Amex vs HSBC Credit Cards: Two Premium Names, Very Different Forex and Cashback

Both Amex and HSBC are bought for premium service, and both keep fairly short lineups. They split on two practical points: what you pay on foreign spend, and whether you get real cashback or a points currency.

Forex

Amex Membership Rewards, Platinum Travel, Platinum Reserve and the Charge card all list a 3.5% markup, and only the Centurion is lower at 2%. HSBC's Live+ charges 1.99%, Premier 0.99%, Privé 1.99% and Taj 0%. HSBC TravelOne is the exception at 3.5%. If you travel abroad on a mid-priced card, HSBC leads.

Everyday cashback

HSBC Live+ costs ₹999, waived at ₹2 lakh, and pays 10% on dining, groceries, utilities and online shopping with a ₹1,200 monthly cap per category. Income needed is ₹100,000 a month. HSBC's RuPay Cashback costs ₹499 and pays 10% on dining and groceries (₹400 cap).

Amex SmartEarn costs ₹495, waived at ₹40,000, and gives 10X points on Zomato, Flipkart, Uber and similar apps, with a cap of 500 points a month on each. Its review covers the exclusions. HSBC is simpler and better if you spend on groceries or utilities; Amex only helps if you use the listed apps.

Points and transfers

Amex's Membership Rewards earns 1 point per ₹50, with no expiry, and transfers to airline and hotel partners. The card costs ₹4,500 a year plus ₹1,000 to join, waived at ₹1.5 lakh. HSBC TravelOne costs ₹4,999, waived at ₹8 lakh, with 1:1 transfers to 14+ airline partners and 4% on travel. Amex's waiver bar is lower and its points last longer; TravelOne has the cleaner one-to-one miles ratio. It is closer than the forex gap.

Lounge access

Amex Platinum Travel costs ₹5,000 and includes Priority Pass membership, with up to 8 spend-gated domestic visits a year. HSBC TravelOne gives 4 international and 6 domestic visits a year. Amex Platinum Reserve costs ₹10,000, waived only at ₹10 lakh. See the Platinum Reserve review. On paper TravelOne has more international visits for a similar fee.

The very top

Amex's Platinum Charge costs ₹66,000 and the Centurion requires a ₹700,000 joining fee. HSBC's Taj has a ₹110,000 fee and offers unlimited lounge access with 0% forex, and the invite-only Privé costs ₹275,000. At this tier HSBC's Taj is the cheaper of the two ways to a 0% forex flagship, and the forex gap alone could decide it for a frequent traveller.

Verdict by reader

An international traveller on a mid-priced card: HSBC. A household with groceries and utilities as its main spend: HSBC Live+. A points optimiser who likes long-lived points: Amex Membership Rewards. A reader who wants a charge card: Amex Platinum Charge, the only one in this pairing.

Where to go from here

The Amex credit cards guide and the HSBC credit cards guide list every card. For the Amex mid-tier decision, read Amex Platinum Travel vs Membership Rewards.