The no-annual-fee card offer in Mexico exploded between 2022 and 2026. Today there are at least six products fighting for the same customer: someone who wants to build or rebuild Buró (Mexico's credit bureau) without paying 600-1,200 pesos a year for the privilege. The zero-fee promise holds across the board, but the gaps in cashback, MSI (interest-free monthly installments) and approval are large.
Who approves whom
Nu (Nubank) approves profiles with a clean or near-clean Buró; rejections run high on thin Buró. If you've never held a credit card, Nu most likely rejects on the first try.
Vexi (Banco Forjadores) sits among the most permissive on thin or recent Buró. It approves profiles Nu rejects, and the starting line is low (3,000-8,000 pesos) but grows fast with disciplined use.
Stori also approves thin profiles; its scoring runs similar to Vexi's. Starting line usually 2,000-6,000 pesos.
RappiCard (Banorte) prefers active Rappi users. If your Rappi account shows steady usage history, approval rate is quite high. If you don't use Rappi, the application stalls.
Hey Banco (Banregio) mostly approves profiles already holding an active Hey account. Without a prior account, you have to open one first and let a couple of months of activity build before applying for the card.
CAT, cashback and MSI — the real comparison
Nu: CAT 50-80%, no explicit cashback, MSI on Mercado Libre and select merchants. The strength is the app, the notifications and the spending dashboard.
Vexi: CAT 60-90%, cashback up to 5% on Netflix, Amazon, Mercado Libre. MSI up to 12 months at participating merchants. The strongest option if those three services are your regular spend.
Stori: CAT 80-130%, no cashback, limited MSI. Higher CAT offsets opening up to thin profiles; if you pay the full balance every month it doesn't matter.
RappiCard: CAT 55-85%, 5% cashback on Rappi, 1-3% other categories. MSI with Rappi merchants. Only worth it if you use Rappi monthly.
Hey: CAT 45-72%, cashback varies by promotion, select MSI. The cheapest if you qualify, but the entry filter is high.
How the line builds
All these cards start with a low line (2,000-10,000 pesos) and grow with use. The formula is similar across them: 30-60% utilization of the limit each month and full payment at cutoff. In 6-12 months the line climbs to 15,000-40,000. In 18-24 months it can reach 60,000-100,000 on consolidated profiles.
The mistake that slows line growth: paying the minimum each month instead of the full balance. It generates interest (expensive) and tells the scoring system «this client lives near the limit, default risk». The line grows slowly or doesn't grow at all.
The recommendation by profile
First card, empty or near-empty Buró: Vexi or Stori. The only ones that approve with some probability. Stori if all you want is to build history; Vexi if you also want cashback on Netflix/Amazon/MercadoLibre.
Rebuilding Buró after an incident closed over a year ago: Vexi remains a solid bet. Stori too.
Clean Buró, first no-fee card: Nu is the most popular and the app is the most polished. If you use Rappi constantly, RappiCard also makes sense. If you have Hey, Hey wins on cost.
Clean Buró, you already hold one no-fee card and want to add specific cashback: depends on what you buy. Vexi for Amazon/Netflix. RappiCard for Rappi. Hey for general low-cost use.
What no brand highlights
Holding three no-fee cards at the same time isn't necessarily good for your score. Buró scoring reads «aggregate utilization» across all lines — if all three sit at 60% use, your score can drop even though each one individually looks fine. The optimum: one no-fee card used with discipline (30-50% utilization, full payment at cutoff) plus a backup card closed or barely used. That setup builds score better than collecting plastic.