Gen Z’s credit card surge is not a spending spree — it’s a financial lifeline with consequences

Nearly 4 in 10 Gen Zers said they are opening credit cards to have a financial cushion. This is not a sign of financial confidence. It’s a signal of strain. More than 25% of Gen Z adults between 18 and 29 with a FICO Score opened at least one credit card in the past year — the highest rate of any generation. The reason? When income drops or jobs vanish, 48% of Gen Z turn to plastic to survive. For millennials, it’s 43%. For Gen X, 25%. For baby boomers, just 7%.

The cushion they’re building is fragile. Two-thirds of Gen Z adults haven’t been able to contribute to savings as they’d like, and more than 6 in 10 of the oldest Gen Zers have stopped or reduced retirement savings in recent months. The resumption of student loan payments has deepened the pressure. Since January 2025, 7.1 million borrowers who resumed payments have seen a new delinquency appear on their credit files. For those individuals, credit scores have dropped by an average of 62 points.

As of late 2025, Gen Z has the lowest average credit score among all age groups at 678 — a three-point decline from the year before and far below the national average of 714. A score of 740 or above is considered “very good.” Gen Z is not close. Their financial activity is not being penalized by recklessness. It’s being punished by necessity.