I made it into my 30s without ever having a credit card; the only thing in my credit history was a car loan (which paid off in the minimum time). Then various things caused me to be traveling a lot, and I ended up looking at airline and hotel cards, since I might as well earn miles/points for money I was going to be spending anyway.

My credit report (free from my bank) tells me my score is slightly lower than it would ordinarily be because of how short the card history is. I still get a couple "pre-approved" card offers every week and the occasional offer to raise a limit, but I just shred them.