HSBC issues its lifetime-free Platinum on two networks. Both are ₹0 forever and earn 2 reward points per ₹150 — they differ on the welcome perks and the payment rail.
In-depth review
HSBC RuPay Platinum Credit Card
Lifetime free, links to any UPI app, and runs on JCB for acceptance in 160+ countries. The base rate is forgettable at about 0.33% cashed out — the reason to hold it is the fuel surcharge waiver worth up to ₹3,000 a year plus rotating partner discounts, all at zero cost forever. No lounge access, and 3.5% forex rules it out for travel.
Read the full review →Key features
What this card is built to do — the highlights that actually matter.
8 points/₹100 on Travel (~8% value)
Hotels via HSBC's Travel with Points portal earn 6X — 12 pts/₹150, ~8% at ₹1/pt (2:1 Accor); cap 18,000 accelerated pts/month SHARED with flights, base points uncapped
5.33 points/₹100 on Travel (~5.33% value)
Flights via HSBC's Travel with Points portal earn 4X — 8 pts/₹150, ~5.3% at ₹1/pt; cap 18,000 accelerated pts/month SHARED with hotels; ₹300 domestic/₹700 international convenience fee per leg
Lifetime Free
No annual fee — ever. Keep this card long-term without any recurring cost.
Fuel Surcharge Waiver
1% waiver on fuel transactions, capped at ₹250/month
Movie Ticket Benefit
Buy-one-get-one movie tickets via District by Zomato (partner offer)
UPI Linked
Pay UPI QR codes from your credit line. What UPI payments earn can depend on the app you pay through, so check the rewards details.
🎬 ENTERTAINMENT BENEFITS
Movies, OTT subscriptions and entertainment perks.
- Buy-one-get-one movie tickets via District by Zomato (partner offer)
Anyone who wants a free RuPay/UPI credit card to pay from PhonePe/GPay and pick up a fuel waiver and partner discounts at zero cost. Not for reward maximisers (0.33% base) or international spenders (3.5% forex).
Full reward structure
What you earn on every rupee, per spend category — as of 11 Oct 2026. Rates assume 1 pt = ₹1.00. How we value points →
| Category | Type | Rate | Monthly cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travelonly at HSBC Travel with Points · hotels | reward points | 8%8 pts/₹100 × ₹1.00 | ₹18,000one cap shared with Travel |
| Travelonly at HSBC Travel with Points · flights | reward points | 5.33%5.33 pts/₹100 × ₹1.00 | ₹18,000one cap shared with Travel |
| Other | reward points | 1.33%1.33 pts/₹100 × ₹1.00 | — |
Travel: Hotels via HSBC's Travel with Points portal earn 6X — 12 pts/₹150, ~8% at ₹1/pt (2:1 Accor); cap 18,000 accelerated pts/month SHARED with flights, base points uncapped · HSBC Travel with Points · hotels
Travel: Flights via HSBC's Travel with Points portal earn 4X — 8 pts/₹150, ~5.3% at ₹1/pt; cap 18,000 accelerated pts/month SHARED with hotels; ₹300 domestic/₹700 international convenience fee per leg · HSBC Travel with Points · flights
Other: 2 reward points per ₹150 (~1.33 RP/₹100 — ~0.33% if cashed out, ~1.33% at the best-extractable 2:1 Accor ALL transfer ≈ ₹1/pt); the same partner table as the fee-charging HSBC cards, on a lifetime-free card
Earns nothing on: Utility Bills · Government & Tax · Rent · Insurance · Fuel · Wallet Loads · Education · EMI Conversions · Cash Advances · Jewellery · Financial institutions · Money transfer
These spends earn no rewards at all — not a reduced rate, and not the base rate. They are also normally left out of any milestone or fee-waiver calculation.
Fees & charges
The numbers that matter beyond rewards — verify on the issuer site before applying. Fees below are shown inclusive of 18% GST, as of 11 Oct 2026.
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual fee (incl. 18% GST) | Lifetime free |
| Joining fee (incl. 18% GST) | Free |
| Finance charge (APR) | 3.75% p.m. |
| Forex markup | 3.5% |
| Fuel surcharge waiver | 1%, cap ₹250 |
Perks & benefits
Estimated annual value beyond rewards — ~₹500/yr in total.
Buy-one-get-one movie tickets via District by Zomato (partner offer)
Should you get it?
- Best for: UPI-first user wanting a free credit card on RuPay, Anyone who wants a fuel surcharge waiver at zero cost, Existing HSBC customer wanting a no-fee RuPay card, Low-spend user who wants a free backup card
- Entry tier — great for first-time and lower-spend users.
- Strongest value if you spend heavily on everyday spends (1.33% back; 8% only at HSBC Travel with Points · hotels).
Pros & cons
✓ Pros
- Lifetime free — no annual fee ever
- UPI-linked — earn rewards paying via PhonePe/GPay/Paytm
- Fuel surcharge waiver worth up to ₹3,000/year
- Partner discounts — District by Zomato, Swiggy Instamart, Cleartrip, Paytm, EazyDiner
✕ Cons
- Low 0.33% base reward rate — not for reward maximisers
- No airport lounge access
- 3.5% forex markup — not for international transactions
- Partner discounts (District, Swiggy Instamart, Cleartrip) are promotional and can change
Eligibility & documents
This is the figure for salaried applicants. Where HSBC sets a separate one for the self-employed, its own eligibility page gives it.
Documents required
- 📄PAN card
- 📄Aadhaar / address proof
- 📄Income proof (salary slips or ITR)
How to redeem rewards
Ways to convert what you earn into real value.
- 🎁Redeem reward points for vouchers, merchandise and statement credit via HSBC Rewards
- 🎁Convert points to airline miles and hotel loyalty points
- 🎁Earn rewards on UPI transactions via linked apps
What your HSBC Reward Points are worth
Realistic value per point by redemption route — the difference is what most people leave on the table.
Standard redemption — the floor. HSBC points redeem best by transfer, not cash
Brand & e-gift vouchers
The widest transfer menu of any Indian issuer — 20 partners (15 airlines, 5 hotels), no minimum and no cap. Premier and TravelOne convert at 1:1 on almost everything; Platinum and RuPay Platinum at roughly 2:1 — but NOT a uniform halving, United is 3:1. Best route is Accor ALL at 1:1 (≈₹2/pt), then Shangri-La: its 5:1 looks like the worst ratio here and returns ~₹1.28/pt, because a Shangri-La point is worth ~₹6.40. hsbc-taj is excluded — its points are a closed IHCL wallet that transfers nowhere.
✈ Transfer partners
Direct transfers from this card only, ranked by what a point is worth in the destination programme — plus 12 more partners. Full calculator, every currency →
The base earn is poor (2 RP per ₹150) and there is no lounge access — the card's value rests on the fuel waiver and partner discounts, which can change at renewal.
Frequently asked questions
Is the HSBC RuPay Platinum lifetime free?
Can I use it on UPI?
How does the fuel surcharge waiver work?
Does it offer lounge access?
Can I use it abroad?
How is it different from the Visa Platinum?
How has the HSBC RuPay Platinum Credit Card changed over time?
The bottom line
Judged on its reward rate it is forgettable, like the Visa Platinum — but it is lifetime-free, links to UPI, and bundles a genuinely useful fuel surcharge waiver plus District/Swiggy/Cleartrip discounts. Take it for the UPI convenience and the free perks, keep a low-forex card for travel, and it earns a slot at zero cost. If you'd rather have Times Prime than UPI and a fuel waiver, take the Visa Platinum instead.
How this page was built
Counted from this card’s own record: 3 earn rules, 2 of them capped, 2 paid only at named merchants, the spends listed as earning nothing and 1 recorded perk.
Last updated 11 Oct 2026.
Sources & verification
Fees, reward rates, and benefits for the HSBC RuPay Platinum Credit Card are taken from HSBC's official Most Important Terms & Conditions (MITC) and fee schedule — see the card's official page. Last updated 11 Oct 2026. Reviewed by Devchandra Sah. Always confirm current details on the issuer's site before applying. How we research →
Independence. CardAdvisor is an independent editorial publication. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or authorised to act for HSBC. All issuer names, product names, and payment-network marks are the property of their respective owners and appear here for identification and comparison only. Card faces shown on this site are our own original illustrations — we do not display or host issuer card artwork or logos.
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Guides and reviews related to this card.
HSBC RuPay Platinum Credit Card
Lifetime free, links to any UPI app, and runs on JCB for acceptance in 160+ countries. The base rate is forgettable at about 0.33% cashed out — the reason to hold it is the fuel surcharge waiver worth up to ₹3,000 a year plus rotating partner discounts, all at zero cost forever. No lounge access, and 3.5% forex rules it out for travel.
HSBC RuPay Cashback Credit Card
The UPI-linked sibling of HSBC Live+ — 10% on dining, food delivery and groceries, payable straight from PhonePe, GPay or Paytm, plus up to 10 lounge visits a year that Live+ does not offer. The constraint is a ₹400 combined monthly cashback ceiling: about ₹4,000 of accelerated spend exhausts it, after which you are holding a 1% card.
Shoppers Stop HDFC Bank Credit Card
A ₹299 store companion card that pays for itself on day one — the welcome kit alone is a ₹500 voucher plus a ₹350 Silver Edge membership. 3% at Shoppers Stop with points worth a full ₹1 against store vouchers, and it links to UPI. Outside that, it is weak: points fall to ₹0.20, eight categories earn nothing, and there is no fee waiver.
Value timeline
Every real-world change to this card's rewards, fees and benefits we've tracked — newest first, each linked to its source.
Tracking since 2025 · last change Jul 2025
2025
- ◆ LaunchEffective Jul 2025
HSBC launches its first RuPay credit cards
Lifetime-free RuPay Platinum on the JCB network, UPI-linked, 2 reward points per ₹150
HSBC India entered the domestic RuPay network for the first time with the RuPay Platinum (alongside the RuPay Cashback), a lifetime-free card that links to UPI apps like PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm and earns 2 reward points per ₹150 that convert to airline miles and hotel points. It runs on the JCB network for overseas acceptance, with no lounge access and a 3.5% forex markup.
Verification: CardAdvisor Research · Confidence: High
Each change links to the issuer's own document — bank T&C, MITC, notice, press release or product page — where one is public. Where the bank published nothing, it's marked CardAdvisor Research and verified against the card's current terms. Independent of the live terms shown above. This timeline is one card's slice of our market-wide change record across every tracked card.
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Source: <a href="https://cardadvisor.in/cards/hsbc-rupay-platinum#value-timeline">HSBC RuPay Platinum Credit Card value timeline</a>, CardAdvisor (CC BY 4.0).
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