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Payoff Calculator
Credit card payoff calculator
You’re closer to being debt-free than you think. Just enter your current balance, APR, issuer and monthly payment to see how long it will take to pay off your balance and how much you’ll pay in interest. We’ll even give you recommendations on cards that will help you save money.
Once you’ve used our payoff calculator, there are some ways that you could use the results to inform your strategy so you pay your balance off faster and pay less in interest overall.
The savings shown in your results are based on the difference in total compound interest charges between the higher APR cards you entered and the lower promotional balance transfer APR, net of transfer fees. Your actual savings may be different based on your purchase and payment activity as well as other fees.
First, choose which debt to pay off first
If you have multiple credit cards, loans or other debts, it’s important to look at a few factors when deciding which to pay off first. To save the most money in the long run, pay down the debt with the highest interest rate, or pay the debt that is closest to your credit max. Both of these options will help raise your credit score in addition to relieving some of your debt. If you’re interested in learning more, check out our advice on Keeping Score.
Next, see if you can pay more than the minimum payment
Many credit card issuers allow cardholders to carry a balance month-to-month and make “minimum payments” (usually around $25 or 3% of the total balance) partly for the cardholder’s convenience, but also because it benefits the issuer to create a big interest charge. If you can, try to pay more than the minimum so you can lower your balance and pay less in interest over the life of the loan. A credit card payment calculator like this one can help you estimate how fast you can pay off debts if you pay more than the minimum each month.
See if you can get a lower interest rate
If you can’t pay more than the minimum on your card, see if you can find a balance transfer card that has a lower interest rate than the one you’re currently paying, because a lower interest rate will help you pay less by the time it’s paid off. If you have several cards with high interest rates, a lower rate could even help you more than paying off your smallest balance first.
Some other important things to know
- This credit card payoff calculator is intended solely for general informational and educational purposes.
- The accuracy of this debt payoff calculator and its applicability to your personal financial circumstances is not guaranteed or warranted.
- To learn more on paying off your balance, read about our favorite balance transfer credit cards from our partners.