SPONSORED. The secured Neo Mastercard promises to make rebuilding your credit a lot less painful. Just provide a security deposit as collateral, and you’ll be rolling in cashback and other perks while your score climbs. But does it actually work? To find out, I reached out to people in the Neo Reddit group, r/NeoFinancialHub. Four cardholders told me about the impact on their credit score and what their experience with Neo was actually like.
Get a $60 welcome bonus by signing up for any secured Neo Mastercard using the button below.
* Limited-time offer. Only valid for new Neo customers who open their first eligible Neo credit product and make a purchase within 90 days. Limit of one offer per customer. Offer is subject to the Neo Rewards Policy and may be amended or cancelled at any time without notice.
Rachel From Edmonton, Alberta
“My ex was getting loans out in my name.” After moving to Edmonton from the UK, Rachel (name changed for privacy) never imagined she’d be the victim of financial abuse. She was stuck footing the bill for debt she didn’t even know about and couldn’t afford. A consumer proposal was her only way out.
At the time she applied for the secured Neo Mastercard, her credit score was 550. Since opening the card 18 months ago, it has increased approximately 65 points. Today, it sits at 615, officially lifting her out of the “Poor” credit score category into the “Fair” category.
Rachel uses Credit Karma and Borrowell to track her progress and confirms that Neo reports to both bureaus, TransUnion and Equifax.
She initially provided a $500 security deposit, the amount of money she normally budgets for groceries, transportation, and incidentals. But she recently increased her deposit to $750, a process she described as quick and easy.
To date, she’s earned $1,000 in total cash back. The monthly average varies depending on local offers. So she’s intentional with her spending and checks the Neo Financial app regularly to maximize her cashback with bonus Neo partner offers.
“I know the Italian Centre is a local store that has a partner bonus,” she says. “When new restaurants open, I always check if they’re on the partner bonus.” Rachel appreciates being able to support her community while earning rewards and rebuilding her credit.
Her frustrations mostly stem from recent changes to the rewards program. She’s unhappy that Neo is sunsetting its $10 per month premium perks. “It kind of pissed me off,” she said, “and the rollout of the new program was shady and confusing.”
Rachel credits Neo for helping to build her credit and her confidence. The secured Neo Mastercard works better than most credit cards she’s had, including her Canadian Tire and RBC cards.
She says the card gave her structure and hope when her life felt like a financial house of cards. “When I’m out of this [consumer] proposal, I’ll probably still keep the secured card,” she says. “I like being reigned in.”
Graeme K. From London, Ontario
Graeme K. also came to Neo after a consumer proposal. TD, his own bank, wouldn’t give him a secured card because of his insolvency. So he turned to Google, searching ‘what are the best secured credit cards in Canada?’ He said the Neo Secured Card was at or near the top of the listicles he read. And he liked that they were Canadian.
He’s only had the card for three months, but has already seen his credit score jump 55 points, from 495 to 550. He still has a long way to go, but says the quick improvement was definitely motivating.
Graeme increased his security deposit from $200 to $500, and says the process was instant. He initially used the virtual card, then switched to the physical card when it arrived a week later.
“I’ve earned like $50 already,” he says. TD was charging him $20 a month just to access his own money. Laughing, he told me, “Just getting away from TD was effectively cashback for me.” What he earns from Neo is the cherry on top.
He explained that, in addition to partner bonus offers, he can get higher cashback rates with his Neo Everyday account, too. Maintaining a $5,000 balance boosts his cashback rate from 1% to 3%, and a $10,000 balance bumps it to 4%.
“In a month, I would get more in cashback rewards than just having it sit in a high-yield savings account.” Graeme has his emergency fund with Neo, and currently deposits his cashback earnings there to help hit his financial goals faster.
He’s had very few complaints about the Neo Secured Card. His only minor grievance came from a delayed Spotify cashback reward. But it was resolved immediately after he reached out to Neo’s support team. He praised the company’s responsiveness and community engagement, especially on Reddit, where staff actively reply to user posts.
Mary C. From Halifax, Nova Scotia
“If I had read the stuff on Reddit about how terrible Neo is before I applied, I might not have applied,” says Mary C. “But my experience has been really good.” She got the secured Neo World Elite Mastercard in January 2025 to rebuild her credit following a consumer proposal. She wanted a card with benefits like cashback and insurance, something her Home Trust secured card didn’t offer.
In less than a year, her credit score jumped from 670 to 710. That’s a 40-point increase. “I use it for absolutely everything. I go in the app weekly and pay it down.” She also uses the Neo Everyday account for bills, and the high-interest savings account to store her cashback.
To date, Mary has earned $1,470 in total cashback. Even after the $125 annual fee and the $10 per month she pays for premium perks, she’s netting $130 a month in free money.
She started with a $1,000 security deposit, later increasing it to $2,500 so she could use it as her main daily card while keeping utilization low. The process was very simple. All she had to do was send an Interac eTransfer.
Jean-Simon Chenard From Hamilton, Ontario
“On day one, I got more rewards than with my Scotiabank Visa Momentum Infinite.” Jean-Simon Chenard didn’t need to rebuild his credit. He just wanted a new rewards card without triggering a hard inquiry. That’s what prompted him to get the Neo Secured World Elite Card in January 2025.
In the first month, he earned $100 in cashback. A few months later, he noticed his score had increased 20 points. He used to monitor his credit through Credit Karma and Borrowell, but has since stopped using those apps because Neo now provides a built-in credit score monitoring feature.
Starting with a $1,000 security deposit to test the card, he soon increased it to $1,200. “This is the amount I can afford to pay off every paycheque,” he explained. The increase took about two minutes since he already had cash in his Neo Everyday account.
His average monthly cashback is about $102. One of his favourite discoveries came from Neo’s interactive map of cashback partners. “The Keg was on there at 10% cashback,” he said. “I’d never been before, but I tried it for the deal, and now it’s one of my favourite restaurants.”
He also uses it to pay his phone bill through Public Mobile, where he earns 2% back each time he reloads his prepaid balance. He spends $330 upfront to meet the spending requirement and just repeats when the balance runs low.
In fact, he was so impressed with Neo’s ecosystem that he moved all his investments over from Wealthsimple. Neo’s management fee is 0.25% higher, but he finds the returns comparable or better. He eventually closed his Scotia card, preferring Neo for both spending and investing.
He says having $1,200 tied up in a security deposit forces him to budget and spend mindfully, unlike his old $7,000 unsecured Scotia card that he once maxed out. “It took me a long time to pay it off.”
Jean-Simon has never had a single issue with customer service or delays, and described the Neo community as quick and responsive. The only thing he’d change is the ability to upgrade from secured to unsecured without closing the account.
Despite the minor drawback, he sees the card as one of the best financial tools he’s used. “It gives you more control. I’m more careful with my spending now.”
Their Credit Results at a Glance
All four Neo Secured Card users I interviewed saw real improvement, ranging from a modest bump to a big jump. The table below shows exactly how their scores moved, so you can decide whether the Neo Secured Card might help you achieve the kind of progress you’re looking for.
What’s New Since These Interviews
All four secured card users shared their experiences before Neo launched some major upgrades to their credit card ecosystem. Now they can subscribe to the Build membership for $7.99 per month. This package includes built-in credit score monitoring provided by TransUnion, credit-building educational resources, and a higher Neo Savings account rate of 2.5% instead of the standard 2.25%. The monthly fee is waived by maintaining a minimum balance of $5,000 across your Neo Everyday, Neo Savings, or Neo High-Interest Savings accounts.
Get a $60 welcome bonus by signing up for any secured Neo Mastercard using the button below.
* Limited-time offer. Only valid for new Neo customers who open their first eligible Neo credit product and make a purchase within 90 days. Limit of one offer per customer. Offer is subject to the Neo Rewards Policy and may be amended or cancelled at any time without notice.
Neo also introduced a new feature for secured cardholders called Flexible Credit. They can now access a credit limit higher than their security deposit. This provides more flexibility and faster credit limit increases without having to add more money.
