See how long it takes to pay off your balance making only minimum payments — vs a fixed monthly amount. Find out exactly how much interest you'll save.
Enter your current balance, your card's APR, the minimum payment percentage your card uses, and the fixed monthly amount you can afford to pay. The calculator runs two payoff schedules side by side — one using only minimum payments, and one using your fixed amount — so you can see exactly how much time and money you save.
Credit card minimum payments are typically 1–3% of your outstanding balance. Because the minimum shrinks as your balance shrinks, you end up paying mostly interest for years. A $5,000 balance at 22% APR paying only 2% minimums can take over 20 years to pay off and cost more than $6,000 in interest alone.
Committing to a fixed payment — even if it's only slightly above the minimum — dramatically accelerates your payoff. Unlike minimum payments that decrease as your balance falls, a fixed payment applies more and more to principal every month as interest charges shrink. This creates a compounding payoff effect in your favor.
APR stands for Annual Percentage Rate — the yearly interest rate your credit card charges. Most credit cards charge between 18% and 30% APR. You can find your APR on your monthly statement or in your card's terms and conditions. This calculator uses monthly compounding, which is how credit card interest is typically calculated.