It would take more than 26 years to pay off a $10,000 credit card balance if you only paid the minimum, assuming an interest rate of 15% and a minimum payment of 2% of the balance. The exact amount of time depends on how much your issuer’s required minimum payment is and what your credit card’s interest rate is.
For example, with an interest rate of 15% (around the average for existing credit card accounts) and minimum payments of 2% of the balance (or $35, whichever is greater), it would take 26 years and 2 months, and cost you $15,000 in interest. But if that monthly payment increased to 4%, it would take much less time, 9 years and 10 months, to pay off the full balance. That would cost you $4,367 in interest.
If you’d like to get a more precise estimate for your own credit card, you can follow the steps below.
How to Calculate Your Credit Card Payoff Date with Minimum Payments
- Go to WalletHub’s credit card minimum payment calculator.
- Input your card’s balance, interest rate, minimum payment percentage and minimum dollar amount for payments.
- Click the blue “Calculate” button.
- Look at the results to see the time until payoff, how much interest you’ll pay, and a graph showing the payoff progress over time.
You can also look at your monthly credit card statement to see exactly how long it will take to pay off your balance with only minimum payments. Credit card issuers are required by law to disclose this.
Regardless of the timeline, though, it’s best to put as much toward paying your balance as you can each month. With a balance as big as $10,000, you’ll wind up paying a mountain of interest if you make only minimum payments.
This answer was first published on 10/06/22. For the most current information about a financial product, you should always check and confirm accuracy with the offering financial institution. Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company.
