The Ultimate Guide to Credit Cards
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
John Ulzheimer
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About The Author

John Ulzheimer is an expert on credit reporting, credit scoring, and identity theft. The author of four books on the subject, Ulzheimer has been featured thousands of times in media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, NBC Nightly News, New York Times, CNBC, and countless others.

With over 30 years of credit-related professional experience, including with both Equifax and FICO, Ulzheimer is the only recognized credit expert who actually comes from the credit industry.

He has been an expert witness in over 600 credit-related lawsuits and has been qualified to testify in both federal and state courts on the topic of consumer credit. In his hometown of Atlanta, Ulzheimer is a frequent guest lecturer at the University of Georgia and Emory University's School of Law.

Latest Posts Icon

Latest Posts

58 posts written/edited to date
How Do Credit Cards Get Hacked?

How Do Credit Cards Get Hacked?

If you’ve ever gotten an unfamiliar alert from your credit card company or you’ve... read more »

John Ulzheimer 3/14/2024
How to Opt Out of Prescreened Credit Card Offers

How to Opt Out of Mailed Credit Offers

You get home from a long day at work or a weeklong vacation and you find your... read more »

John Ulzheimer 2/1/2024
What is Credit Card Churning & Does it Affect My Credit?

What is Credit Card Churning?

There is no shortage of strategies to maximize the financial benefit of credit card... read more »

John Ulzheimer 1/9/2024
Do Debit Cards Affect Credit Scores?

Do Debit Cards Affect Credit Scores?

TLDR: It depends on whether your debit card has an associated line of credit or... read more »

John Ulzheimer 12/21/2023
1 in 4 Americans Believe Checking Their Credit Hurts Their Credit Scores

1 in 4 Believe Checking Their Credit is Harmful

Since the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, or “FACTA”, Americans... read more »

John Ulzheimer 11/14/2023
3 Tips to Avoid Holiday-Shopping Credit Score Damage

3 Tips to Avoid Holiday Shopping Credit Damage

We’re about to enter the busiest shopping season of the year. And while most... read more »

John Ulzheimer 10/3/2023
6 Q&As About Business Credit Cards and Personal Guarantees

Business Credit and Personal Guarantees

According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), there are more than 33... read more »

John Ulzheimer 9/14/2023
How to Build Credit as an Immigrant

How to Build Credit as an Immigrant

 Articles purporting to explain how people can bring their credit reports and... read more »

John Ulzheimer 8/1/2023
What is a Bad Credit Score?

What is a Bad Credit Score?

Your credit scores are calculated and delivered to lenders almost 25 billion times... read more »

John Ulzheimer 7/3/2023
What Happens If You Miss a Credit Card Payment?

What Happens If You Miss a Credit Card Payment?

One of the cardinal rules of having a credit card is to always pay your bill on... read more »

John Ulzheimer 6/5/2023
17 Credit Scoring Secrets Exposed (By a FICO Expert)

17 Unknown Credit Scoring Secrets Revealed

Your credit scores play an important role in your financial life. That’s certainly... read more »

John Ulzheimer 5/4/2023
Is Your Credit Card Issuer Withholding Payment Data From the Credit Bureaus?

Is Your Credit Card Issuer Withholding Payment Data?

Some of the largest credit card companies in the United States have caught the... read more »

John Ulzheimer 4/6/2023
What Do Credit Card Issuers See When They Check Your Credit?

What Do Card Issuers See During Credit Checks?

Credit reports and credit scores are tools credit card issuers use to predict the... read more »

John Ulzheimer 3/13/2023
Can I Change Missed Payments on My Credit Reports?

Can I Change Missed Payments on My Credit Reports? 

There are many details that go into the calculation of your credit scores. But... read more »

John Ulzheimer 2/13/2023
How Inflation Is Affecting Americans’ Credit Scores

How Inflation Is Affecting Americans’ Credit Scores

Soaring inflation has impacted the financial lives of countless millions of... read more »

John Ulzheimer 1/16/2023
50 Important Credit Card Terms You’ll Find in a Cardholder Agreement

50 Important Credit Card Terms

If you’ve ever read through a cardmember agreement, you may have thought the bank... read more »

John Ulzheimer 12/12/2022
Can You Have Good Credit With Credit Card Debt? 

Can You Still Have Good Credit With Card Debt? 

There’s no question that being in credit card debt is a bad deal financially... read more »

John Ulzheimer 11/1/2022
What is the Average Credit Score in America?

What is the Average Credit Score in America?

Your credit scores aren’t something that you should just set on a shelf and forget... read more »

John Ulzheimer 9/13/2022
How Much Will a Secured Card Raise My Score? (March 2024)

Will a Secured Credit Card Raise My Credit Score?

If you’ve done any research on how to build or rebuild your credit, you’ve... read more »

John Ulzheimer 8/10/2022
What Would Student Loan Forgiveness Do to Your Credit Scores?

How Student Loan Forgiveness Could Affect Credit Scores

The forgiveness of student loan debt is almost always in the news. The issue has... read more »

John Ulzheimer 7/11/2022