How to use
- Enter the current balance and the purchase APR. If the card has more than one rate, this form can only use one rate at a time.
- Choose a fixed payment if you will send the same dollars every month.
- Or choose a percent of the balance. Enter the percent and a dollar floor from your statement’s description. Do not leave the percent blank in that mode.
- Press Calculate. If the payment cannot cover interest, the page stops and says so, because the balance would not fall.
How it's calculated
Fixed mode: same payment until the balance is zero
Minimum mode: payment = the greater of the dollar floor and (percent × balance), capped at balance + interest
Interest is calculated once a month on the balance at the start of the month. That is simpler than a card that compounds daily. The difference can be several dollars on a large balance; the page states the monthly assumption so you can treat the result as a plan, not as a statement copy.
A fixed payment is the same math as the loan payoff calculator. The percent-of-balance path is the part that is specific to cards. Paying a loan that does not shrink its required payment is the extra payment calculator.
Worked example
A $2,000 balance at 18 percent APR has monthly interest of 2,000 × 0.015 = $30 at the start. A fixed $100 payment covers that interest and $70 of principal in the first month, then a little more principal each month as the balance falls. The calculator counts the months until the balance is gone and adds the interest. A minimum of 2 percent of the balance or $25, whichever is greater, produces a longer payoff because the payment drops as the balance drops, until it hits the floor.
Assumptions and sources
The monthly rate is APR ÷ 12. Daily periodic rates, late fees, and new purchases are not included. In minimum mode the percent and the floor are inputs you take from the agreement, not values this site invented for a brand of card. If the computed payment does not exceed that month’s interest, the tool refuses to project a payoff, because the balance would stall or grow.
FAQ
Why does a minimum payment take so long?
The payment falls as the balance falls, so you keep paying mostly interest. A fixed payment that stays large pays the balance down faster. The form shows whichever rule you select.
What percent should I type?
Use the percent in your card agreement. This page does not store a default percent, because issuers differ.
Does this include new purchases?
No. The balance only goes down. New spending would raise it.
Is 18 percent in the example a typical card?
It is only an example so the first month’s interest is easy to check: 18 ÷ 12 = 1.5 percent, and 1.5 percent of $2,000 is $30.