John Ulzheimer

About the Author

John Ulzheimer

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

61 posts written/edited to date

Guide

1,425 views

3 min read

How Do Credit Scores Affect Mortgage Interest Rates?

How Do Credit Scores Affect Mortgage Rates?

The world of mortgage interest rates has been on quite the roller coaster over the last few years. Mortgage interest rates for garden-variety... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 3/14/24

Guide

11,625 views

5 min read

What Number Does Your Credit Score Start at & When?

What Number Does Your Credit Score Start at?

Your credit score or, more accurately credit scores, are used by lenders to assess the risk of doing business with you. If you have good or great... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 2/12/24

Guide

17,051 views

5 min read

Americans’ Credit Scores Resilient Against Rising Card Debt & Delinquencies

Credit Scores Resilient Despite Rising Debt

When people are unemployed or underemployed, they often use their credit cards to bridge their income gap. Credit cards offer immediate access to... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 1/22/24

Guide

23,706 views

7 min read

How to Get an 800 Credit Score (from a FICO Expert)

How to Get an 800 Credit Score

Credit scores are three-digit numbers that are used by lenders to determine whether they’re going to approve your applications, and under what... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 12/14/23

Study

44,268 views

3 min read

Approximately 31% of Americans Don’t Know Their Credit Score

31% of Americans Don't Know Their Credit Score

Credit scores, those three-digit numbers based on your credit reports, are used well over 20 billion times each year by lenders and others to... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 10/12/23

Guide

76,247 views

5 min read

How to Protect Your Credit In a Divorce

How to Protect Your Credit In a Divorce

Despite all the optimism and joy that goes with tying the knot, it’s an unfortunate reality that a considerable percentage of marriages fail. And... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 9/15/23

Guide

86,070 views

5 min read

Student Loan Payments and Your Credit Scores

Student Loan Repayments and Your Credit Scores

October 2023 marks the end of more than three and a half years of student loan forbearance and the non-repayment of federal student loans.... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 8/3/23

Guide

58,877 views

3 min read

What Is Credit Mix?

What Is Credit Mix?

It’s not unusual to read articles about credit scoring and the various categories of metrics that influence your credit scores. What is unusual,... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 7/3/23

Guide

100,000+ views

5 min read

What Is a Good Credit Score For My Age?

What Is a Good Credit Score For My Age?

The credit scores that most lenders use in the United States range from 300 to 850. This is the common score range or “scaling” with FICO and... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 6/8/23

Guide

88,491 views

5 min read

Does Marriage Affect Credit Scores? (2024)

Does Getting Married Affect Your Credit?

Getting married can impact many aspects of your life. Yet, the idea that marriage has a direct impact on your credit scores is a myth. And while... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 5/8/23

Guide

100,000+ views

5 min read

FICO Score vs. Credit Score: What’s the Difference?

FICO Score vs. Credit Score: What’s the Difference?

Lenders rely on your credit report and credit score information to assess your risk, determine whether they want to do business with you, and... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 4/4/23

Guide

100,000+ views

7 min read

6 Credit Reporting Changes That Favor the Consumer

6 Credit Reporting Changes That Favor the Consumer

Criticizing the credit reporting agencies or the credit scoring companies is almost a national pastime. Nobody likes credit bureaus, credit... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 3/1/23

Guide

100,000+ views

5 min read

How Medical Collections Impact Credit Reports & Scores

How Medical Collections Impact Your Credit

When you or a dependent gets sick or injured, getting the medical care you or your loved one needs can be a necessary, yet stressful, experience.... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 2/7/23

Guide

100,000+ views

5 min read

How FICO 10T Will Impact Subprime Mortgage Lending

How FICO 10T Will Impact Subprime Mortgage Lending

In January 2020, FICO, the company that invented credit scoring and my former employer, announced the latest generation of its ubiquitous credit... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 1/2/23

Guide

100,000+ views

5 min read

What it Means to Use a Credit Card Responsibly

What it Means to Use Credit Responsibly

The credit card is the most common form of credit in the United States. There are over 1 billion cards in circulation today, representing several... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 12/1/22

Guide

100,000+ views

7 min read

The Ultimate Guide to Credit Jargon: 25 Basic Terms You Need to Know

25 Basic Credit Terms You Need to Know

The credit industry is full of terms that you may not use in your everyday life and will unlikely see anywhere outside of the credit industry.... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 10/19/22

Guide

100,000+ views

5 min read

How to Check Your Credit Reports on AnnualCreditReport.com

3 Steps: How to Use AnnualCreditReport.com

Your credit can have a tremendous influence on your overall financial health. Good credit makes it easier to obtain more affordable financing... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 9/12/22

Guide

100,000+ views

3 min read

Why Did My Credit Score Drop?

Why Did My Credit Score Drop?

Credit scores have been used by lenders in the financial services market in the United States for more than three decades. Your credit scores... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 8/15/22

Guide

100,000+ views

5 min read

What Do Lenders Report to the Credit Bureaus?

What Do Lenders Report to the Credit Bureaus?

When you apply for and take out a loan, you agree to make payments to your lenders and return their money, plus fees and/or interest. Loans can... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 6/21/22

Guide

100,000+ views

5 min read

What Are Derogatory Credit Entries?

What Are Derogatory Credit Entries?

Your credit reports are loaded with information, including personal data, employment information, public records, collections, credit inquiries,... read more »

John Ulzheimer

By: John Ulzheimer • 5/31/22