
In the last few years, some banks have started providing accelerated reward points for credit card spends through their portals. HDFC Bank is the pioneer, offering up to 10x reward points for credit card spends through the SmartBuy portal.
Next, American Express introduced the Reward Multiplier platform, offering up to 5x reward points. In 2025, ICICI Bank introduced the iShop portal with up to 12x reward points, and IDFC FIRST Bank introduced the Travel & Shop section on the IDFC FIRST Bank Mobile App, offering accelerated reward points.
HSBC is the latest bank to introduce accelerated reward points by launching the ‘HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points’ service. It offers up to 12x reward points.
In this article, we will understand what is the ‘HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points’ service, how the credit cardholders can earn up to 12x reward points, the monthly limits, and how to redeem the points.
What is the ‘HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points’ service?
The ‘HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points’ service allows credit cardholders an opportunity to earn accelerated reward points and redeem reward points for booking travel services. Using the service, cardholders can book flights, hotel accommodations, car rentals, etc., and earn up to 12x accelerated reward points. The service is accessible to the following HSBC credit cardholders:
- Prive
- Premier
- TravelOne
- Visa Platinum, and
- RuPay Platinum
The ‘HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points’ service is facilitated by Hopper Technology Solutions (HTS). HSBC credit cardholders can access the service through HSBC India’s website and mobile App.
Accelerated reward points
The HSBC credit cardholders can earn up to 12x reward points for booking travel services on ‘HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points’ as follows.
Card name |
Flights |
Hotels |
Car rentals |
---|---|---|---|
HSBC Prive Credit Card |
6x RP (30 RP/Rs. 150 spent) |
12x RP (60 RP/Rs. 150 spent) |
2x RP (10 RP/Rs. 150 spent) |
HSBC Premier Credit Card |
6x RP (18 RP/Rs. 150 spent) |
12x RP (36 RP/Rs. 150 spent) |
2x RP (6 RP/Rs. 150 spent) |
HSBC TravelOne Credit Card |
4x RP (16 RP/Rs. 150 spent) |
6x RP (24 RP/Rs. 150 spent) |
2x RP (8 RP/Rs. 150 spent) |
HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card |
4x RP (8 RP/Rs. 150 spent) |
6x RP (12 RP/Rs. 150 spent) |
2x RP (4 RP/Rs. 150 spent) |
HSBC RuPay Platinum Credit Card |
4x RP (8 RP/Rs. 150 spent) |
6x RP (12 RP/Rs. 150 spent) |
2x RP (4 RP/Rs. 150 spent) |
The accelerated reward points are capped at 18,000 points per cardholder per calendar month. The base reward points (1x) remain uncapped.
The credit cardholders must note the following important points:
- The accelerated reward points will be credited to the cardholder’s account within 10 days of settling the transaction.
- There will be a convenience fee for booking flight tickets. It will be Rs. 300 on domestic flights per customer per leg (one-way trip). The convenience fee will be Rs. 700 on international flights per customer per leg (one-way trip)
Redemption of reward points
A HSBC credit cardholder can redeem their reward points for booking travel services through the ‘HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points’. The reward points can be used to pay for booking flights, hotel accommodation, and car rentals. HSBC Prive and HSBC Premier Credit Cardholders can redeem their reward points for travel redemptions in the 1:1 ratio (1 reward point = Rs. 1).
A HSBC credit cardholder can pay on the ‘HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points’ portal in three ways:
- Pay the entire transaction amount with reward points
- Pay partially with reward points and balance with the HSBC credit card
- Pay the entire amount with the HSBC credit card and earn accelerated reward points
Using reward points for travel bookings through the ‘HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points’ platform is just one of the redemption options. The other reward points redemption options include purchase of gift cards, merchandise, Apple store, transfer to airline and hotel partners.
Benefits of booking through the ‘HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points’ platform
There are certain benefits that an HSBC credit cardholder enjoys when making travel bookings through the ‘HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points’ platform. The benefits include the following.
Best price guarantee: If the cardholder finds a lower rate within 24 hours of their travel booking from the platform, HSBC will refund the difference as travel credit. The refund will be credited to the cardholder’s ‘Travel with Points’ wallet, and can be used for their next booking. The best price guarantee applies to publicly available fares. The cardholder must submit the price difference claim, which their team will verify, and issue the refund, if applicable.
Price drop protection: HSBC will monitor the price of your flight booking for the next 10 days after your booking. If the price drops, the difference will be refunded to you in the form of travel credits. The refund will be up to a maximum of Rs. 1,500.
When you book a flight that the portal recommends, the fare is a “Great Price”; HSBC applies the price drop protection feature. It is applicable only for non-refundable flights.
Free cancellation for any reason: You get the flexibility for your trip with the option to cancel flights and hotel stays up to 3 hours before, and get a 100% refund.
No foreign exchange fees: All the travel bookings done through the ‘HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points’ platform are priced in Indian Rupees (INR). Hence, you will not be charged any foreign exchange fees.
Should you use the ‘HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points’ platform?
If you are an HSBC credit card holder (Prive, Premier, TravelOne, Visa/RuPay Platinum), you must definitely use the ‘HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points’ platform. If you have enough reward points, you can redeem them against travel bookings.
However, do note that you also have the option to transfer them to airline/hotel loyalty partners. Compare the benefits of transferring them versus using them for travel bookings on the platform. For flight/hotel bookings outside of loyalty programs, the ‘HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points’ platform is a great option to earn up to 12x accelerated reward points. It can boost your reward points tally significantly.
Apart from earning and redeeming reward points, the platform offers great features like best price guarantee, price drop protection, free cancellation, etc. Overall, introducing the ‘HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points’ platform is a great step to help credit cardholders earn accelerated reward points and redeem them. If HSBC can introduce gift vouchers on the platform with accelerated reward points, it will further boost the value proposition of HSBC credit cards.
Gopal Gidwani is a freelance personal finance content writer with 15+ years of experience. He can be reached on LinkedIn.
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