Millennials Aren’t Really into Bad Credit and Bad Planning

Say what you want about the much-hyped millennial generation, but you can’t fault them for not being credit conscience, a new study by Chase says.

Think pieces on the irresponsibility of young people splurging on over-priced avocado toast are a dime a dozen, but so are credit conscience millennials. According to the Chase Slate Credit Outlook, 39 percent of millennials check their credit scores once a month, besting Gen Xers (31 percent) and Boomers (28 percent).

And married millennials are more likely to know their partner’s credit score than other generations. Where 58 percent of married millennials say they are aware of their partner’s credit health, only 44 percent of Gen Xers and 38 percent of Boomers can say the same, the survey found.

Further, of millennials who want to improve their credit scores, 62 percent say they have a plan of action to get their scores up. After all, 79 percent of millennials recognize that their credit score has a major impact on the type of home they can purchase and 33 percent plan to buy a home in the next 4-5 years.

“Millennials are really doing their homework in preparation for buying a home in the near future. That includes monitoring their credit, which is key when purchasing a home,” Mical Jeanlys, General Manager of the Chase Slate credit card said in a release.

And when it comes to romance, Americans across generations agree that bad credit is out. Close to 4 in 10 Americans say that high credit card debt is a major turn-off, the survey found. And over a third say that candid discussions on finances should take place as soon as things get serious.

“When it comes to relationships, many Americans are unwilling to compromise on credit health, and for a good reason,” Jeanlys said, “credit plays a critical role in everything – from securing a loan to qualifying for competitive interest rates.”

The Chase Slate 20177 Credit Outlook report was commissioned by Chase Card Services and conducted by Socratic Research, according to a press release from Chase. Survey interviews were conducted in March and April 2017 among a representative sample of 1,000 US adults. The results have a margin of error of +/- 3.6 percent.