See how long it takes to pay off your credit card and how much you can save with extra payments
Monthly breakdown of payments, interest, and remaining balance
Enter a balance, an APR, and a monthly payment, and this calculator shows how many months the payoff takes and how much interest you'll pay along the way. It also shows how much faster the balance disappears when you raise the payment.
Credit card interest compounds against you daily, and minimum payments are designed to keep balances alive for years. A fixed payment — even a modest one — beats a shrinking minimum payment dramatically, because the entire payment above accrued interest goes to principal every month.
N = −ln(1 − B·r / P) / ln(1 + r)Minimums are typically 1–3% of the balance, only slightly more than the interest accruing each month, so very little principal gets retired. As the balance falls, the minimum falls too, stretching the payoff. A $5,000 balance at 24% APR can take well over a decade on minimums alone.
Most cards charge interest on your average daily balance using a daily periodic rate (APR ÷ 365). That's why carrying a balance for even part of the month costs money, and why paying early in the cycle saves a little interest.
Often yes for balances you can pay off within the 0% promotional period, typically 12–21 months. Account for the 3–5% transfer fee and be sure you won't add new charges. If the balance will outlive the promo, compare against a fixed-rate personal loan instead.
Ideally, yes. New purchases usually accrue interest immediately when you carry a balance, because you lose the grace period. Moving day-to-day spending to a debit card while paying the balance down keeps the plan clean.
Minimum payments are engineered to keep you in debt. See the real math on a $5,000 balance — and how a fixed payment cuts decades down to a couple of years.