HSBC Live+ vs Scapia (Federal Bank)
Scapia (Federal Bank) by ₹2,400 a year at ₹75,000 a month
Kotak Cashback+ vs HSBC Live+
Kotak Mahindra Bank
HSBC Live+ vs Kotak Cashback+: which should you pick?
Two category cashback cards, ₹750 against ₹999, both waived at ₹2,00,000 of spend. Kotak Cashback+ pays 5% on online groceries, food delivery, movies and OTT and 3% on fuel, all inside one ₹750 cap a billing cycle, and 0.5% on everything else; 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. HSBC Live+ out-earns Kotak Cashback+ at every spend level the page tests, and Kotak's case is the fuel leg, which most cards pay nothing on. Live+ opens two domestic lounge visits a year and one international; the Kotak card none.
At every spend from ₹25,000 to ₹5 lakh a month, HSBC Live+ beats Kotak Cashback+, and its lead widens from ₹2,800 to ₹57,600 a year as spend climbs. 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 Kotak Cashback+'s ₹4,100. On the rows below, Kotak Cashback+ has no clear edge over HSBC Live+.
Side by side
| Fact | Kotak Cashback+ | HSBC Live+ |
|---|---|---|
| Can you get it | Open to apply | Open to apply |
| Fee (joining · annual, + GST) | ₹750/yr✓ Better | ₹999/yr |
| Fee waiver | Spend ₹2,00,000 a year | Spend ₹2,00,000 a year |
| Reward rate on everyday spend | 0.5% | 1.5%✓ Better |
| Points | Kotak Reward Points | HSBC Cashback |
| Our value per point | ₹0.25 † | ₹1.00 |
| Transfer partners | None | None |
| Lounges it gets you into | 0 of 792 | 0 of 792 |
| Forex markup | not published | 1.99% + GST |
| Welcome benefit | Not published — Kotak lists no welcome or activation benefit for this card on the product page or in its Key Fact Statement | ₹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 |
✓ Better marks the side that wins a row; rows that compare unlike things are not scored. HSBC Live+ is ahead on 8 of the 9 rows we can call.
More facts 7 rows
| Fact | Kotak Cashback+ | HSBC Live+ |
|---|---|---|
| Our rank | #165 | #45✓ Better |
| Our verdict | Keep | Keep |
| Lounge visits in India | None — the variant is not named in any of Kotak's three participating-lounge sets | 2 visits/yr — no more than one every 6 calendar months |
| Lounge visits abroad | None — Kotak's lounge programme is India-only | 1 visit/calendar year, in force since 1 September 2026; booked through HSBC's Thriwe platform (hsbcliveplus.thriwe.com) |
| Interest (APR) | 3.75%/mo (45.00%/yr) | 3.75%/mo (45%/yr), computed from transaction date |
| Income needed (salaried) | not published | ₹6L+/yr; age 18–65 |
| Income needed (self-employed) | not published | ₹12L+/yr; age 25–65 |
† Kotak Cashback+: This card redeems its points at the TOP of the Kotak range — ₹1 a point against the statement, against a ₹0.25 house value across the range — but only in one direction and on one platform. Kotak's own words: "Accrued points can only be redeemed as cashback against statement outstanding. 1 point = ₹1. Minimum 500 points required for redemption", on the Kotak Unbox platform. And they die faster than the rest of the Kotak book: "Unclaimed cashback will expire in 1 year", against 24 months on the ordinary Kotak rewards programme.
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 | Kotak Cashback+ | HSBC Live+ |
|---|---|---|
| At ₹30,000 a month | ₹1,600 | ₹5,100✓ Better |
| At ₹75,000 a month | ₹4,100 | ₹12,700✓ Better |
| At ₹1.5 lakh a month | ₹8,100 | ₹25,400✓ Better |
| At ₹3 lakh a month | ₹16,200 | ₹50,800✓ Better |
| At ₹5 lakh a month | ₹27,000 | ₹84,600✓ Better |
| Pays for itself from | ₹14,000 a month | ₹6,000 a month✓ 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 | Kotak Cashback+ | HSBC Live+ | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹25,000 | ₹1,400 | ₹4,200✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹2,800 |
| ₹50,000 | ₹2,700 | ₹8,500✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹5,800 |
| ₹75,000 | ₹4,100 | ₹12,700✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹8,600 |
| ₹1 lakh | ₹5,400 | ₹16,900✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹11,500 |
| ₹1.25 lakh | ₹6,800 | ₹21,200✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹14,400 |
| ₹1.5 lakh | ₹8,100 | ₹25,400✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹17,300 |
| ₹1.75 lakh | ₹9,500 | ₹29,600✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹20,100 |
| ₹2 lakh | ₹10,800 | ₹33,800✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹23,000 |
| ₹2.25 lakh | ₹12,200 | ₹38,100✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹25,900 |
| ₹2.5 lakh | ₹13,500 | ₹42,300✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹28,800 |
| ₹2.75 lakh | ₹14,900 | ₹46,500✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹31,600 |
| ₹3 lakh | ₹16,200 | ₹50,800✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹34,600 |
| ₹3.25 lakh | ₹17,600 | ₹55,000✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹37,400 |
| ₹3.5 lakh | ₹18,900 | ₹59,200✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹40,300 |
| ₹3.75 lakh | ₹20,300 | ₹63,500✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹43,200 |
| ₹4 lakh | ₹21,600 | ₹67,700✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹46,100 |
| ₹4.25 lakh | ₹23,000 | ₹71,900✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹48,900 |
| ₹4.5 lakh | ₹24,300 | ₹76,100✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹51,800 |
| ₹4.75 lakh | ₹25,700 | ₹80,400✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹54,700 |
| ₹5 lakh | ₹27,000 | ₹84,600✓ Better | HSBC Live+ by ₹57,600 |
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
Kotak Cashback+'s Kotak Reward Points cannot be moved to any airline or hotel; HSBC Live+'s HSBC Cashback 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
Kotak Cashback+
- All three accelerated rates share ONE ceiling of 750 points a billing cycle — about ₹750 a month, or ₹15,000 of 5% spend
- Past that ceiling the accelerated categories earn NOTHING, not even the 0.5% base — Kotak says so in its own FAQ
- The 5% is online only: Kotak states that offline grocery, dining and entertainment purchases earn the base rate instead
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
Common questions 5 answered
Which is better, Kotak Cashback+ or HSBC Live+?
At every spend from ₹25,000 to ₹5 lakh a month, HSBC Live+ beats Kotak Cashback+, and its lead widens from ₹2,800 to ₹57,600 a year as spend climbs. 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 Kotak Cashback+'s ₹4,100. On the rows below, Kotak Cashback+ has no clear edge over HSBC Live+.
Kotak Cashback+ or HSBC Live+: which is worth more at ₹3 lakh a month?
HSBC Live+ beats Kotak Cashback+ by ₹34,600 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, Kotak Cashback+ or HSBC Live+?
Kotak Cashback+: ₹750/yr against ₹999/yr. Kotak Cashback+ waives its fee if you spend ₹2,00,000 a year; HSBC Live+ waives its fee if you spend ₹2,00,000 a year.
Which gets you into more airport lounges, Kotak Cashback+ or HSBC Live+?
Both get you into 0 of the 792 lounges we track.
How current is this comparison?
Both cards were last checked against their banks' own documents on 26 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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More on these two cards 11 pages
- What Kotak Reward Points are worth
- What HSBC Cashback 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
- UPI on a credit card: the RuPay route to travel points
- Kotak Cashback+ vs CASHBACK SBI Card
- HSBC Live+ vs HDFC Bank Millennia
- HSBC Live+ vs CASHBACK SBI Card
- HSBC Live+ vs Swiggy BLCK HDFC Bank Credit Card
Sources
Both cards were last checked against their banks' own documents on 26 Oct 2026. Every fact above comes from these 9 documents; the banks' own are marked official. A fact a bank does not publish shows as "not published", never as zero.
The documents 9 sources
- Official Kotak Cashback+ product page — the 5%/5%/3%/0.5% grid, the 750-point monthly ceiling on the accelerated legs, and the ₹1-a-point statement-only redemption read
- Official Key Fact Statement — Joining Fee ₹750 and Annual Fee ₹750 in two separately labelled columns, waived at ₹2 lakh of retail spend read
- Official Kotak Credit Cards India Lounge Programme — the programme document this card's lounge entitlement is read against read
- 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