal Banking), is not going to be your limiting factor—you’ll only max out your cashback if you spend $30,000 a month! That’s quite a large amount, even if you include larger bill payments like taxes—which are only once a year anyway.

Along the same vein, the Citi Cash Back+ Mastercard’s unlimited cashback is not going to be much of an advantage to you with a cashback rate of just 1.6%. You’ll earn more cashback from a limited, high cashback credit card like the UOB One Card that comes with a cashback cap, even if you max out this limit.

However as mentioned earlier, the generous 15% cashback on the UOB One Card is not going to last forever. Plus, the enhanced cashback is only for certain merchants, and requires you to spend $500 a month at least. If you can’t hit this minimum spend, you’re better off with HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme or the Citi Cash Back+ Mastercard, depending on how much you spend and pay in taxes each year. 

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8. Is HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme worth it for taxpayers?

As we saw in the example above, assuming there are no exceptionally high limited-time cashback rates available like the UOB One Card’s 15%, HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme is useful if you pay a large sum in taxes. Those who pay more in income taxes will benefit from the programme because their tax payments make up a significant amount of their payments in a year. Schemes that reward you with cashback for income tax payments are few and far between, so HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme stands out in this respect.

What if you aren’t a taxpayer, or do not pay a large amount of income tax? Since the bulk of your payments are going to be from your day to day purchases, just go with a cashback credit card that gives higher cashback on your spending. Don’t just be blindly drawn to promises of unlimited cashback—your cashback credit card need not be an unlimited cashback option if you aren’t going to max out the cashback cap anyway.

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9. How does HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme compare with savings accounts?

Recap: HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme works with a savings account, the HSBC Everyday Global Account. You must have this savings account in order to enjoy the programme benefits. In this sense, it’s worth comparing the account + programme with other savings accounts that don’t have a dedicated reward programme.

The 1% interest from HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme makes the HSBC Everyday Global Account a very competitive contender amongst other savings accounts in Singapore. With the current rates, you’ll get up to 5.35% (Personal Banking) or 5.50% (Premier customers) interest on your HSBC Everyday Global Account. That’s markedly higher than the DBS Multiplier’s maximum interest rate of 3.8% or Maybank SaveUp Programme’s interest rate of just over 3%.

While you can get higher rates with Citigold, you’d need to maintain an account average daily balance of S$250,000 to qualify. Comparatively, if you already have an HSBC Everyday Global Account, HSBC’s Everyday+ Rewards Programme is easier to qualify for to snag that extra 1% interest. Here’s a recap of what you need to do:

• Transact at least 5 times in a month (should be a piece of cake, with no minimum deposit!) 
• Meet the $2,000 (Personal Banking) or $5,000 (Premier customers) monthly minimum deposit

All things considered, the HSBC Everyday Global Account coupled with the Everyday+ Rewards Programme currently offers one of the highest and relatively accessible interest rates among savings accounts in Singapore. 

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10. What is the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme’s sure-win spin?

From now till 31 Oct 2023, HSBC is running a Sure-Win Everyday Promotion for Everyday Global Account holders who qualify for the Everyday+ Rewards Programme. 

Why should you take part? First off, there are a bunch of prizes to be won every month. You might walk away with a High Tea for Two at Conrad Hotel or a Samsonite Apinex Spinner 69/25 for doing basically nothing but registering yourself for the sure-win spin. Each month’s spin is also a chance for you to win Grand Lucky Draw chances, and the stakes are much higher for that. $500 worth of Takashimaya vouchers or a 1 night stay at Conrad Hotel’s Centennial Suite with breakfast for 2, anyone? 

As long as you have the Everyday Global Account and are eligible for the Everyday+ Rewards Programme, you can take part in this monthly lucky draw by sending an SMS to 74722 with the following information:

SUREWIN<space>First 9-digit of their Everyday Global Account Number (e.g. SUREWIN 123456789)

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