HSBC Live+ vs SBI Cashback Card 2026: Which Pays More?

HSBC Live+ and the SBI Cashback Card both cost ₹999 a year and waive it at ₹2 lakh of spend, but they reward very different habits. Live+ pays 10% across dining, groceries, utilities and online shopping, with Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra excluded. SBI Cashback pays a flat 5% on all online spending, including those three platforms, and 1% offline. If your spend is spread across everyday categories, Live+ earns more. If most of it goes through the big e-commerce sites, SBI Cashback wins.

HSBC Live+ vs SBI Cashback at a glance

Feature	HSBC Live+	SBI Cashback
Joining fee	₹999	₹999
Annual fee	₹999	₹999
Fee waiver spend	₹2,00,000 a year	₹2,00,000 a year
Base reward rate	1%	1%
Dining	10% (cap ₹1,000/month)	1% offline
Groceries	10% (cap ₹1,000/month)	1% offline
Utilities	10% (cap ₹1,000/month)	see note below
Online shopping	10% excl. Amazon/Flipkart/Myntra (cap ₹1,000/month)	5% on all merchants (cap ₹2,000/month)
Reward type	Cashback	Cashback
Forex markup	1.99%	3.5%
Domestic lounge	Visa Infinite programme	None
International lounge	Visa Infinite programme	None
Min. monthly income	₹1,00,000	₹25,000

All fees attract 18% GST. These figures reflect BestCard's latest card data, and both banks revise caps and exclusions, so check the current terms on HSBC's and SBI Card's sites before applying.

A note on caps. BestCard's data lists Live+'s ₹1,000 monthly cap separately for each category. Confirm on HSBC's site whether the cap applies per category or across all categories combined, because that changes the maths for heavy spenders a great deal.

How each card earns

HSBC Live+

Live+ was moved onto the Visa Infinite network in mid-2026. Its 10% cashback covers dining and food delivery, groceries, utilities and online shopping, but Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra are explicitly carved out and earn just 1%. Everything outside the bonus categories earns 1%.

SBI Cashback

SBI Cashback is simpler. Every online merchant earns 5%, not just a list of partners, up to ₹2,000 of cashback a month. Offline spend earns 1%. Fuel is excluded from cashback, and cashback is credited automatically to your statement. We've assumed utility bills earn only the 1% base on SBI Cashback; check SBI Card's current exclusion list, since bill payments are a common carve-out.

Rewards maths: two spending profiles

₹30,000 a month

Assume: ₹10,000 online (₹4,000 on Amazon/Flipkart, ₹6,000 on other sites), ₹5,000 restaurant dining, ₹6,000 groceries at a supermarket, ₹4,000 utilities, ₹5,000 other offline spend.

HSBC Live+

• Other online: ₹6,000 × 10% = ₹600
• Amazon/Flipkart: ₹4,000 × 1% = ₹40
• Dining: ₹5,000 × 10% = ₹500
• Groceries: ₹6,000 × 10% = ₹600
• Utilities: ₹4,000 × 10% = ₹400
• Other: ₹5,000 × 1% = ₹50
• Monthly: ₹2,190, yearly: ₹26,280

SBI Cashback

• All online: ₹10,000 × 5% = ₹500
• Dining, groceries, utilities, other: ₹20,000 × 1% = ₹200
• Monthly: ₹700, yearly: ₹8,400

Live+ earns roughly three times as much here, because most of this spend falls in its 10% categories.

₹60,000 a month, online-heavy

Assume: ₹30,000 online (₹15,000 on Amazon/Flipkart/Myntra, ₹15,000 on other sites), ₹8,000 dining, ₹8,000 groceries, ₹6,000 utilities, ₹8,000 other.

HSBC Live+

• Other online: ₹15,000 × 10% = ₹1,500, capped at ₹1,000
• Amazon/Flipkart/Myntra: ₹15,000 × 1% = ₹150
• Dining: ₹8,000 × 10% = ₹800
• Groceries: ₹8,000 × 10% = ₹800
• Utilities: ₹6,000 × 10% = ₹600
• Other: ₹8,000 × 1% = ₹80
• Monthly: ₹3,430, yearly: ₹41,160

SBI Cashback

• All online: ₹30,000 × 5% = ₹1,500 (under the ₹2,000 cap)
• Everything else: ₹30,000 × 1% = ₹300
• Monthly: ₹1,800, yearly: ₹21,600

Live+ still leads, but only if its caps work per category. If HSBC applies a single ₹1,000 cap across all categories, Live+ would earn ₹1,000 from its bonus categories plus ₹230 of base cashback on Amazon/Flipkart and other spend, about ₹1,230 a month in this example (a little more if bonus-category spend above the cap still earns 1%), and SBI Cashback would win comfortably. This is the single most important term to check before choosing.

SBI Cashback also pulls ahead for anyone whose spend is overwhelmingly on Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra. ₹40,000 a month on those three earns ₹2,000 on SBI (at the cap) against just ₹400 on Live+.

Lounge and travel

Live+ is the clear winner for travel. It carries complimentary domestic and international lounge access through the Visa Infinite programme and a 1.99% forex markup. SBI Cashback has no lounge access and a 3.5% markup, so it should stay home when you travel abroad. On ₹50,000 of foreign spend, Live+'s markup costs ₹995 against SBI's ₹1,750, before 18% GST on the markup.

Fees and waivers

Both cards cost ₹999 + GST and waive it at ₹2 lakh of annual spend in BestCard's data. Both profiles above clear that easily, so the fee is effectively zero for regular users. Our guide to annual fee waivers explains how spend thresholds are usually counted.

The real gate is income. Live+ needs ₹1 lakh a month; SBI Cashback needs ₹25,000.

Who should pick which

Pick HSBC Live+ if:

• You earn ₹1 lakh a month or more
• Your spend is spread across dining, food delivery, groceries and bills
• You shop online mostly outside Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra
• You travel abroad and want lounge access in the same card

Pick SBI Cashback if:

• Most of your online spend is on Amazon, Flipkart or Myntra
• Your income is below ₹1 lakh a month
• You want one simple rate with automatic credit and no category tracking

You can apply for the SBI Cashback Card directly. For more detail, read our SBI Cashback Card review and the planned HSBC Live+ review.

Verdict

For a broad spender earning ₹1 lakh a month or more, HSBC Live+ is the stronger card on paper, often by a wide margin, and it adds lounges and a low forex markup. But that advantage depends on its caps working per category, so confirm that with HSBC first. SBI Cashback remains the better pick for Amazon and Flipkart-heavy shoppers and for anyone below Live+'s income bar.

Comparing other cashback cards too? See best cashback credit cards for 2026 and SBI Cashback vs Axis ACE, check caps in our reward caps explainer, or put HSBC Live+ and SBI Cashback through the card matcher with your own numbers.