See exactly how long the balance takes to clear at your payment — and what it costs you in interest.
At this payment, the balance grows faster than you pay it down. Raise the monthly payment above the interest charged each month.
Move the balance to a 0% intro APR card and put the full payment toward principal.
See balance transfer cards →Trade several card balances for one fixed-rate monthly payment.
Compare consolidation loans →Credit cards charge interest on the remaining balance every month, so this calculator simulates your payoff month by month: it applies your payment, subtracts the interest charged that month, and reduces the balance by whatever's left — repeating until the balance hits zero.
If your payment barely covers the interest charged each month, the balance can shrink extremely slowly — or not at all. That's the warning this calculator shows when your payment is too close to the monthly interest charge. Even a small increase in payment can cut months or years off the payoff timeline, because more of each payment reaches the principal.
New purchases on the card, promotional rate changes, and late fees aren't factored in — this assumes no new charges and a constant APR for the full payoff period.
High-APR cards charge a large amount of interest relative to a small minimum payment, so most of that payment can go to interest rather than principal. Increasing your payment amount is the most direct way to speed up payoff.
Paying the highest-interest-rate balance first (the "avalanche" method) minimizes total interest paid. Paying the smallest balance first (the "snowball" method) can build momentum through quick wins. Both work — the avalanche method saves more money mathematically.
It can, if the intro APR period is long enough and the transfer fee is smaller than the interest you'd save. Run the numbers on the new rate in this calculator to compare against your current payoff timeline.