As if trying to pull yourself out of bad credit quicksand isn't hard enough, there are a few “helpful” programs out there just waiting to suck you back in.

Take, for example, the credit cards that offer you a chance to rebuild your credit for a fee.

Credit One Bank offers customers with lackluster credit scores the chance to secure a credit limit of up to $1,000. The cost? A one-time fee of $69, plus an annual fee of $69 broken into monthly payments of $5.75.

To get a $1,000 credit line, $138 may not seem like a bad deal, especially for someone trying to establish a track record of paying bills on time. But reading the fine print, you'll find Credit One limits can be as low as $200.

Interest rates are high at just over 23 percent. A credit card for someone with a credit score in the 700s can be as low as between 9 and 14 percent.
 
While Credit One's $5.75 monthly charge would give you something to pay on time every month, helping you bring your score closer to the 700s, $138 to buy a $200 credit line just isn't worth it — ever.

Besides, missing a pesky monthly fee payment could incur late fees on top of dinging your credit once again.

When it comes to low-limit, high-fee cards, Ryan Everett, director of credit card products management at USAA, says to just say no.

“There are other ways to build your credit back up,” he said. “There are other things the credit bureaus look at.”
Everett suggests making car, rent and mortgage payments on time to show you can meet your financial commitments in a responsible manner.

“If you make your payments on time, that shows you can use credit responsibly,” he said.

If you've already got one of those pesky fee-based cards, cancel it immediately, continue to pay your other bills on time and be patient.

The only thing that will help you establish a new track record of paying your bills on time is time.

And high-fee cards aren't the only obstacle that will try to detract you from the mission of rebuilding your credit.

An entire credit-repair industry has sprung up to help those who have found themselves in credit hell, but often these agencies aren't successful in helping consumers reduce or eliminate their debt.

And no matter what, they can't change the behaviors that landed you in bad credit quicksand in the first place.
 
Your best ally in rebuilding your credit is you. I recommend reading the “Pocket Idiot's Guide to Repairing Your Credit” and “The Guerrilla Guide to Credit Repair.”

And no matter what, don't fall victim to the promise of a better credit score for a ridiculously high price.