Credit Card Payoff Calculator
Find out how long it takes to pay off a card balance — and what it costs.
Debt-free in
3 yr
Interest paid
$2,200
Total paid
$7,200
Minimum payments are a trap
Card minimums (usually 1–3% of the balance) are designed to keep you paying for decades: $5,000 at 24% APR on a 2% minimum takes over 20 years and costs more in interest than the original debt. A fixed payment — even modestly above the minimum — collapses that timeline.
Faster routes out
A 0% balance-transfer card (typically a 3–5% fee for 12–21 months of no interest) or a lower-rate personal loan can cut payoff cost dramatically — but only if spending stops. The APR here is why: at 24%, interest accrues at 2% of the balance every month.
Frequently asked questions
Why do minimum payments take so long?
Card minimums are usually just 1–3% of the balance, barely above the interest charge. At 24% APR, most of a minimum payment covers interest, so the principal barely moves — a $5,000 balance can take over 20 years and cost more in interest than the original debt. A fixed payment above the minimum collapses that timeline.
Should I pay off cards or save first?
Keep a small starter emergency fund (about $1,000), then attack high-interest debt aggressively — few investments reliably beat a 20%+ guaranteed 'return' from eliminating card interest. Once the cards are clear, redirect those payments to savings and investing.
Do balance-transfer cards help?
They can. A 0% intro-APR transfer (typically a 3–5% fee for 12–21 interest-free months) lets your whole payment attack principal — but only if you stop adding new charges and clear the balance before the promo ends, when the rate jumps back up.
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