Balance Transfer Calculator

Find out whether moving a credit card balance to a lower-rate card saves money once the transfer fee is counted, how much will still be owed when the intro rate ends, and the monthly payment that clears it in time. For anyone weighing a balance transfer offer. Your inputs stay in your browser.

Your card and the offer

Your current card

What you will pay each month either way.

The balance transfer offer

A percentage of the amount moved, often 3% to 5%. Check the offer terms.

0 for a 0% offer.

Saves $1,634.36 · paid off in 1 year, 9 months. See full results

Example: $6,000.00 at 24.99% APR, paying $300.00 a month, moved to a 0% offer for 18 months with a 3% fee and 21.99% afterwards (illustrative terms). Enter your offer to update.

Your balance transfer estimate

Balance transfer result
Saves $1,634.36
Total cost to payoff, fee included
Transfer fee
$180.00
Added to the balance: $6,180.00
Balance left when the intro period ends
$780.00
After month 18
Monthly payment to clear it during the intro period
$343.33
18 equal payments
Time to pay off
1 year, 9 months
vs. 2 years, 3 months if you keep the card

$780.00 is still owed when the intro period ends, and is then charged 21.99% APR. Paying $343.33 a month would clear it in time.

Assumes the same monthly payment on both cards, no new purchases, and monthly interest at APR ÷ 12.

Keep vs. transfer, to payoff

Keep the card vs. transfer, at the same monthly payment

ItemKeep the cardTransfer
Transfer fee $0.00$180.00
Interest $1,841.44$27.08
Time to pay off 2 years, 3 months1 year, 9 months
Total paid $7,841.44$6,207.08
Show all 21 monthly payments on the transferred balance

Transferred balance, month by month

MonthAPRPaymentInterestBalance
1 0%$300.00$0.00$5,880.00
2 0%$300.00$0.00$5,580.00
3 0%$300.00$0.00$5,280.00
4 0%$300.00$0.00$4,980.00
5 0%$300.00$0.00$4,680.00
6 0%$300.00$0.00$4,380.00
7 0%$300.00$0.00$4,080.00
8 0%$300.00$0.00$3,780.00
9 0%$300.00$0.00$3,480.00
10 0%$300.00$0.00$3,180.00
11 0%$300.00$0.00$2,880.00
12 0%$300.00$0.00$2,580.00
13 0%$300.00$0.00$2,280.00
14 0%$300.00$0.00$1,980.00
15 0%$300.00$0.00$1,680.00
16 0%$300.00$0.00$1,380.00
17 0%$300.00$0.00$1,080.00
18 0%$300.00$0.00$780.00
19 21.99%$300.00$14.29$494.29
20 21.99%$300.00$9.06$203.35
21 21.99%$207.08$3.73$0.00

How the comparison works

  1. Keep the card: each month, interest of APR ÷ 12 is added to the balance and your payment is subtracted, until it is paid off. The same method as our credit card payoff calculator.
  2. Transfer: the fee is added to the amount moved. In the example, 3% of $6,000.00 is $180.00, so $6,180.00 is transferred. The intro APR applies for the intro months, then the post-intro APR applies to whatever is left.
  3. Both paths use the same monthly payment. The result is the difference in total paid to payoff, fee included.

In the example the transfer saves $1,634.36 and the balance is paid off in 1 year, 9 months instead of 2 years, 3 months.

What happens when the intro period ends

An introductory rate must last at least six months unless you are more than 60 days late, and the rate on any balance left afterwards can rise (CFPB: how long an intro rate lasts). In the example, $780.00 is still owed after month 18. To clear the transferred balance within the intro period you would pay $343.33 a month: the transferred balance spread evenly over the intro months at the intro APR. Paying $344.00 a month clears it in 1 year, 6 months with $0.00 of interest.

When the fee costs more than it saves

A balance transfer fee can be charged even on a 0% offer (CFPB: balance transfer fees). If you could pay the balance off quickly anyway, the fee may be more than the interest you avoid. For example, moving $2,000.00 from an 18% card with a 5% fee while paying $500.00 a month costs $21.57 more than keeping the card.

Offers with a low but not zero intro APR

Some offers charge a low intro APR instead of 0%. The calculator charges it as entered. With a 2.99% intro APR, the example transfer's interest rises from $27.08 to $205.19, and the payment needed to clear the balance during the intro period becomes $351.52.

Assumptions and limitations

  • You make the same fixed payment on both cards and never pay late. Issuers' minimum-payment formulas are not modelled.
  • No new purchases. Carrying a promotional balance can mean new purchases on that card are charged interest (CFPB: interest on 0% offers).
  • Interest is APR ÷ 12 on the balance each month. Card statements often use a daily rate on the average daily balance, so real interest can differ slightly.
  • Annual fees, penalty APRs, deferred-interest promotions and credit score effects are not included.
  • No offer, issuer or approval is assumed. Enter the terms from your own offer. Results are estimates, not financial advice.

If you are comparing a transfer with a fixed-rate loan to pay the balance off, the personal loan calculator shows a loan's true cost including an origination fee.

Methodology and testing

The "keep" path uses the same tested payoff engine as our credit card payoff calculator. Automated tests check the transfer path against a hand-worked example, closed-form balances at the end of the intro period, the payment that clears the balance exactly on time, and an independent simulation of 300 random offers, including non-zero intro APRs, zero fees and zero-length promotions. How we build and test calculators.

Sources

  • Credit Card Payoff Calculator

    Months to pay off, total interest, extra-payment savings, the payment needed for a debt-free date, and a payoff schedule.

  • Personal Loan Calculator

    Payment, cash received after an origination fee, fee-adjusted APR, cost of borrowing, term comparison and amortization.