Credit Card Payoff Calculator: The Minimum-Payment Trap
Enter your balance and APR to see, side by side, what happens if you only ever pay the minimum versus a fixed payment amount you choose.
Your card
Minimum payments only
Payment recalculated each month as a % of the remaining balance.
Your fixed payment
Same amount every month until paid off.
How this is calculated
Each month, interest accrues on the remaining balance (APR ÷ 12). For minimum payments, the payment due is the greater of (% of balance) or the floor amount, applied to that month's balance — as the balance shrinks, so does the required minimum, which is why minimum-only payoffs stretch out for years. The fixed payment scenario applies the same dollar amount every month. Both simulations are capped at 50 years; if a payment doesn't cover that month's interest, the balance won't shrink and payoff is flagged as never happening.
Why card issuers set minimums this way
A minimum payment that's a percentage of your balance guarantees the issuer collects interest for as long as possible — every dollar you don't pay above the minimum keeps compounding at the card's APR, often 20%–30%. Paying any fixed amount above the minimum, even a modest one, dramatically cuts both the payoff time and the total interest compared to letting the minimum ride the balance down.