Hopefully this is the beginning of the end for the traditional store credit card with limited benefits. Macy’s and American Express have announced recently that they will partner together to offer the new card, which is designed to combine traditional rewards progams with leveraged purchasing ability at hundreds of Macy’s stores in the U.S. and its territories.

In addition to 1% cash back on all purchases made with the card, members can receive triple rewards when they use the card to shop at Macy’s. These rewards can be redeemed for $25 Star Rewards Certificates which can be applied toward Macy’s merchandise and apparel. Cardholders can also take advantage of Daily Wish from American Express, which offers special discounts of up to 50% on specific items and travel opportunities.

New cardholders can also receive double rewards on grocery, gasoline, and pharmacy purchases through the end of 2010, as well as 15% cash back from participating restaurants which are patronized between Labor Day and New Year’s Eve.

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People with poor or unestablished credit ratings may find it difficult to obtain a credit card. If they are unable to acquire one, their purchasing power and buying options are severely limited in today’s plastic-reliant society.

First Premier Bank is targeting these individuals with a line of credit cards designed to help boost credit scores. The First Premier Bank Classic Credit Card (with an annual fee of $25), the Centennial Classic Credit Card ($45), and the Aventium Classic Credit Card ($95) all make monthly reports to the major credit agencies. So consumers who pay their balances on time and stay below their credit limits can rebuild their creditworthiness over time.

Those cards are all unsecured credit cards, but First Premier Bank also offers a couple of secured credit cards. Both the First Premier Bank Secured Credit Card and the Centennial Secured Credit Card require a deposit of $200, but provide the same benefits as a prime credit card. And no credit history is required to qualify for either card.

Check out this page for a full list of good cards for people with bad credit.

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This is a guest post by Jason D. Steele, who has been a personal finance writer for AskMrCreditCard since 2008. In addition he serves as the travel Expert at Blend.com, as well as the host of his personal blog Steele Street.

It is back to school time again, so it would seem to be the appropriate season to discuss student credit cards. On the face of it, there are few reasons that a student would want a different credit card than anyone else Like all other credit card users, one’s choice of credit card should be dictated by how he or she will use it.

Ultimately, all credit card users are one of two types, revolvers and deadbeats. This is the industry slang for those who carry a balance, the revolvers, and those who do not, the deadbeats. The revolvers see credit cards as a method of finance. They look at the world as a series of monthly payments, so that $25 a month for a few years seems like a much better idea than coming up with $150 now.

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Most consumers dread the interest charges assessed to their credit card accounts. But now, there’s a card where account holders can actually benefit from the interest on their account. Earlier today I mentioned how we never recommend carrying a balance. However some of you may not have the option for business or personal reasons and may have already amassed a large balance.

The Discover® Motiva(SM) Card offers cash back rewards like other Discover cards, but also issues rewards to cardholders for timely payments based on their interest charges. Every time that a cardmember makes six consecutive on-time payments, Motiva will deposit a “Pay On-Time” Bonus into the member’s cash back account that is equal to a full month’s interest.

So suppose that the annual interest rate on the card is 20% and the account balance is $15,000. If six on-time payments in a row are made, the cardholder would receive $250 in his or her cash back account (or 20% of 15,000 divided by 12).

The Pay On-Time Bonus comes in addition to normal cash back bonuses on all charges of up to 1%, as well as 5% to 20% cash back on purchases made through Discover’s online shopping mall.

New Discover Motiva cardholders will get an APR of 3.99% on purchases for the first 12 months and a similar rate on balance transfers for 15 months. You can read our full review of Discover Motiva here.

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Finally, some good news concerning credit card debt. According to MSNBC, the average amount of credit card debt per consumer fell to its lowest level in the second quarter of this year since 2002. The quarterly figure of $4,951 was 13% lower than the same period in 2009.

But just because credit card debt has dropped to below pre-recession levels does not mean that consumers should let down their guard. Even after the Credit Card Reform Act of 2009, banks and other credit card issuers are satill finding legal ways to gouge cardholders. Here are some of the most common:

• High penalty fees. Certain penalty fees were capped under the legislation, but if a cardholder incurs certain fees repeatedly, the card issuers can still raise penalty fee levels.
• High interest rates. Many of the standard annual percentage rates on cards are higher than they have been in years past. And although every customer must get 45 days’ notice before rates are hiked, companies can still increase them.
• High annual fees. Many cards which didn’t used to have annual fees are getting them, and the existing yearly fees are rising.

Credit card customers should continue to watch their statements and be wary of any additional charges on their bills. If you are using a credit card to rack up rewards we almost never recommend carrying a balance – the fees and charges you accrue will quickly outpace the rewards you are earning.

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Here’s an all-too common scenario. Consumer gets credit card. Consumer doesn’t properly monitor spending with credit card. Consumer falls into debt and trashes credit rating. Many people who have been through this process have sworn never to repeat their mistakes. And some are taking near-Draconian measures in the name of preserving their creditworthiness.

This segment of the marketplace is being courted by MasterCard’s inControl program. MasterCard is partnering with Citigroup to offer a credit card which enables users to stop themselves from getting into debt before they can actually do so.

The inControl program has been around since 2007, but has been used primarily with corporate cards and accounts. However, this new credit card can let consumers:

• Permit MasterCard to automatically reject any transaction which puts an account above a credit limit
• Set a monthly or quarterly budget for certain categories (like groceries or dining) and reject any transactions above that preset budget amount
• Receive text messages indicating that cardholders are above their budgeted spending amounts

The timing of this card is interesting because of the fact that many banks are now reviewing and changing their overdraft policies on checking and savings accounts as well.

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One of the challenges of owning a credit card is to budget one’s spending. Unfortunately, since regular, big ticket, and unexpected purchases are listed together on a credit card statement, it is difficult to paint an accurate picture of a cardholder’s spending habits.

But Slate Visa Card from Chase is a little different. The card offers what it calls “Blueprint,” which is made up of some unique features that let cardmembers manage their finances the way they choose to. Slate does this by separating charges into different categories on a cardholders’ statement.

A cardmember can choose to:

• Avoid interest on “everyday” charges if they are paid in full every month
• Pay off major purchases on a set schedule or by a specific date
• Set up a plan to pay off the entire card balance by a given date
• Identify spending trends to help with budgeting and set goals accordingly

New applicants for the Slate Visa Card by Chase will receive an introductory rate of 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 6 to 12 months depending on their credit score.

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People choose credit cards for many different reasons, including low interest rates, attractive introductory offers, or lucrative rewards programs. But some consumers are less concerned with immediate gratification and more focused on saving for the future.

A card which might appeal to this group is the Fidelity Retirement Rewards American Express Card. Instead of airline miles or statement credits, cardholders will receive rewards points which can be redeemed for cash contributions into a Fidelity IRA or brokerage account. Consumers must have an established account with Fidelity in order to take advantage of the offer.

Here’s how the process works: cardmembers earn two points for every dollar spent on the card. When the account reaches 5,000 points, $50 will be deposited into their brokerage account or IRA. Customers also can enjoy flexible balance payment options and no annual fee.

Even though it is called a Fidelity Retirement Rewards American Express Card, it can be connected to a Section 529 account designed to put money aside for college tuition.

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American Express cards are viewed as a status symbol by many people. The company’s exemplary customer service, the trademark green look to the original card, and the concierge service known to help you obtain hard-to-get restaurant reservations, concert tickets, and more, sets this card apart. Add the American Express Centurion card (the famous black credit card for big spenders) to the company’s mystique, and you may think Amex is the only card to carry if you’re a financial go-getter.

But in today’s highly competitive credit card world, many other cards are just as good, have better rewards programs, offer concierge service, and may even skip the annual fee.

To get the same benefit of “No interest” that American Express offers as a charge card, just pay your bill within the grace period (usually 25 days.) If you’ve been rejected for American Express, look into these credit card offers for people with good credit, instead.

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Are you currently carrying a credit card with a ridiculously high interest rate? You may have been late on (or even missed) a payment or two on your credit card when you were going through some rough economic times. But for the past several months, you’ve been a model credit card customer: paying your bill on time, staying underneath your credit limit, etc. However, you’re still stuck paying that very high “penalty interest rate” (which averages about 30% these days) that was assessed during your financial difficulties. And it doesn’t seem fair to you.

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