Compare two balance transfer offers side by side: real savings after the fee, the payment that clears inside the 0% window, and the fee on any balance.
Pick a scenario, then change the balance, APR and payment to match yours.
Issuers charge the percentage or a flat minimum, whichever is more — usually $5. Set it to 0 for an offer with no minimum.
The fee is the percentage or the flat minimum, whichever is more — which is why a small transfer costs the minimum, not the percentage.
| Balance transferred | 3% | 4% | 5% |
|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | $15.00 | $20.00 | $25.00 |
| $1,000 | $30.00 | $40.00 | $50.00 |
| $2,000 | $60.00 | $80.00 | $100.00 |
| $5,000 | $150.00 | $200.00 | $250.00 |
| $10,000 | $300.00 | $400.00 | $500.00 |
| $15,000 | $450.00 | $600.00 | $750.00 |
| $20,000 | $600.00 | $800.00 | $1,000.00 |
Both paths are modelled on the same monthly payment, monthly interest on the full balance, and a fixed revert APR. Real cards compound daily on the average daily balance, so the interest here runs a little low. An intro rate must last at least six months and can be withdrawn if you go more than 60 days past due. This is educational information, not financial advice.
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A balance transfer moves credit card debt to a card with a low or 0% introductory APR, so more of each payment reaches the principal instead of the interest. Two things decide whether it actually pays: the transfer fee, charged upfront on the amount you move, and the revert APR that applies to whatever is still owed when the promo closes. Your real saving is the interest you avoid, minus the fee, minus any post-promo interest. This calculator nets all three out, runs two competing offers side by side so you can see whether a longer 0% window is worth a bigger fee, and gives you the monthly payment that clears the balance before the window shuts.
A balance transfer moves an existing balance from one credit card to another, usually to take a 0% or low intro APR lasting a set number of months — commonly 12 to 21. The new card charges a one-time transfer fee, which the CFPB describes as a percentage of the amount transferred or a fixed amount, whichever is more, so a small transfer costs the flat minimum rather than the percentage. Once the intro period ends, whatever is left accrues interest at the card's standard revert APR. Done right — cleared during the promo — a transfer saves hundreds; done wrong, the fee and revert interest cancel the benefit.
Balance Transfer Savings Formula
Price a short no-fee promo against a long promo with a fee and see which is cheaper at the payment you can actually make.
Move a 20%+ APR balance to a 0% intro card so payments reach the principal instead of the interest.
Find what 3%, 4% or 5% costs on your balance before you decide whether the offer is worth applying for.
Find the monthly payment that clears the balance inside the 0% window, to the cent.
See how many months run past the promo and what that costs at the regular APR.
Check whether a 0% window turns a balance that never clears into one that does.
Run a no-fee 15-month card against a 3%-fee 21-month card in one pass and see which actually costs less at your payment — the answer flips depending on how fast you pay.
It nets out the transfer fee and any post-promo interest, so you see true savings rather than the headline 0% APR.
Each offer is labelled clears in promo or runs past promo, and shows how many months spill past the 0% window into revert-rate interest.
The payment needed to clear the balance inside the promo is rounded up to the cent, so paying it really does finish inside the window rather than a month late.
If the current card never clears at your payment, the calculator says so and still prices the transfer — that is the scenario a 0% offer exists for.
A reference table gives the 3%, 4% and 5% fee for common balances with the flat minimum applied, so you can price a transfer without entering an APR.
Net savings equal the interest you'd avoid by leaving your current card, minus the transfer fee, minus any interest charged after the promo ends. For a $6,000 balance at 22% paying $350 a month, staying costs about $1,269 in interest over 21 months. Moving it to a 0% card for 18 months with a 3% fee costs $180 upfront and no interest, clearing in 18 months — a net saving of about $1,089.
At the common 3% fee, $1,000 costs $30; at 4% it's $40 and at 5% it's $50. The CFPB notes the fee is a percentage of the amount transferred or a fixed amount, whichever is more, so on small transfers the flat minimum — usually $5 — is what you pay. On $150 at 3%, the percentage would be $4.50, so the $5 minimum applies instead. The reference table on this page lists the fee at 3%, 4% and 5% for balances from $500 to $20,000.
It depends entirely on whether you'd clear the balance inside the shorter window. If you would, the no-fee card wins outright — you pay no fee and no interest. If you wouldn't, the shorter card dumps the remainder onto the revert APR while the longer one keeps it at 0%, and the extra months are usually worth more than the fee. Set this calculator to compare two offers and it prices both against staying put, and names the winner.
It's worth it when the interest you avoid exceeds the transfer fee plus any post-promo interest. A 3% fee on $6,000 is $180, which is easily beaten if you're carrying 20%+ APR and can pay the balance down inside the 0% window. It stops being worth it when the balance is small, the payoff is quick, or the promo is too short for your payment — all three of which this calculator prices directly.
Divide the transferred balance including the fee by the number of promo months. This calculator does it for you and rounds the result up to the cent, which matters more than it sounds: $6,180 over 18 months is $343.33 recurring, and paying a rounded-down $343.33 leaves six cents outstanding when the promo expires, so the payoff actually takes 19 months.
Usually yes. The CFPB is explicit: for most credit cards, if you carry a balance month to month, purchases accrue interest from the transaction date — and that holds even when another balance on the same card is at 0% from a transfer. You also lose the grace period on purchases unless you pay the entire balance, transferred amount included, in full by the due date. That is why the standard advice is to keep the transfer card free of new spending.
Anything still owed starts accruing at the card's standard revert APR, which is often close to the rate you left. This calculator models the revert APR month by month, labels each offer clears in promo or runs past promo, and reports both the months past the window and the interest they cost.
There are limits. Under the CARD Act, an introductory rate has to stay in effect for at least six months, and an issuer can withdraw it if you go more than 60 days past due. The issuer must also tell you up front how long the intro rate lasts and what rate applies afterwards. A variable intro rate can still move within those six months if the index it tracks — the prime rate, typically — changes.
Often, but the amount is capped by your new card's credit limit and sometimes by a separate per-transfer maximum, and the fee applies to whatever you move. Issuers rarely approve a transfer that would use your entire limit. If only part of the balance transfers, run the calculator on the portion that moves — the rest keeps accruing at the old rate.
Applying adds a hard inquiry and a new account, which can dip your score a few points for a while. Moving debt to a card with more available credit usually lowers your overall utilization, which tends to help over time. Closing the old card after transferring removes its limit from the utilization calculation, so many people leave it open with no balance.
Transfer to a 0% card, pay nothing else onto it, and clear the balance in full before the intro period ends so the revert APR never applies. Use the payment to clear in promo figure as your monthly target, make every payment on time — 60 days past due can cost you the rate — and check that the interest you save clearly beats the fee before you apply.
Usually not. Most issuers don't allow balance transfers between two of their own cards, so a transfer generally has to go to a card from a different issuer. Check the new card's terms before applying, along with the window for getting the intro fee — several cards charge a lower fee only on transfers completed in the first few months after opening.