This holiday season, Americans will spend an average $682 on gifts, decorations and food, according to the National Retail Federation. Many of them will put those purchases on plastic.

With budgets still tight, the question is: How do you use those credit cards smartly? Should you put all purchases on one credit card or spread them over several cards? Should you finally open that retail card and get the 10% or 15% discount, but risk a hit to your credit score? Or should you shun credit altogether and use your bank s debit card?

The answers, of course, will vary, depending on your financial profile and goals. What works best for those planning to apply for credit in the near future might not be the smartest thing to do if your priority is digging out of debt. Yet a different strategy may work well if you re simply interested in collecting the largest number of rewards points possible.

Below are five smart card strategies for the most common consumer credit personalities. Happy shopping.

1. The credit improver

Profile: You plan to apply for a loan in the near future, so you re working hard on improving your credit score.

Strategy: Unless you already carry balances on multiple credit cards, put all purchases on a single card -- preferably the one with the highest credit limit. You may consider spreading your purchases across several cards if they already have balances, but pick the ones with the highest credit limits.

Why: Common sense may tell you to spread out purchases across several credit cards to keep each card s utilization ratio (the proportion of your balance to credit limit) low. That helps your credit score, right? Not necessarily. Using multiple credit cards may actually hurt your credit score if you are starting with a $0 balance on any of the cards, says John Ulzheimer, the president of consumer education for Credit.com, an advocacy group. Part of the credit-score formula measures how many accounts you have with balances: The fewer, the better. (The effect is temporary, however: Your score will bounce back right after you pay those balances down to $0.)

Picking the card with the highest limit will keep your utilization ratios low. If you revolve balances from month to month, be mindful of the interest rate, as well. (For more on credit revolvers, see the next tip.) And be sure to pay your bills in time. Nothing can ding your credit like a late payment.

2. Digging out of debt

Profile: You are working hard on paying off your credit cards.

Strategy: If you think you can pay off most or all of your holiday purchases within a short period of time, pick the credit card with the lowest APR and most available credit.

Why: Your goal is to add as little as possible to your debt while preserving your credit score. A drop in your score might just be the excuse your credit-card companies need to raise your rates or lower your credit limits.

It s largely about making the right economic choice with the card, says Samir Kothari, cofounder of BillShrink.com, a credit-card comparison web site. Use this calculator to see how long it will take you to pay off your debt and how much interest you ll pay along the way.

If your cards are already nearly maxed out, consider using a debit card. Keep an eye on your checking account balance to avoid overdraft fees and be sure to sign for purchases rather than punching in your PIN. Signature transactions go through the Visa and MasterCard networks and you get benefits that like $0 liability for fraudulent transactions and purchase protection. (These perks

Profile: Your priority is getting the most out of your rewards programs. You have no plans to apply for credit in the near future and you pay off your credit cards in full each month.

Strategy: Use your favorite rewards credit card (or two) for all your purchases.

Why: This holiday season many issuers are sprucing up their rewards programs with special deals, says Curtis Arnold, founder of credit-card comparison site CardRatings.com. Discover, for example, is offering up to 25% bonus cash back for certain types of online purchases made through its shopping portal. American Express is running a local promotion in New York City, offering a $50 statement credit when you spend at least $300 at three or more participating merchants. These holiday promotions are on top of regular ones that offer double or triple points on purchases in certain categories, whether it s gas, restaurants or fast food.

But if you d rather keep your sanity and maximize the rewards programs you're most likely to use anyway you should resist the temptation to juggle multiple rewards cards based on the types of purchases that get you bonus points. You could take rewards to the extreme and have 10 different cards in your wallet, each for a different category, but that s impractical, says BillShrink s Kothari. (And as credit improvers now know, carrying balances on multiple credit cards can hurt your credit score.)

4. The discount hound

Profile: Scoring store discounts is your No. 1. You pay off your balances in full each month and, ideally, you can pay those purchases off shortly after making them.

Strategy: Use a store credit card and aim for making as many of your holiday-related purchases as possible at that retailer.

Why: Store cards, offered by big retailers like Target, Macy s, Bloomingdale s, Best Buy and Gap, are a bad deal for folks who carry a balance: They typically come with high interest rates (think 20% or more) and low credit limits, says Arnold.

But if you can resist the temptation to buy more than you can pay off the following month, they can be a good deal especially if you tend to favor one retailer over others. Apart from knocking off 10% to 20% of your initial purchase, many retailers offer ongoing perks like member appreciation days (an extra 10% to 20% off all purchases on the card), regular coupon mailings, exclusive shopping events and even things like free clothing alterations.

If you open a store credit card this holiday season, expect your score to take a temporary hit because you ll get a new inquiry on your credit report, says Credit.com s Ulzheimer. Don't close the account after the holidays, even if you have no plans of using it in the future. You ve already done the damage [on your score] by opening the account, he says. Leave it open and benefit from the additional available credit.

A bonus credit-score strategy: Consider paying off the balance online before your next statement date (or immediately after they post on the account). This way, your balances will be reported as $0 to the credit bureaus, and you ll avoid a hit to your score from a lower utilization ratio or an increased number of accounts with balances.

5. The holiday traveler

Profile: Traveling to exotic destinations or visiting family is the highlight of your holiday season.

Strategy: Use credit cards (see strategies above for the one that best fits your personality) and avoid debit.

Why: Merchants like hotels, car-rental companies and gas stations usually place a hold on funds (an amount larger than the one that they are expecting to charge you), whether you use a debit or credit card. But while with a credit card they are only blocking off some of your available credit line, with a debit card they're actually holding hostage part of your own cash. And according to a survey by credit-card information site CreditCards.com, some car-rental services actually check your credit score if you use a debit card. This creates an inquiry in your credit report and lowers your score. For more on the travel hassles of using debit cards, read our story.