Want to get a HSBC credit card? You’ll soon need a minimum income of S$65,000 p.a., more than double the existing requirement unless you’re willing to park S$50,000 with the bank. While some credit cards publish income requirements as high as S$500,000 p.a., it’s worth remembering that any threshold above the MAS-mandated S$30,000 p.a. is essentially arbitrary.
Income requirements can affect the credit limit granted (anyone earning less than S$120,000 p.a. is capped at 4X their monthly income). So in practice, income requirements are more about customer segmentation. With that background in mind, HSBC is making a very unusual move by more than doubling the income requirements for all its credit cards with effect from 1 October 2025 unless you maintain a total relationship balance (TRB) of at least S$50,000.
HSBC cards and the change
Applicants for the HSBC TravelOne Card will now need to earn at least S$65,000 p.a. unless they meet the TRB requirement. From 1 October 2025, HSBC will raise the minimum income requirements for its entire suite of cards, namely: HSBC Advance Card, HSBC Live+ Card, HSBC Premier Mastercard, HSBC Revolution Card, HSBC TravelOne Card.
The changes are summarised in the table below.
Income requirements
| Customers | Till 30 Sep 2025 | From 1 Oct 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Singaporeans & PRs (Salaried) | S$30,000 | TRB ≥S$50K: S$30,000 • TRB <S$50K: S$65,000 |
| Singaporeans & PRs (Self-employed or Commission-based) | S$40,000 | TRB ≥S$50K: S$40,000 • TRB <S$50K: S$65,000 |
| Foreigners | S$60,000 | S$65,000 |
Note: HSBC Premier Mastercard
While the HSBC Premier Mastercard is also affected by this change, it will be a moot point for most because you need a minimum TRB of S$200,000 to open a Premier relationship in the first place.
TRB and impact on applications
Basically, if you’re a Singaporean or PR with a TRB of at least S$50,000, nothing changes. You will still be able to apply for these credit cards with a minimum income of S$30,000 p.a. However, if you do not have a TRB of at least S$50,000, the minimum income requirement will increase by 117% to S$65,000 p.a. If you’re a foreigner, the minimum income requirement increases by 8% from S$60,000 to S$65,000 p.a. To be clear, this only applies to new applications, and will not have any impact on existing HSBC cardholders.
How is TRB defined?
TRB refers to the total value of your deposits, investments, and insurance with HSBC, calculated based on the average monthly balance over the last 3 months. – HSBC
What about the fixed deposit route?
Secured credit cards will remain available from 1 October 2025. To apply for a secured credit card, customers must have a TRB of at least SGD50,000 which includes a minimum fixed deposit of SGD10,000 committed to the secured credit card.
This means that you won’t be able to circumvent the TRB by going the secured credit card route. In fact, it basically means that the minimum requirement for a secured credit card has risen from S$10K to S$50K.
What’s particularly interesting to me is that HSBC has preserved this line on its website: “If you do not meet these income requirements, a minimum fixed deposit collateral of SGD10,000 will apply.” – HSBC
Whether this is an oversight or deliberate remains to be seen, but assuming it’s the latter, it’s almost as if the “real” TRB required is S$10,000, not S$50,000. Granted, it’s not quite a like-to-like comparison. This S$10,000 must be kept in a fixed deposit. In contrast, the S$50,000 can be deployed across the full range of HSBC products.
Still, if you really want a HSBC credit card, but aren’t willing to commit S$50,000 to the bank, then the fixed deposit route would be an alternative.
Why is HSBC doing this?
This is an unusual move, to put it mildly. Given the cutthroat competition for cardholders, it’s rare to see a bank adding more hoops for applicants to jump through. The fact that they’re doing so suggests that they believe their cards are compelling enough to serve as loss leaders, bringing in customers who can be cross-sold other products like insurance and investment.
However, assuming I didn’t already have a HSBC Revolution, and didn’t meet the revised income requirement of S$65,000, would I be willing to park S$50,000 with HSBC just to qualify? I think the jury’s still out on that.
“In addition to the minimum income and relationship balance requirements set out above, the Bank may, at its discretion, take into consideration the applicant’s overall financial standing, creditworthiness, employment and other relevant factors in assessing eligibility.” – HSBC
So we’ll need to wait till 1 October 2025 rolls around to see. If card application volumes drop precipitously, however, I wouldn’t be surprised if they start giving more weight to the “other factors” mentioned above.
Final Words
From 1 October 2025, HSBC will be hiking the minimum income requirements for its credit cards from S$30,000 to S$65,000 p.a., except for applicants who also maintain a TRB of at least S$50,000 with the bank. That’s a bold statement. This will cut out a large number of potential customers.
