How to use
- Enter your card balance and the APR from your statement.
- Choose Time to pay off and enter what you will pay each month, or choose Payment needed and enter how many months you want.
- See the payoff time or payment, the total interest, a yearly chart and the full schedule.
How the payoff is calculated
monthly rate r = APR ÷ 12 ÷ 100
interest this month = balance × r
balance next month = balance + interest − payment
- Each month, interest is added first and the rest of your payment reduces the balance.
- If your payment is no more than the monthly interest, the balance never falls, and the calculator warns you.
- For a fixed deadline, the payment is the standard level-payment (annuity) amount, the same maths as the loan calculator.
Example
5,000 at 18% APR, paying 200 a month:
- Month 1 interest = 5,000 × 1.5% = 75.00, so 125.00 reduces the balance.
- Paid off in 32 months, with 1,313.97 in interest.
- To clear it in 36 months instead, pay 180.76 a month.
A payment of 75 a month only covers the interest, so that balance would never be paid off.
Payoff time for 5,000 at 18% APR
| Monthly payment | Time to pay off | Total interest |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 7 years 10 months | 4,311.25 |
| 150 | 3 years 11 months | 1,983.61 |
| 200 | 2 years 8 months | 1,313.97 |
| 250 | 2 years | 989.17 |
| 300 | 1 year 8 months | 797.20 |
| 500 | 11 months | 458.12 |
Doubling the payment from 100 to 200 saves about 3,000 in interest.
Daily interest and other differences from your statement
Many card issuers apply a daily rate (APR ÷ 365 or 360) to each day’s balance and compound it daily (CFPB). That costs slightly more than APR ÷ 12.
US rules (Regulation Z) let issuers assume a monthly rate for the repayment estimates on statements, which is what we use.
The results assume no new purchases, fees, penalty rates or promotional rates ending. Each month’s interest is rounded to the cent, and the last payment is whatever clears the balance.