Work out your credit card minimum payment under either issuer formula, then see the payoff time, the total interest, and what paying extra saves.
First month's minimum at 22.15% APR, the Federal Reserve's average for accounts assessed interest (G.19, May 2026). Percent-plus uses a $40 floor, flat 2% a $25 floor. Store cards often use a flat 3-4% — enter your own rate above.
| Balance | 1% + int. | Flat 2% |
|---|---|---|
| $500 | $40 | $25 |
| $1,000 | $40 | $25 |
| $2,000 | $57 | $40 |
| $5,000 | $142 | $100 |
| $10,000 | $285 | $200 |
| $15,000 | $427 | $300 |
| $30,000 | $854 | $600 |
Estimates assume a fixed APR, no new purchases, and monthly compounding; your issuer charges interest daily, so the real figure differs slightly. Every issuer sets its own minimum-payment formula and can add clauses this model does not carry — read your cardmember agreement for the terms that bind your account. Educational information, not financial advice.
You might also find these calculators useful
There is no single minimum-payment formula. Issuers use one of two, and they are far apart: roughly 1% of the balance with the month's interest added on top, or a flat 2-4% that already contains that interest. Pick the wrong one and the answer is off by half. This calculator asks which formula your card uses, then shows the payment, how long the minimum-only path really takes, what it costs in interest, and how the regulated 36-month figure on your statement compares.
The minimum payment is the least you can pay in a billing cycle and still keep the account current. It is set by your cardmember agreement, not by law, and it is deliberately small: the longer a balance sits, the more interest the issuer earns. Because it is a percentage of the balance, it shrinks every month as the balance falls, so each payment clears less principal than the one before. That is why a minimum-only payoff stretches into decades. The floor — often $25 to $40 — takes over once the percentage falls below it, and from that point the balance finally starts dropping at a steady pace.
Formula
Estimate the amount due before the statement lands so the payment is not a surprise.
Compare the calculator against the minimum your issuer printed to confirm which formula your card uses.
See the cost of paying the minimum against the cost of paying a little more, in months and in dollars.
Understand the repayment disclosure on your statement and what the 36-month payment would do to your balance.
Run each card's formula separately to see which minimum is really the heavier commitment.
Use the minimum-only path as the baseline that any repayment plan has to beat.
Choose between the two methods issuers use instead of accepting one hardcoded assumption. The same card, the same balance, and the same percentage can produce very different minimums.
The minimum falls as the balance falls, so it cannot be modelled as a fixed payment. This simulates every month, which is the only way the true horizon shows up.
The share of the minimum swallowed by interest is shown directly. On a high-APR balance most of the payment never touches what you owe.
Every US statement must show what it takes to clear the balance in 36 months. The same figure is calculated here so you can see the gap.
Add any amount above the minimum and watch the payoff time and the interest total collapse together.
A reference table gives the first minimum on common balances under each method, with no input needed.
One of two ways, and your cardmember agreement says which. Either a small percentage of the balance — around 1% — with that month's interest and any fees added on top, or a larger flat percentage of 2% to 4% that already contains the interest and fees. Both are subject to a floor, commonly $25 to $40, and if your balance is below the floor you simply pay the balance.
At the Federal Reserve's average APR of 22.15% for accounts assessed interest, about $142 under the 1%-plus-interest method and $100 under a flat 2%. A flat 3% would be $150. The balance is the same; only the formula differs.
At 22.15% APR, the floor usually decides it. The 1%-plus-interest calculation comes to roughly $28, below a $40 floor, so you would pay $40. A flat 2% is $20, below a $25 floor, so you would pay $25.
At 22.15% APR, roughly $854 under 1% plus interest and $600 under a flat 2%. At that size the floor is irrelevant and the percentage decides everything — which is also when the difference between the two methods is at its widest.
Almost always because they assume different formulas. A tool that adds interest on top of a 2% rate is combining the percentage from one method with the structure of the other, and produces a minimum higher than any real issuer would bill. Choose the method your agreement describes and the answer matches your statement.
The smallest amount you can pay in a billing cycle and still keep the account in good standing. Pay it on time and you avoid a late fee and a missed-payment mark on your credit report. It is a floor, not a target: the rest of the balance keeps accruing interest.
The statement balance, whenever you can. Paying it in full by the due date clears the balance before interest is charged on purchases, so the card costs nothing. The minimum keeps the account current and nothing more — everything left over is charged interest at your APR.
Not directly. Payment history looks at whether you paid on time, and a minimum paid on time counts as paid. The damage is indirect: the balance barely moves, so your credit utilization stays high, and utilization is a large part of the score. Paying more than the minimum improves it.
Yes. Interest is charged on whatever balance remains after your payment posts. Only paying the full statement balance stops it. Under the percent-plus method a large share of the minimum is that interest being handed straight back.
Because the payment shrinks as fast as the balance does. A percentage of a falling balance is a falling payment, so the amount clearing principal drops every month and the payoff stretches out. A $5,000 balance at 20% APR on a flat 2% minimum takes over 40 years and costs more than $20,000 in interest. Paying a fixed amount instead of a shrinking one is what breaks the cycle.
A disclosure required by the CARD Act. Every periodic statement must show what it would take to clear the balance in three years, alongside how long the minimum alone would take and what each costs. It is a level payment — the same every month — which is why it clears the balance while a shrinking minimum does not.
More than most people expect, because every extra dollar goes to principal rather than interest. On a $5,000 balance at 20% APR, moving from a flat 2% minimum to that minimum plus $100 a month cuts the payoff from decades to a few years. Enter an extra amount above to see the exact figures for your card.