Yendo Credit Card Review: A Card Secured by Your Car

Disclosure: Some links are sponsored. We may earn a commission if you apply through them and are approved, at no extra cost to you. This is general information, not financial advice.

Yendo offers a credit card secured by the value of your car rather than a cash deposit. That's unusual, and it can help people with thin or damaged credit get a bigger limit than a starter card. But it also means your vehicle is collateral. Here are the facts, taken from Yendo's own website and FAQ, checked October 15, 2026. Terms can change, so read your offer and cardholder agreement before accepting.

Not financial advice: this is general education. Your situation is different, so read every product's full terms and consider free help from a nonprofit credit counselor before taking on new credit.

Yendo at a glance

What it is: a Mastercard credit card issued by Cross River Bank, Member FDIC, with Yendo as program manager. It's secured by a lien on your vehicle's title rather than a cash deposit.
Purchase APR: fixed, 24.88% to 35.88%. Cash advance and balance transfer APR: 35.88%, charged from the transaction date.
Annual fee: $40 on the Auto Card per Yendo's FAQ, first charged with your first purchase (Yendo's site-wide disclosure says annual fees across its cards range from $40 to $69, so check your offer).
Other fees: one-time lien placement fee up to $25 (paid to your state, added to your balance); cash advance fee $3 or 3%, whichever is greater; balance transfer fee $5 or 5%, whichever is greater; foreign transaction fee 3%; late fee up to $20; returned payment fee up to $25.
Credit limits: $450 to $10,000, based on your vehicle's make, model, mileage and condition, your income and expenses, and your credit history.
Credit reporting: to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion monthly.
Credit checks: pre-approval doesn't affect your credit score; accepting an offer triggers a full credit check, which can.
Rewards: 1.5% cash back as a statement credit on eligible purchases, only while you're enrolled in autopay.
Requirements: vehicle with equity, titled in your name and registered in a state Yendo serves; valid government ID; income and ability to repay. If you still owe on the car, Yendo says you'd need to refinance that loan with it in the same application.

The big risk: your car is collateral. Yendo records a lien on your title while the account is open. You can't sell or trade the vehicle without settling the account first. Yendo says that if you fall behind it will first try to work out a plan, but after written notice and as a last resort it may act as lienholder to recover the balance, which can mean losing the vehicle. If you depend on your car for work, weigh that seriously.

How applying works

Check your offer in Yendo's app or website. Yendo says pre-approval takes about a minute and doesn't affect your credit score.
Verify your identity and vehicle with photos from your phone.
If you accept the offer, Yendo runs a full credit check and records a lien on your title, electronically in most states.
Yendo says you can use a virtual card within minutes of approval; the physical card arrives by mail. Until it does, Yendo says eligible customers may access up to 40% of their limit, capped at $1,500.

Paying it off and closing

Paying your statement balance in full by the due date means no interest on purchases. Your due date is at least 25 days after each billing cycle closes. Yendo's site says that to close the account you pay the balance to zero and contact it, and it releases the lien within 10 days of confirming the account is settled.

Pros

No cash deposit, so you don't tie up savings.
Potentially higher limit ($450 to $10,000) than many starter or secured cards.
Reports to all three bureaus, so on-time use builds history.
Pre-approval without affecting your score.
1.5% cash back with autopay.
Yendo says it doesn't install trackers or starter-interrupt devices.

Cons and risks

Your car is collateral, and as a last resort you could lose it.
You can't sell or trade the vehicle without settling the account first.
High APR (24.88% to 35.88%) if you carry a balance, plus an annual fee and a lien fee.
If you still owe on the car, you'd have to refinance that loan with Yendo.
Not available in every state.

Where it's available

Through our link, Yendo isn't available to residents of Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota or Wisconsin. Yendo's own locations page also doesn't list Delaware, Vermont or Washington, D.C. The vehicle has to be registered in a state Yendo serves.

Who it might suit

People who own a car with real equity, need more than a typical starter limit, can't easily spare a cash deposit, and are confident they'll pay on time and ideally in full. If you can afford a few hundred dollars for a regular secured card, that's usually the lower-risk way to start. See Yendo vs a regular secured card.

Check your Yendo offer

We may earn a commission if you apply through these links and are approved, at no extra cost to you. This is a sponsored link.

Yendo is a credit card secured by your car's value instead of a cash deposit. Limits run from $450 to $10,000, the purchase APR is 24.88% to 35.88%, and it reports to all three credit bureaus. The trade-off: Yendo places a lien on your title, so if you don't repay, your vehicle is at risk. Checking your offer doesn't affect your credit score. Read our full Yendo review.

Sources: Yendo Auto Card page, FAQ, locations and home page disclosures, checked October 15, 2026.

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