HSBC Live+ vs Scapia (Federal Bank)
Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹2,400 a year at ₹75,000 a month
HSBC Live+ vs Amazon Pay ICICI Bank
Amazon Pay ICICI Bank vs HSBC Live+: which should you pick?
The ₹999 everyday cashback card against the free Amazon card. Live+ pays 10% on dining, food delivery, groceries, shopping and utilities under one ₹1,200 cap a month and 1.5% on most other spend with no cap; Amazon Pay ICICI pays 5% on Amazon.in for Prime members and 1% almost everywhere else, uncapped, as Amazon Pay balance. HSBC Live+ out-earns Amazon Pay ICICI at every spend level the page tests. Its fee waives at ₹2,00,000 of spend, and the Amazon card never charges one. Live+ opens two domestic lounge visits a year and one international, the Amazon card none, and ICICI calls the Amazon card an invite-only programme.
HSBC Live+ is the better card at every spend we test, and its lead over Amazon Pay ICICI Bank grows as you spend more: ₹1,700 a year at ₹25,000 a month, ₹34,200 at ₹5 lakh. At ₹75,000 a month the gap is mostly what each card earns on your spend: HSBC Live+ returns ₹12,700 a year in rewards to Amazon Pay ICICI Bank's ₹7,600. Pick Amazon Pay ICICI Bank instead if you would rather pay less to get the card: Amazon Pay ICICI Bank costs ₹0 — lifetime free, HSBC Live+ ₹999/yr.
Side by side
| Fact | HSBC Live+ | Amazon Pay ICICI Bank |
|---|---|---|
| Can you get it | Open to apply✓ Better | By invitation only |
| Fee (joining · annual, + GST) | ₹999/yr | ₹0 — lifetime free✓ Better |
| Fee waiver | Spend ₹2,00,000 a year | None |
| Reward rate on everyday spend | 1.5%✓ Better | 1.0% |
| Points | HSBC Cashback | Amazon Pay balance |
| Our value per point | ₹1.00 | ₹1.00 |
| Transfer partners | None | None |
| Lounges it gets you into | 0 of 792 | 0 of 792 |
| Forex markup | 1.99% + GST | 1.99% + GST |
| Welcome benefit | ₹1,000 cashback for downloading and logging on to the HSBC India app and spending ₹25,000 within 30 days of card issuance, plus a voucher worth ₹750 for Amazon Pay, Zomato or Swiggy on activation with a single transaction of ₹300 or more, and a ₹250 Amazon eGift Voucher for a video-verified online application | not published |
✓ Better marks the side that wins a row; rows that compare unlike things are not scored. HSBC Live+ is ahead on 7 of the 9 rows we can call.
More facts 8 rows
| Fact | HSBC Live+ | Amazon Pay ICICI Bank |
|---|---|---|
| Our rank | #45 | Not ranked (invite-only) |
| Our verdict | Keep | Keep |
| Lounge visits in India | 2 visits/yr — no more than one every 6 calendar months | None |
| Lounge visits abroad | 1 visit/calendar year, in force since 1 September 2026; booked through HSBC's Thriwe platform (hsbcliveplus.thriwe.com) | None |
| Forex, in the bank’s words | 1.99% + GST | 1.99% + GST — named as exception 4 to ICICI's 3.50% standard in the master MITC |
| Interest (APR) | 3.75%/mo (45%/yr), computed from transaction date | 3.75%/mo (45%/yr) |
| Income needed (salaried) | ₹6L+/yr; age 18–65 | ₹20,000+/month (product page eligibility panel) |
| Income needed (self-employed) | ₹12L+/yr; age 25–65 | ₹30,000+/month (product page eligibility panel) |
Our value per point is what we think a point is worth when you use it well; every currency's figure and its reasoning is on points values.
What each is worth to you
| Monthly spend | HSBC Live+ | Amazon Pay ICICI Bank |
|---|---|---|
| At ₹30,000 a month | ₹5,100✓ Better | ₹3,000 |
| At ₹75,000 a month | ₹12,700✓ Better | ₹7,600 |
| At ₹1.5 lakh a month | ₹25,400✓ Better | ₹15,100 |
| At ₹3 lakh a month | ₹50,800✓ Better | ₹30,200 |
| At ₹5 lakh a month | ₹84,600✓ Better | ₹50,400 |
| Pays for itself from | ₹6,000 a month | The first rupee✓ Better |
On an everyday mix of spending (groceries, bills, travel, fuel and the rest), using each card's own rules for each kind of spend. The same figures as each card's own page.
Every spend from ₹25,000 to ₹5 lakh 20 steps
| Monthly spend | HSBC Live+ | Amazon Pay ICICI Bank | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹25,000 | ₹4,200✓ Better | ₹2,500 | HSBC Live+ by ₹1,700 |
| ₹50,000 | ₹8,500✓ Better | ₹5,000 | HSBC Live+ by ₹3,500 |
| ₹75,000 | ₹12,700✓ Better | ₹7,600 | HSBC Live+ by ₹5,100 |
| ₹1 lakh | ₹16,900✓ Better | ₹10,100 | HSBC Live+ by ₹6,800 |
| ₹1.25 lakh | ₹21,200✓ Better | ₹12,600 | HSBC Live+ by ₹8,600 |
| ₹1.5 lakh | ₹25,400✓ Better | ₹15,100 | HSBC Live+ by ₹10,300 |
| ₹1.75 lakh | ₹29,600✓ Better | ₹17,600 | HSBC Live+ by ₹12,000 |
| ₹2 lakh | ₹33,800✓ Better | ₹20,200 | HSBC Live+ by ₹13,600 |
| ₹2.25 lakh | ₹38,100✓ Better | ₹22,700 | HSBC Live+ by ₹15,400 |
| ₹2.5 lakh | ₹42,300✓ Better | ₹25,200 | HSBC Live+ by ₹17,100 |
| ₹2.75 lakh | ₹46,500✓ Better | ₹27,700 | HSBC Live+ by ₹18,800 |
| ₹3 lakh | ₹50,800✓ Better | ₹30,200 | HSBC Live+ by ₹20,600 |
| ₹3.25 lakh | ₹55,000✓ Better | ₹32,800 | HSBC Live+ by ₹22,200 |
| ₹3.5 lakh | ₹59,200✓ Better | ₹35,300 | HSBC Live+ by ₹23,900 |
| ₹3.75 lakh | ₹63,500✓ Better | ₹37,800 | HSBC Live+ by ₹25,700 |
| ₹4 lakh | ₹67,700✓ Better | ₹40,300 | HSBC Live+ by ₹27,400 |
| ₹4.25 lakh | ₹71,900✓ Better | ₹42,800 | HSBC Live+ by ₹29,100 |
| ₹4.5 lakh | ₹76,100✓ Better | ₹45,400 | HSBC Live+ by ₹30,700 |
| ₹4.75 lakh | ₹80,400✓ Better | ₹47,900 | HSBC Live+ by ₹32,500 |
| ₹5 lakh | ₹84,600✓ Better | ₹50,400 | HSBC Live+ by ₹34,200 |
How we work out the yearly value
We put each card through the same everyday mix of spending, apply that card's own rules for each kind of spend (some earn nothing on fuel or bills), add its milestone and renewal bonuses at our value per point, and take off the fee unless that spend waives it. Bonus categories that need you to shop a certain way are not counted. Your own mix will differ: try your numbers in the calculator, or read how we value cards.
Before you choose
Transfer partners 0 and 0
HSBC Live+'s HSBC Cashback cannot be moved to any airline or hotel; Amazon Pay ICICI Bank's Amazon Pay balance cannot be moved to any.
Every partner and ratio is on each card's page; the best value for your points is on the transfer optimizer.
Watch out 6 points
HSBC Live+
- International spends earn NO cashback — HSBC removed it when it cut the markup to 1.99%
- The 10% rate is capped at ₹1,200 a month, and Amazon and Flipkart are explicitly excluded from it — Myntra keeps the 10% only until 31 October 2026, then joins them at 1.5%
- Cashback is 0% on fuel, rent, insurance, education, government, financial institutions, e-wallets, jewellery, hospitals and business-to-business MCCs
Amazon Pay ICICI Bank
- International spends have earned ZERO rewards since 11 Oct 2025 — the T&C says so, the product page does not
- No lounge access of any kind, domestic or international
- Amazon Pay balance is a closed wallet: no transfers, no airline, no cash-out
Common questions 5 answered
Which is better, HSBC Live+ or Amazon Pay ICICI Bank?
HSBC Live+ is the better card at every spend we test, and its lead over Amazon Pay ICICI Bank grows as you spend more: ₹1,700 a year at ₹25,000 a month, ₹34,200 at ₹5 lakh. At ₹75,000 a month the gap is mostly what each card earns on your spend: HSBC Live+ returns ₹12,700 a year in rewards to Amazon Pay ICICI Bank's ₹7,600. Pick Amazon Pay ICICI Bank instead if you would rather pay less to get the card: Amazon Pay ICICI Bank costs ₹0 — lifetime free, HSBC Live+ ₹999/yr.
HSBC Live+ or Amazon Pay ICICI Bank: which is worth more at ₹3 lakh a month?
HSBC Live+ beats Amazon Pay ICICI Bank by ₹20,600 a year at ₹3 lakh a month. Both figures are a year's rewards and bonuses on an everyday spending mix, after the fee.
Which costs less to get, HSBC Live+ or Amazon Pay ICICI Bank?
Amazon Pay ICICI Bank: ₹0 — lifetime free against ₹999/yr. HSBC Live+ waives its fee if you spend ₹2,00,000 a year; Amazon Pay ICICI Bank has no fee waiver.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, HSBC Live+ or Amazon Pay ICICI Bank?
Both get you into 0 of the 792 lounges we track.
How current is this comparison?
HSBC Live+ was last checked against its bank's own documents on 26 Oct 2026, Amazon Pay ICICI Bank on 18 Oct 2026. Every figure here is worked out again from those records each time the site is built, so a change to either card shows up the day we log it.
Related comparisons
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HSBC Live+ vs HDFC Bank Millennia
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More on these two cards 17 pages
- What HSBC Cashback are worth
- What Amazon Pay balance are worth
- HSBC Live+: joint #1 for Telecom
- HSBC Live+: joint #1 for Dining
- HSBC Live+: joint #1 for Utilities
- HSBC Live+: #2 for Groceries
- Amazon Pay ICICI Bank: joint #1 for Amazon & Flipkart
- HSBC Live+ vs CASHBACK SBI Card
- Kotak Cashback+ vs HSBC Live+
- HSBC Live+ vs Swiggy BLCK HDFC Bank Credit Card
- Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank vs Amazon Pay ICICI Bank
- Amazon Pay ICICI Bank vs Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card
- Amazon Pay ICICI Bank vs HDFC Bank Millennia
- Flipkart SBI Card vs Amazon Pay ICICI Bank
- CASHBACK SBI Card vs Amazon Pay ICICI Bank
- Swiggy BLCK HDFC Bank Credit Card vs Amazon Pay ICICI Bank
- SimplyCLICK SBI Card vs Amazon Pay ICICI Bank
Sources
HSBC Live+ was last checked against its bank's own documents on 26 Oct 2026, Amazon Pay ICICI Bank on 18 Oct 2026. Every fact above comes from these 10 documents; the banks' own are marked official. A fact a bank does not publish shows as "not published", never as zero.
The documents 10 sources
- Official District by Zomato offer T&C (1 Aug–31 Oct 2026) — the Movies row names this card for a buy-one-get-one up to ₹200 off the second ticket, once a calendar month, Fridays and Saturdays read
- Official Shared Platinum / Live+ tariff sheet — Live+ ₹999 a year, reversed with GST above ₹2,00,000 of eligible spend, and 1.99% on foreign currency where Platinum pays 3.5% read
- Official Service Guide — 10% cashback capped at ₹1,200/month on dining, groceries, shopping and utilities, MCC-classified; 1.5% unlimited elsewhere; three lounge visits a year read
- Official Welcome cashback T&C — ₹1,000 for downloading the HSBC India mobile app and transacting ₹25,000 within 30 days of issuance, for cards applied for between 26 July 2026 and 31 December 2026 read
- Official Product page — Visa Infinite, three welcome clauses, 10% at Myntra until 31 October 2026, the international lounge visit now live via Thriwe, and a 1GB global eSIM a year read
- Official The retired HSBC Cashback Credit Card page — HSBC states there that the Cashback Credit Card is now this card read
- Official ICICI's credit-card charges notice — 2% on skill-based gaming and 1% on wallet loads of ₹5,000+ from 15 Jan 2026; 1% on transportation spends past ₹50,000 from 1 Feb 2026 read
- Official Product page — no joining fee, no annual fee, 1.99% forex mark-up, and 5%/3%/2%/1% rewards credited as Amazon Pay balance read
- Official Card T&C (last updated 12 Oct 2026), cl. XXIV — rewards credit to Amazon Pay balance, and international transactions have earned nothing since 11 Oct 2025 read
- Official MITC (re-issued October 2026) — Nil joining, Nil annual, Nil add-on; 1.99% forex named as exception 4 to the 3.50% standard read