alt Hacker NewsDepends on your definition of 'penalized'. FICO is all about identifying good ROI candidates.
Say you are a lender, you want someone who constantly uses credit, always pays their bills and has the capacity take on new debt. That's what FICO is for.
It's not some consumer reward system. It's not your score to game, it's a score on you for companies to game. Quit playing the game.
Credit score NULL.
IMO the game is to get the highest credit score while spending the least on credit. That way if you e.g. need to acquire housing, a reliable vehicle, business loans, even employment or insurance, you will be able to and can get a good deal. Sure, paying nothing saves you money, but it also costs you the opportunity cost between what you could earn/save by utilizing credit vs waiting months to years to save up and pay cash.