--- title: The Benefits of 'Nepo Baby' Credit Scores Don't Last Forever, Study Finds description: People who were authorized users on credit cards get a credit score boost in their 20s but later struggle with debt payments, study finds. authors: - name: Adam Hardy role: Lead Data Reporter url: https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/ bio: Adam Hardy has eight years of experience in personal finance journalism. Through approachable guides, explainers, news and more, Adam has reported extensively on credit for Money. His credit coverage won an award from the nonprofit Money Management International. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 501 covers: - Credit - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - The Penny Hoarder - Forbes Advisor - Creative Loafing - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Bloomberg - Harvard Law School - The Federal Register - National Consumer Law Center - CBS News - Becker's Hospital Review - Business Insider - Mother Jones - The Week - Fortune - The Philadelphia Inquirer - National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA) - Education Advisory Board (EAB) - The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) - This Morning with Gordon Deal - Empower - Reddit social: - https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/ editors: - name: Kaitlin Mulhere role: Editor url: https://money.com/author/kaitlin-mulhere/ bio: Kaitlin Mulhere is an editor at Money.com. Since joining in 2015, she’s written and edited about a variety of personal finance topics, including banks, credit, student debt, saving strategies and more. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2015 articles: 217 covers: - Credit - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/KMulhere - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlin-mulhere-64503048/ published: '2026-02-03T18:45:57.000Z' modified: '2026-02-04T17:47:21.000Z' section: Credit tags: - News word_count: 659 canonical: https://money.com/authorized-users-build-credit-riskier-borrowers/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo collage of a happy woman jumping in the air holding a giant credit card](https://img.money.com/2026/02/News-Nepo-Baby-Credit-Card.jpg) Americans with “nepo baby” credit scores are actually riskier borrowers, a new study finds. But that doesn’t stop them from getting better deals on loans, mortgages and more. Young adults who were authorized users on their family members’ credit cards get a [credit score](https://money.com/what-is-a-credit-score/) boost of about 30 points compared to others their age, despite having no credit activity of their own, according to an [analysis](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6066806) of 16 years of credit data by researchers at Rice University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At first, the "substantial" credit score gains serve to benefit the authorized user, the researchers found, allowing them to access more and various types of credit before they've built up their own financial history — an effect the researchers coined “nepo credit.” ## Don't let a mistake from the past hold you back ### Credit Saint can help you remove negative items from your credit report and get your financial future back on track. Select your state to get started today! [View Plans](https://money.com/pr/mc7163d7d8b6?ap_referrer=%2Fauthorized-users-build-credit-riskier-borrowers%2F) Eventually, though, the credit scores for “nepo” borrowers tended to decrease over time, as this group is more likely to fall at least 90 days behind on their payments than those who had the same initial credit scores but did not benefit from “nepo credit.” “In other words, the borrowed credit histories systematically inflate credit scores relative to true credit quality,” the researchers wrote. ## Initial benefits of ‘nepo credit’ The practice of adding family members to credit cards as authorized users — often before they’re old enough to borrow on their own — is growing in popularity. About 16% of 21 year olds are considered authorized users, nearly doubling since 2010, according to the study. Previous [research](https://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/feds/2010/201023/index.html#:~:text=We%20simulate%20what%20each%20borrower's%20FRB%20base,of%20the%20benefits%20to%20a%20consumer%20of) from the Federal Reserve shows that about 35% of all credit cardholders have at least one authorized user on their account. Depending on how long they were designated as authorized users, the credit score boost for “nepo” borrowers ranges from 22 points to 42 points, the new study found. With some lenders, an authorized user can be added as early as 13 years old. Overall, borrowers in their 20s typically have [credit scores around 680](https://money.com/what-is-a-good-credit-score-for-my-age/), which is far lower than the national average of 715. An increase of up to 42 points at the start of their financial lives puts them firmly in the “prime borrower” category (usually 660 to 719), opening doors to loans, mortgages and even employment opportunities they may have not had access to otherwise, the researchers found. Specifically, authorized users were 2.7 percentage points more likely to gain approval for an auto loan and 2.9 percentage points likelier to get a mortgage than borrowers without that leg up. Plus, when they were approved, the higher credit score allowed them to qualify for better terms, such as lower interest rates, on loan products. In “back-of-the-envelope” calculations, the researchers estimated that a 30-point credit score advantage translates to approximately $13,265 saved on interest for a $350,000 30-year fixed rate mortgage. For a $25,000 5-year auto loan, the advantage would be about $340. ## The consequences of inflated credit scores The credit score benefits of being an authorized user don’t last forever. The data shows that the more one’s credit score benefited from “nepo” credit, the likelier that person was to have a serious delinquency on their credit report. Overall, borrowers who were authorized users are 0.5 to 0.8 percentage points more likely to fall seriously behind on their debt payments than those who earned their credit scores “naturally,” the researchers said. And for the ones who received long authorized-user credit histories — in other words, the borrowers who likely saw the biggest score lift — the probability of a 90-day delinquency was 1.7 to 1.9 percentage points higher. After a few years, this leads to the credit scores of “nepo” borrowers falling to a place that better reflects their creditworthiness. But, the researchers note, that’s after they already got access to a home or car loan. ## Find a Credit Repair company that works for you ### 🥇 Most Affordable Credit Help Company! ![View Plans](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/28241/medium_ae18ab6b-f004-4597-a78c-b5057ebf3778.png) Our Partner [View Plans](https://money.com/go/91fb89678eaa?bidid=4113928461&pmeta=p129-c527-u25367&ptid=670687223&ptoken=43424c52b6aaca0e44959a6e1c248faf) ### Take Steps Toward Improving Your Credit with a Trusted Legal Team ![View Plans](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/541/medium_AEPRGHMZaPsbrAuaWpZtkFWwSMTooS.png) Our Partner [View Plans](https://money.com/go/eca919d47f43?bidid=4113928459&pmeta=p129-c527-u25367&ptid=670687223&ptoken=f2474ae90ddd027b100dba1089d4e89a) ### Offers a single, low-cost credit repair package ![View Plans](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/1992/medium_Sky_Blue_Credit_Repair_Logo.png) Our Partner [View Plans](https://money.com/go/2de6dd00fd37?bidid=4113928460&pmeta=p129-c527-u25367&ptid=670687223&ptoken=d92e667c638d9b6ab62f2d11fc17e1c7) ### All plans include unlimited disputes to all three credit bureaus ![View Plans](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/544/medium_AzCOfmOSdIObukHTtkAFkkVcednFPx.png) Our Partner [View Plans](https://money.com/go/f95166fc3510?bidid=4113928462&pmeta=p129-c527-u25367&ptid=670687223&ptoken=28a5ce8b4c88cca09b8a30da336f150d) ### Even the most basic packages include financial management tools ![View Plans](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/29349/medium_5f909068-0d8c-41f9-91b3-62c42c6b942c.webp) Our Partner [View Plans](https://money.com/go/f28c0c1327e4?bidid=4113928463&pmeta=p129-c527-u25367&ptid=670687223&ptoken=78a67064df2501321c9dcd8e42902f7a) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/28241/medium_ae18ab6b-f004-4597-a78c-b5057ebf3778.png) Clean up your credit report with Credit Saint [View Plans](https://money.com/pr/sc3ba8a1c51c?ap_referrer=%2Fauthorized-users-build-credit-riskier-borrowers%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/authorized-users-build-credit-riskier-borrowers/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Credit", "item": "https://money.com/credit/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Credit Score", "item": "https://money.com/credit-score/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The Benefits of 'Nepo Baby' Credit Scores Don't Last Forever, Study Finds" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/authorized-users-build-credit-riskier-borrowers/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/authorized-users-build-credit-riskier-borrowers/", "name": "The Benefits of 'Nepo Baby' Credit Scores Don't Last Forever, Study Finds", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2026-02-03T18:45:57.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/authorized-users-build-credit-riskier-borrowers/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/authorized-users-build-credit-riskier-borrowers/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2026-02-04T17:47:21.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "The Benefits of 'Nepo Baby' Credit Scores Don't Last Forever, Study Finds", "articleSection": "Credit", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2026/02/News-Nepo-Baby-Credit-Card.jpg", "width": 2250, "height": 1588, "caption": "News-Nepo-Baby-Credit-Card" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adam Hardy", "url": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/#author", "description": "Adam Hardy has eight years of experience in personal finance journalism. 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