The Ultimate Guide to Credit Cards
Wednesday, April 23, 2025

John Ulzheimer

Credit Expert
John Ulzheimer

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

59 posts written/edited to date
What is a FICO Score? How it Impacts Lending Terms and Credit Decisions

What is a FICO Score? How it Impacts Lending and Credit

By: John Ulzheimer 6/13/2024

A FICO score is any score designed and developed by the company, Fair Isaac. When you think of the term... Read More »

Do Credit Card Issuers Use FICO or VantageScore Credit Scores?

Do Issuers Use FICO or VantageScore Credit Scores?

By: John Ulzheimer 4/17/2024

The credit card is the default preferred method of payment for almost 200 million consumers, according to... Read More »

How Do Credit Cards Get Hacked?

How Do Credit Cards Get Hacked?

By: John Ulzheimer 3/14/2024

If you’ve ever gotten an unfamiliar alert from your credit card company or you’ve seen a transaction on... Read More »

How to Opt Out of Prescreened Credit Card Offers

How to Opt Out of Mailed Credit Offers

By: John Ulzheimer 2/1/2024

You get home from a long day at work or a weeklong vacation and you find your mailbox is filled with... Read More »

What is Credit Card Churning & Does it Affect My Credit?

What is Credit Card Churning?

By: John Ulzheimer 1/9/2024

There is no shortage of strategies to maximize the financial benefit of credit card accounts. Most of... Read More »

Do Debit Cards Affect Credit Scores?

Do Debit Cards Affect Credit Scores?

By: John Ulzheimer 12/21/2023

TLDR: It depends on whether your debit card has an associated line of credit or overdraft protection and... Read More »

1 in 4 Americans Believe Checking Their Credit Hurts Their Credit Scores

1 in 4 Believe Checking Their Credit is Harmful

By: John Ulzheimer 11/14/2023

Since the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, or “FACTA”, Americans have enjoyed the right... Read More »

3 Tips to Avoid Holiday-Shopping Credit Score Damage

3 Tips to Avoid Holiday Shopping Credit Damage

By: John Ulzheimer 10/3/2023

We’re about to enter the busiest shopping season of the year. And while most consumers probably aren’t... Read More »

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