According to the Associated Press, 84% of undergraduates had at least one credit card in the 2008 spring semester and half of college students had four or more credit cards. Seniors had average credit card debt of $4,100 when they graduated. Due to recent credit card legislation, unless your kid has enough income to pay monthly credit card bills, he/she cannot get a credit card without you or some other adult serving as a co-signer. Should you do it?

Let’s see. First, you are just as responsible for paying it back as the other person. Second, even if your teen promises not to charge up to the limit it could still happen. So, if you really want to help your kid begin establishing a credit history, FoxBusiness.com suggests considering a secured credit card. This type of card requires a deposit of about $250 to $500 into an account in order to receive a credit limit for the same amount, preventing credit card debt and building credit history along the way.

Today’s best credit cards go beyond aprs and annual fees. Since new credit card rules restrict lenders’ abilities to manipulate interest rates beyond a promotional period – perks, rewards, and customer service are perhaps the only ways to tell many of the best credit cards apart nowadays.

Issuers have entered a new battle over consumers with good to excellent credit scores offering goodies such as aggressive purchase protection and warranty replacement. Check out Forbes.com for the full list of the top six trends in credit card perks.

Credit card solicitations more than doubled in the fourth quarter of 2010 to 1.4 billion, up from 551 million in the same period of 2009, according to Chicago-based Mintel Comperemedia, and eight in 10 of those offers were for reward cards. EastValleyTribune.com reports that card issuers are going after customers with new vigor.

“It is getting to the point where, in some cases, the incentive is so attractive that consumers may as well apply for a card to cash in on its incentive, regardless of whether they have any serious intent to use the card in the long term,” said Andrew Davidson, Mintel senior vice president.

The best offers are reserved for consumers with excellent credit, so although you may not get a sweet deal delivered to your mailbox, don’t count yourself out. Instead, visit credit card tracking sites as well as card issuers websites to see what ’sweet offers’ may be there waiting for you.

Rewards credit cards have seen a noticeable interest rate drop over non-reward credit cards according to a recent survey as of July as mentioned on FoxBusiness.com. They have dropped to an average rate of 17.09 percent from their previous level of 17.48 percent.

The average rate for non-reward credit cards fell to 14.88 percent from 15.09 percent. However, this was due to an updating of the credit cards covered by the survey, rather than an actual interest rate trend. The great news is that as a result of changes in both sub-categories, the overall average rate for consumer credit cards dropped and now stands at 16.43 percent, down from 16.76 percent.

Not all states are staggering with personal debt and credit problems. It’s good to learn that there are parts of the country where credit ratings are strong, joblessness is low, and payment delinquencies and bankruptcies are rare. Become familiar with the best 10 states of credit health, and you’ll also find that cold weather states seem to be pretty up to par when it comes to financial standing. Just to name a few:

1. North Dakota. North Dakota came out on top in this survey by having the lowest rates of unemployment and credit card delinquency of any state in the U.S., and by being among the best five states in all categories used for this study.

2. Vermont. This northern New England state has the lowest rate of home foreclosures, by a very wide margin.

3. South Dakota. The home of Mount Rushmore was just edged out by Vermont, but ranks in the top six in all five categories, including having the second-best average credit score of the 50 states.

Check out the rest of the best states for credit.

Shifting debt from one credit card to another can save you lots of money if done properly, but whether or not you should accept a balance transfer deal depends on many factors to determine if you can successfully use the balance transfer to better manage your overall debt.

Consider these do’s and don’ts mentioned on DailyFinance.com to guide your decision-making process: Look at the entire deal such as annual fees, credit limits etc, comparison shop online, don’t apply for too many cards at once, and don’t close your old accounts immediately.

Unemployed consumers who’ve stayed current with credit and loan payments can still be attractive to credit cards issuers. While a new line of credit should never be used to replace lost income, job seekers can utilize a credit card to offset the costs of a job search.

The best credit cards for job seekers were chosen based on how well their rewards would cover common job search costs such as a professional interview outfit, basic networking and job-hunting supplies, gas for traveling to job interviews and relocation for out-of-town employment opportunities. See which one may be useful for you while searching for that next big gig.

What determines the best credit card rewards for you – is you: your needs, your habits, and your credit history. In general, getting cash back will get you as much value with the most flexibility over reward points. Here are some of the basics you should understand about rewards programs reported by Forbes.com’s Moneybuilder.

Points – Generally worth a penny right now, but this is subject to change at any time.
Bonus Points – Often as an introductory offer, or for certain categories of purchase.
Limitations – The time for which an offer is available, what types of purchases accrue points, the minimum amount you have to spend before you start accruing points, the maximum number of points you can accrue, etc.

There are some common questions and myths about the factors that can affect our credit scores such as how many cards are too many, or when you should keep or ditch a card. But one of the more popular speculations is whether or not new plastic can ding your credit score.

Contrary to popular belief, having a lot of credit cards is not detrimental to your score if you have a significant amount of available credit relative to the amount you charge each month. However, your score can be affected by new credit cards inquiries. FICO usually excludes inquiries that show you’re rate shopping for college loans, auto loans, or mortgages, but not credit cards. So, there you have it, new plastic can perhaps ding your credit score.

Choosing a credit card can feel as overwhelming as sorting through online dating profiles, but with a little introspection you can pick the card that will do the most for you, whether that means minimizing your fee and interest payments or maximizing rewards points for a goodie that you’ll enjoy. LearnVest.com lists 6 six key questions to ask yourself before selecting a piece of plastic:

1) Do you tend to carry debt?
2) What’s your spending style?
3) What free tools do you want?
4) What are your favorite perks?
5) How much time and energy do you want to spend thinking about your credit card?
6) What’s your favorite way to stay in touch?

Once you’ve simmered on these, applying for a credit card should go a lot smoother.