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Most consumers tend to spend more when the holidays roll around, and now a greater number will take on credit card debt when shopping online, instead of using their debit cards.

Consumers who are generally feeling better about their finances in the wake of the recession are more likely to use their credit cards than they have been in the past few years, and online purchasing ahead of the holidays will likely see an even greater shift toward that payment method, according to the latest Online Retail Payments Forecast from Javelin Strategy and Research. In addition, they will likely spend more on their credit cards to make a single purchase than they would with debit.

The average online credit card purchase now amounts to $82.10, while the average debit transaction costs $58.29, the report said. This type of spending is also incentivized with promotions like those seen on Cyber Monday, when prime deals tend to entice consumers into spending more than they likely planned.

It can be hard for consumers to reduce debt around the holiday season, but sitting down and creating a budget before doing any shopping, and then sticking steadfastly to it, can be extremely helpful.

In the past few years following the onset of the recent national recession, millions of consumers became more conscious of trying to reduce debt in a number of ways. And now, even as the economy continues to improve in the wake of the economic downturn, many are still continuing those efforts.

The nationwide amount of debt owed by consumers to lenders for everything from credit cards to education loans and mortgages dropped 0.6 percent in the third quarter of the year to a total of $11.66 trillion, according to the latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That's down from a total of $11.72 trillion at the end of the second quarter.

A large portion of that decline is attributable to drops in mortgage balances, which fell $114 billion between July and September, the report said. That's down 1.3 percent from the second quarter of the year, but the total amount of non-real estate debt rose by roughly the same proportion to a total of $2.62 trillion.

That change came even as the total amount consumers could potentially carry in credit card debt dipped $25 billion during the third quarter, in part due to the closing of 6 million previously open credit card accounts, the report said. Now, consumers have a total of 383 million credit cards open nationwide, though that total is down about 23 percent from the all-time peak observed in the second quarter of 2008. In addition, the amount owed on those cards is 20 percent below the high set in the fourth quarter of 2008.

But at the same time, consumer demand for new credit cards – when viewed as the amount of new inquiries within a six-month period – rose for the second quarter in a row, the report said. However, the overall delinquency rate across all types of credit rose to about 10 percent as of the end of September, up from the 9.8 percent observed in June.

However, some experts say that lenders have seen delinquency rates rise in recent months more as a result of the all-time lows that have recently been hit being largely unsustainable going forward, rather than a return to riskier borrowing habits by consumers.

Millions of consumers will likely turn to credit cards to cover at least some of their holiday shopping expenses once again this year, but what will it ultimately cost them?

There are a number of factors for borrowers to consider when thinking about how to most effectively use their credit cards for holiday shopping, according to a report from Investopedia. For example, the higher their interest rate, the less money they should probably spend, with regard to spending totals that exceed the borrower's ability to pay the entire balance down in one billing cycle.

It may also make sense for consumers to look at the credit cards in their wallets that offer the most rewards, the report said. This can help to cut down the overall cost of borrowing, particularly if the rewards they earn come in the form of cash back, rather than airline miles or points.

Experts recommend that keeping spending on credit cards to a minimum will help consumers to stay in a strong position to reduce debt going forward.

While many consumers have made considerable efforts to reduce debt and more conscientiously handle their credit card debt and spending in recent months, more lenders are nowexpanding the value of their rewards offers in an effort to attract new borrowers.

Consumers who have strong credit ratings have likely seen the value of the rewards offers they receive in their mailboxes increase significantly over the past few months, as more of the nation's top credit card lenders compete to draw in new and more creditworthy borrowers, according to a report from the Baltimore Sun. One tactic many of these lenders are taking is to grant consumers a significant amount of rewards up-front – usually the equivalent of if they had spent thousands of dollars on their card – and then doubling that total once certain spending thresholds are reached.

Recent research by the marketing firm Synovate found that the value of these offers has been on the rise even as the number of rewards mailings sent to consumers has slipped between June and September, the report said. However, that may be because these most generous offers are only being made available to consumers who have FICO credit scores of between 750 and 850 – the best consumers can achieve. Many of these offers may also be available to consumers who have ratings of between 700 and 749, but they will also likely pay higher interest rates on the accounts than those whose credit ratings are top-notch.

Of course, these cards generally have higher interest rates than do accounts that come without rewards programs attached, and any consumers signing up for one may find that there is also an annual fee attached, the report said. For this reason, it may be a good idea for consumers to carefully review any lending agreements they may receive to make sure that an account will work for them. For example, if the size of their annual fee will be larger than the amount of rewards they would earn on their account given their normal spending habits, that account might end up costing them money every year.

In addition, it makes sense to check and make sure opening the account will be a good idea simply given the borrower's current financial situation.

Consumers seem to be more comfortable dealing with credit card debt once again these days, as the number of new cards issued to borrowers has grown significantly in the first eight months of the year.

Banks and retailers alike vastly expanded their credit card issuing efforts between January and August, leading to a surge in new accounts, according to the latest National Credit Trends Report from Equifax. In all, the number of new credit cards from banks grew 25 percent, jumping to 25.3 million from the 20.2 million in the same period last year. Meanwhile, those from retailers climbed 7 percent to a total of 21 million from last year's 19.7 million.

One reason for this might be that banks have dramatically increased issuing efforts where subprime borrowers are concerned, the report said. The number of bank credit cards issued to consumers with credit scores below 600 climbed 56 percent on a year-over-year basis.

Credit card borrowing is also expected to grow in the next month or so as consumers make a greater effort to wrap up their holiday shopping, and retailers will attempt to take advantage of this seasonal shift by offering more accounts.

In an effort to draw in more consumers, many of the nation's largest lenders are now increasing the rewards cardholders can earn for every dollar of credit card debt they take on during the holiday season.

Offers for rewards points and cash back credit cards are becoming more generous as the holidays approach, according to a report from USA Today. Increased competition for top borrowers coupled with consumers' tendency to spend more on their credit cards during the final months of the year has led many to incentivize more spending.

For example, Discover is boosting cash back rewards between 5 and 10 percent for shopping done at certain retailers through its ShopDiscover program, the report said. Meanwhile, American Express is giving out five times as many points for purchases made through certain retailers such as Apple and Target, as well as discounting the cost of rewards points redemption for certain items.

Often, consumers spend more on their credit cards during the holiday season than they should, making it difficult to reduce debt and increasing the problems they may have in paying their bills.

Though many consumers may have had issues dealing with their credit card debt in the past, that's not as much the case these days, and the vast majority are now satisfied with their lender.

Consumers are generally pleased with their credit card accounts these days, as just 12 percent reported that they feel as though a lender has treated them unfairly, according to the latest annual study from the Consumer Reports National Research Center. That's down from 14 percent last year and 22 percent in 2009.

In addition, lenders are now more willing to extend credit to prospective borrowers, the report said. This year, only 14 percent of those surveyed were denied a credit card, down from 24 percent last year.

However, 35 percent also noted that they have seen a new annual fee, higher interest rate, lower credit limit or restrictions on either redeeming or accruing rewards placed on their cards this year, the report said.

Changes such as these may make it difficult for consumers to reduce debt, particularly if they have a habit of carrying some of the balance they accrued over from one month to the next.