How long paying only the minimum takes and what it costs, against the 36-month payment
Estimates only, not financial advice. What you type stays on your device. Checked against sources on 5 Oct 2026.US card statements must carry a minimum payment warning and say how long minimum payments alone would take, and what a 36-month payoff would cost each month. With 1% of the balance plus interest, at least $35, a $6,000 balance at 24% takes 216 months and $10,251.91 of interest. Paying $235.40 a month clears it in 36. Enter your card’s formula to see yours.
Rates and rules read from 15 U.S.C. §1637(b)(11), repayment information on card statements (CARD Act) on 5 Oct 2026; they may have changed since.
Enter the balance and APR from your statement.
Copy your card’s minimum-payment formula from the card agreement: the percent, whether interest is added, and the dollar floor.
Read the months and total cost of paying only the minimum.
Compare them with the 36-month payment your statement must also show.
This calculator follows a credit card balance month by month until it reaches zero, and shows three ways of paying it side by side: the fixed amount you choose, the card's minimum payment, and the payment that clears it in 36 months.
Minimum payments. Every card issuer sets its own minimum-payment formula, so it is an input. A common one is 1% of the new balance plus the month's interest, with a floor such as $35; others use 2% or 3% of the balance with nothing added. Copy yours from the card agreement. Because the minimum falls as the balance falls, paying only the minimum can take well over a decade.
The 36-month figure. Under 15 U.S.C. §1637(b)(11), added by the CARD Act, a US card statement must show a minimum payment warning, how long minimum payments alone would take, their total cost, and the monthly payment that clears the balance in 36 months. This page works out the same figures so you can check them before the statement arrives.
The rest of the article, and all 6 questions about Credit Card Payoff Calculator, are on the Credit Card Payoff Calculator page.
The time depends on the balance, the APR and the payment. A $6,000 balance at 24% APR takes 34 months on $250 a month, 24 months on $317.23, and 216 months on a minimum of 1% plus interest. Once the payment barely covers the month's interest, a small extra amount saves years.
Federal law, 15 U.S.C. §1637(b)(11), requires US card statements to show the monthly payment that would clear the balance in 36 months with no new charges, and its total cost. For $6,000 at 24% APR that payment is $235.40 a month. The calculator shows the same figure next to the minimum-payment path.
A payment no larger than the month's interest leaves the balance where it was or makes it grow. At 24% APR, a $6,000 balance charges $120 of interest in the first month, so a $120 payment never clears it. The calculator shows the smallest payment that makes progress and flags a payment below it.
Paying the highest APR first, the avalanche order, costs the least interest overall, because each extra dollar stops the most expensive interest. Paying the smallest balance first, the snowball order, clears whole cards sooner, which some people find easier to keep going. Run each card through this calculator to see the interest at stake.
Rates and rules change; check the source before you rely on a figure.
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