Young Americans are shunning credit cards

Credit card usage is fairly robust in the U.S., with 33% of U.S. adults owning at least one or two credit cards, and another 34% owning three or more cards as of 2014, according to CreditCards.com.

But there’s one key demographic that’s engineering a slide in credit card use: Millennials. And this trend provides a cautionary tale about future credit card usage.

According to MyBankTracker.com, 49.7% of young Americans between the ages of 18-and-34, the so-called millennial generation, don’t own a credit card. Worse for the card industry, 35% of Americans aged 25 to 34 (an age group that should start earning some decent money) “has never applied for a credit card,” according to MyBankTracker.

One big factor is the front row seat younger consumers had for the Great Recession, watching their parents and grandparents struggle with debt. Another is their own wrestling match with enormous debts of their own making.

continue reading »