Credit Card Payoff Calculator
See exactly how long your card debt will take to clear, how much interest it will cost, and how much you save by paying a little extra each month.
1 · Your Card
2 · How You'll Pay
You pay the same amount every month until the balance hits zero.
We work backwards and tell you the monthly payment required.
The payment shrinks as the balance falls — this is the slowest and most expensive route.
- Principal $0
- Interest $0
What the extra payment buys you
Payment schedule
| Month | Payment | Interest | Principal | Balance |
|---|
Heads up: this assumes no new spending on the card and a fixed APR. Adding purchases, a rate change, late fees or an annual fee will all push the real payoff date further out.
How to Use This Credit Card Calculator
Start with the two numbers on your statement: the balance you carry and the purchase APR. Then pick the mode that matches the question you are actually asking.
- Fixed payment — “I can afford $200 a month. When am I free?” Enter the payment and the tool returns the payoff date and the total interest.
- Target date — “I want this gone before next summer.” Enter the number of months and the tool returns the payment you need to hit that deadline.
- Minimum only — the reality check. Pay just the minimum and watch what the same debt costs.
The extra payment field works in all three modes. Put $50 in it and the comparison panel shows precisely how many months and how much interest that $50 a month buys back. For most people carrying a normal balance, that one field is the most persuasive number on the page.
How Credit Card Interest Actually Works
Credit card interest is not charged once a year — it compounds, usually daily. Your card takes the APR and divides it by 365 to get a daily periodic rate, applies that to your balance each day, and bills the total at the end of the cycle. Next month, you pay interest on the interest.
Daily rate = APR ÷ 365 · Monthly interest ≈ Balance × APR ÷ 12
On a $5,000 balance at 22.9% APR, that is roughly $95 in the first month alone. Pay $100 and only about $5 touches the debt. This is the single most important thing to understand about card debt: at high APRs, a large slice of a modest payment is consumed before it ever reduces what you owe.
One important exception — the grace period. If you pay your statement balance in full every month, most cards charge no interest on purchases at all. Interest only begins when you carry a balance. Cash advances are different: they typically start accruing from day one with no grace period and at a higher rate.
The Minimum Payment Trap
A minimum payment is typically the greater of a flat floor (often around $25) or a small percentage of the balance, commonly 1–3%. It is designed to keep the account current — not to get you out of debt.
Because the minimum is a percentage of the balance, it shrinks as the balance falls. The debt decays slowly, then more slowly, then hardly at all. Run the “Minimum only” mode on any realistic balance and the payoff time is usually measured in decades, with total interest that can rival or exceed the original amount borrowed.
The fix is simple and it works: pick a fixed monthly amount at or above today's minimum and never lower it, even as the balance falls. Holding the payment flat is what turns a decades-long minimum-payment schedule into a few years.
There is a hard cutoff worth knowing. If your minimum percentage is below your monthly interest rate, the balance grows no matter how long you pay. At 24% APR the monthly rate is 2% — so a card demanding a 2% minimum is charging exactly as fast as you are paying. Above that APR, minimum payments alone can never clear the debt, and this calculator will tell you so.
Avalanche vs. Snowball: Which Order to Pay Cards
With more than one card, the order matters. Pay the minimum on everything, then throw every spare dollar at one target card.
The avalanche method
Target the highest APR first. This is mathematically optimal — it always produces the lowest total interest and the fastest overall payoff. If the gap between your cards' rates is wide, say a 29% store card next to a 15% bank card, avalanche wins by a meaningful margin.
The snowball method
Target the smallest balance first, regardless of rate. It costs slightly more in interest, but it clears whole accounts quickly, and each closed account frees up its minimum payment to attack the next one. Research on real repayment behaviour consistently finds people stick with snowball better, and a plan you finish beats an optimal plan you abandon.
Practical answer: if your rates are similar, snowball. If one card carries a dramatically higher APR, avalanche that one first, then snowball the rest.
Four Ways to Cut the Interest Itself
- Ask for a lower APR. Call the number on the back of the card. If you have paid on time for a year or more, a reduction is a genuinely common outcome. It costs one phone call.
- 0% balance transfer. Moving debt to an intro-rate card can pause interest for 12–21 months. Weigh the transfer fee — typically 3–5% of the balance — against the interest you would otherwise pay, and be certain you can clear it before the promotional rate ends.
- A personal loan. Fixed-rate instalment loans often price well below card APRs, and the fixed term forces an end date. The risk is behavioural: people who consolidate and then re-run the card balance end up with both debts.
- Pay twice a month. Because interest accrues daily, splitting your monthly payment in two and paying halfway through the cycle lowers your average daily balance slightly. The effect is small but free.
A Worked Example
$5,000 at 22.9% APR, three different approaches, no new spending:
| Approach | Monthly payment | Time to clear | Interest cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum only (2%, $25 floor) | Starts at $100, falls | About 139 years | Roughly $80,900 |
| Fixed payment | $150 | About 4 years 8 months | Roughly $3,400 |
| Fixed payment | $200 | About 3 years 1 month | Roughly $2,000 |
| Fixed payment | $300 | About 1 year 9 months | Roughly $1,100 |
That first row is not a typo. Paying 2% of the balance when the card charges 1.9% a month means barely $4 of every $100 payment touches the debt, and the payment shrinks as the balance does. Note also what happens between the $150 and $300 rows. Doubling the payment does not halve the cost — it cuts the interest by about two thirds and the time by nearly two thirds, because you stop feeding the compounding much earlier. Run your own numbers above; the curve is steeper than most people expect.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the minimum payment on a credit card calculated?
Most issuers charge the greater of a flat floor — commonly $25 — or a percentage of your balance, usually 1% to 3% plus that month's interest and fees. Because it is tied to the balance, the payment falls as the debt falls, which is exactly why minimum-only repayment takes so long.
Will paying only the minimum hurt my credit score?
Paying the minimum on time keeps your payment history clean, which is the largest scoring factor. But a persistently high balance keeps your credit utilisation high, and that does drag the score down. Getting utilisation below roughly 30% of your limit usually helps.
Is it better to pay off a credit card or save the money?
Clearing card debt at 20%+ APR is effectively a guaranteed, tax-free 20% return — far above what savings or investments reliably deliver. The usual exceptions are keeping a small emergency buffer so you do not fall straight back onto the card, and capturing any full employer pension match first.
Does a balance transfer hurt my credit?
Opening the new card causes a small, temporary dip from the hard enquiry and the lower average account age. Longer term it often helps, because spreading the same balance across more available credit lowers your utilisation ratio.
Should I close a card after I pay it off?
Usually not. Closing it removes that credit limit from your utilisation calculation and can eventually shorten your credit history, both of which can lower your score. Keep it open with a small recurring charge paid in full, unless it carries an annual fee you cannot justify.
What is the difference between APR and interest rate on a card?
For credit cards they are effectively the same — the APR is the yearly rate and there are no origination fees rolled in the way there are on a mortgage. Note that one card can carry several APRs at once: one for purchases, a higher one for cash advances, and a penalty rate triggered by late payment.
Why does my balance still grow when I make a payment?
Your payment is smaller than the interest being charged, so the shortfall is added back to the balance. This calculator flags that situation with a warning. The only fixes are paying more each month or lowering the rate.
Does this calculator store my financial details?
No. Everything runs locally in your browser. No balance, rate or payment figure is transmitted, logged or saved anywhere.
Quick Glossary
- APR
- Annual Percentage Rate — the yearly cost of borrowing on the card.
- Daily periodic rate
- APR divided by 365, applied to your balance each day.
- Principal
- The actual debt you owe, separate from interest charges.
- Grace period
- The window in which paying the statement balance in full avoids all purchase interest.
- Credit utilisation
- Your balance as a percentage of your credit limit. Lower is better for your score.
- Minimum payment
- The least you can pay to keep the account in good standing.
- Balance transfer
- Moving debt to another card, usually to capture a promotional 0% rate.
- Amortisation
- The month-by-month schedule showing how each payment splits between interest and principal.
Disclaimer: This calculator produces estimates for planning and comparison. It assumes a fixed APR, no new purchases, and no fees or penalty charges. It is not financial, legal or credit advice. Your card's actual interest calculation, billing cycle and minimum payment formula are set out in your cardholder agreement. Speak to a qualified adviser or a non-profit credit counsellor before making decisions about debt.