Credit card minimum payment calculator
Minimum payments shrink as your balance shrinks, which stretches the payoff for years. Compare the minimum against a fixed monthly payment on the same card.
Minimum only
19 years 3 months
First payment $128 · interest $4,810
Fixed $200/mo
2 years 3 months
$3,799 less interest
Keep going
This calculator stays free and works without an account. The app adds your real bills, paydays, cards and loans.
Why the minimum payment is designed to be slow
A minimum payment is generally the larger of a small fixed floor and a few percent of the statement balance. The trap is the percentage: as your balance falls, so does the required payment, so the amount attacking principal falls in lockstep. A balance that starts with a hundred-and-twenty-dollar minimum might be down to forty a month years later, with most of that still covering interest.
The result is a payoff measured in years and an interest total that can approach - sometimes exceed - the original purchase. Nothing about this is a mistake on the issuer’s part; it is what a revolving balance is for.
The single change that fixes it
Freeze the payment. Pick today’s minimum, or any amount above it that your cash flow can actually survive, and keep paying that same figure every month even as the balance drops. Because interest shrinks while your payment stays flat, an ever-larger share hits principal and the payoff curve steepens each month. In the comparison above, a fixed payment usually collapses a multi-year payoff into a handful of months.
What to check on your own statement
- The rate. Purchases, cash advances and balance transfers can each carry a different rate; cash advances usually accrue from day one with no grace period.
- The minimum formula. It is printed on the statement, typically as a percentage with a dollar floor. Enter yours above rather than the default.
- The due date versus your payday. A due date two days before pay is the most common cause of an unintentionally carried balance.
Utilisation matters as much as interest
The share of your limit you are using is one of the larger inputs to a credit score. Keeping utilisation below about thirty percent - and well below fifty - protects your score even while you carry a balance you are actively clearing.
In Lastwell, a card is a first-class account: spending raises what the card owes, the payment leaves your cash on the due date sized by your strategy, and the utilisation bar turns amber and then red as you climb. You see the interest cost and the cash-flow cost on the same screen.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a credit card minimum payment calculated?
- Most issuers charge the greater of a fixed floor (often $10) or a small percentage of the statement balance (commonly 2 to 3 percent), plus any interest and fees. As your balance falls, the minimum falls with it, which is why minimum-only payoff takes so long.
- How long will it take to pay off my card with minimum payments?
- Typically many years and often more than the original balance in interest, because the required payment shrinks alongside the balance. Enter your numbers above to see your own figure.
- Is a fixed payment better than the minimum?
- Almost always. Holding your payment steady at today's minimum - rather than letting it shrink - usually cuts the payoff time dramatically and saves a large share of the interest.
- Does paying the minimum hurt my credit score?
- Paying the minimum on time keeps your payment history clean, but the balance it leaves behind raises your utilisation, which is a significant scoring factor. Below thirty percent utilisation is the usual guidance.
- When is interest actually charged?
- If you pay the statement balance in full by the due date, most cards charge no interest on purchases. Carry any part of it and interest typically applies from the transaction date, not the due date.