I have a love/hate relationship with gift cards.

I love the concept and the fact that they make gift-buying so much easier. A gift card is a respectable way to give money without looking as if you have no idea what to get a person, which, if we're being honest, is often the case. Yet personally, I hate to receive a gift card. I'm a hoarder, and I don't like to waste a gift card on hair rollers or the everyday personal items I need. So I tuck the cards away. Or I'll hide a card from a particular restaurant, waiting for a special occasion to use it.

The problem is, I often forget I have the card or -- and this is one of the few times I'm tempted to curse -- I find out that the card has expired or that fees I didn't know existed have eaten up its value.

But now gift cards are getting a protective shield. The Federal Reserve has proposed guidelines that are supposed to make the cards less frustrating for people like me who have trouble quickly cashing them after receiving them.

Tucked in the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 is a section addressing the fees for gift and stored-value cards. By Feb. 22, the Fed has to release final rules on the implementation of the law's gift-card provisions. Unfortunately, those rules won't help you for this holiday season -- the gift-card provisions don't take effect until next August.

The majority of consumers who are projected to spend a total of $50 billion on gift cards this year will purchase cards without expiration dates and pay no fees, according to the Consumer Federation of America. Most national retailers do not charge fees or place expiration dates on their cards.

Can you guess who does?

Gift cards issued by banks, malls and credit card companies are more likely to have expiration dates and tack on annoying activation, maintenance, inactivity and transaction fees, according to the National Retail Federation. Some bank-issued gift cards even charge a fee for simply checking the balance, the retail group reports.

The consumers who will spend a total of nearly $4 billion buying general purchase gift cards -- those not connected to a specific retailer -- pay $4 to $7 for the cards. Some of the card issuers have the audacity to add monthly fees as high as $4.95 if a card is not used six months after purchase. In September, American Express announced it was eliminating monthly fees on all of its gift cards, including those already purchased and stashed away in consumers' wallets and purses.

These general purchase cards with the infuriating fees are the biggest target of the new rules. The Fed has proposed prohibiting dormancy, inactivity, and service fees on gift cards except under certain conditions. For one, there has to have been at least one year of inactivity on a card for a fee to be charged. If a person waits more than a year to use the card, no more than one type of fee can be charged per month.

Under the proposed rules, a gift-card buyer has to be given clear and conspicuous disclosures about the fees. Additionally, issuers would be prohibited from offering cards that expire in less than five years.

In this new age of consumer protection, the Fed wants to know what you think of its proposed rules on gift cards.