Credit Card Payoff Calculator
Time, interest & the power of paying extra
A $6,000 card balance at 22% APR, paid at $200 a month, takes 3 years 8 months to clear and costs $2,790.60 in interest. Enter your own balance, APR and payment to see your payoff date, and add an extra amount each month to see how much sooner you would be done and what it saves.
The minimum payment trap, with real numbers
Every credit card interest calculator eventually runs into this, and it is also the answer to how to pay off credit card faster: change the payment, not the product.
A credit card minimum is not a fixed amount. It is a percentage of the balance, typically 1 to 3% with a floor of $25 or $35. That is the whole problem: as the balance falls the minimum falls with it, so the payment shrinks just as fast as the debt and the payoff stretches out almost indefinitely.
Enter a minimum percentage above and the calculator simulates it month by month. On a $6,000 balance at 22% APR:
| Minimum | First payment | Time to clear | Interest paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1% | $60 | Never | Balance grows |
| 1.5% | $90 | Never | Balance grows |
| 2% | $120 | 89 yr 10 mo | $54,419 |
| 2.5% | $150 | 28 yr 5 mo | $14,569 |
| 3% | $180 | 18 yr 5 mo | $8,585 |
| 4% | $240 | 11 yr 5 mo | $4,767 |
Two things in that table are worth sitting with. At a 2% minimum this debt takes 89 years and costs $54,419 in interest on a $6,000 balance — nine times what you borrowed. And below about 1.8%, the minimum is less than the monthly interest, so the balance grows no matter how faithfully you pay. The calculator says "balance never falls" rather than inventing a number, because there isn't one.
The monthly interest on $6,000 at 22% is $110. Any payment below that adds to the debt. This is the single most important number on your statement and it is never printed there.
What a fixed payment does instead
Fix the payment and the arithmetic changes completely, because every dollar the balance falls is a dollar the payment no longer has to cover in interest.
| Monthly payment | Time to pay off | Total interest | Total paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2% minimum | 89 yr 10 mo | $54,419 | $60,419 |
| $200 fixed | 3 yr 8 mo | $2,791 | $8,791 |
| $250 fixed | 2 yr 10 mo | $2,079 | $8,079 |
Paying $200 a month instead of a $120 minimum — $80 more — turns 89 years into under four and saves $51,628. Nothing else in personal finance offers a return like that, and it is available to anyone with $80 of slack.
The mechanism is simple: a fixed payment does not shrink as the balance does, so the share going to principal rises every single month. That is why the extra-payment field matters so much. Every extra dollar goes entirely to principal and removes all the future interest that dollar would have accrued.
Several cards: avalanche or snowball
Pay the minimum on everything, then direct every spare dollar at one card. Which one is the only real decision:
| Avalanche | Snowball | |
|---|---|---|
| Target first | Highest APR | Smallest balance |
| Total interest | Lowest | Higher |
| Time to first win | Can be long | Short |
| Best when | Rates differ a lot | You need momentum |
Avalanche is mathematically optimal, always. Snowball clears a card sooner, which some people need to keep going. The honest position is that the difference in interest is usually a few hundred dollars, while the difference between sticking with a plan and abandoning it is thousands — so if snowball is the one you will actually finish, snowball is the better plan. The debt payoff calculator covers the multi-debt case.
Balance transfers, and the trap inside them
A 0% balance transfer can be genuinely excellent: no interest for 12 to 21 months means every payment goes to principal. Three things to check first:
- The transfer fee, typically 3 to 5%. On $6,000 that is $180 to $300 up front — still far less than a year of interest at 22%, but not free.
- Whether you can clear it in the window. $6,000 over 18 months is $333 a month. If you cannot manage that, work out what the rate reverts to.
- New purchases on the card. On many cards payments are applied to the promotional balance first, so a new purchase sits accruing interest at the full rate until the transfer is cleared. Do not spend on a balance transfer card.
And the underlying point: a transfer moves debt, it does not reduce it. The plan has to be the payment, not the product.
Estimate only — not financial advice. Card terms, minimum formulas and interest calculation methods vary by issuer.
What the card payoff timeline assumes
Fixed-payment payoff uses the closed-form solution n = −ln(1 − rB÷P) ÷ ln(1+r), where B is the balance, P the payment and r the monthly rate (APR ÷ 12). Interest is payment × n − balance.
- Minimum-payment mode is simulated month by month, because a percentage-based minimum has no closed form: each month's payment is max(balance × minimum %, floor), interest is added first, and the loop runs until the balance clears.
- If the first minimum is at or below the month's interest, the balance can never fall and the calculator says so rather than reporting a meaningless 100-year total. That guard matters: on $6,000 at 22% it triggers below about a 1.8% minimum.
- Real minimum formulas vary. Many issuers use 1 to 3% of balance with a $25 to $35 floor; others use interest plus 1% of principal. Check your statement.
- Interest is compounded monthly at APR ÷ 12. Most US issuers actually use a daily periodic rate on the average daily balance, which produces a slightly higher figure.
- Not modelled: new purchases, fees, penalty APRs, promotional rates, and payment allocation rules across different balance types.
Reviewed September 2026.
Sources, checked
- How does my credit card company calculate the amount of interest I owe?, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Issuers apply a daily periodic rate to the average daily balance.
Figures reviewed . Every worked example on this page is checked against the calculator above.
Credit Card Payoff Calculator: frequently asked questions
How long will it take to pay off my credit card?
At a fixed $200 a month, a $6,000 balance at 22% clears in 3 years 8 months with $2,791 of interest. Paying only a 2% minimum, the same debt takes 89 years and costs $54,419.
Why does paying the minimum take so long?
Because the minimum is a percentage of the balance, so it shrinks as the debt does. The payment falls just as fast as the balance, and the payoff stretches out almost indefinitely.
What happens if my payment is less than the interest?
The balance grows. On $6,000 at 22% the monthly interest is $110, so any minimum below about 1.8% of the balance adds to the debt every month no matter how reliably you pay.
How much faster does paying extra pay off a card?
Dramatically, because extra money goes entirely to principal. Paying $200 instead of a $120 minimum on $6,000 at 22% turns 89 years into 3 years 8 months and saves $51,628.
What is the average credit card minimum payment?
Usually 1 to 3% of the balance with a floor of $25 or $35, though some issuers use interest plus 1% of principal. Check your statement, since the difference between 2% and 3% here is 71 years.
Should I use the avalanche or snowball method?
Avalanche, targeting the highest APR first, always costs less interest. Snowball clears the smallest balance first and gives a quicker win. The interest difference is usually a few hundred dollars; finishing the plan is worth thousands.
Is a 0% balance transfer worth it?
Usually yes, if you can clear the balance within the promotional window. Account for the 3 to 5% transfer fee, and do not make new purchases on the card, since payments often go to the promotional balance first while purchases accrue at the full rate.
Does paying twice a month help?
Slightly, on cards that calculate interest on the average daily balance, because the balance is lower for part of the month. The effect is small compared with simply paying more in total.