Credit Card Minimum Payment Calculator
Paying only the minimum can stretch a balance across decades. See exactly how long yours would take, the total interest, and how much faster a fixed payment clears it.
How this is calculated
Interest is added every month at your APR divided by twelve. For the minimum path, each month the payment is the greater of your dollar floor or the percentage of the current balance, so the payment shrinks as the balance falls. For the fixed path, you pay the same amount every month until the balance reaches zero. The tool steps through month by month for each path and totals the interest.
The reason minimums drag on is that early payments are mostly interest. When the required payment is only a hair above the monthly interest, the principal barely moves, so the debt lingers for years.
The honest takeaway
The single most useful move is to pay a fixed amount that does not shrink, ideally well above the minimum. If your fixed payment does not clear the balance in a reasonable time, or if the minimum barely covers the interest, the debt is effectively stuck and needs a bigger monthly payment or a lower rate. A balance transfer or a lower rate product only helps if you keep paying it down and stop adding to it.
Next steps
Bremo is an independent Canadian personal finance resource, not a lender or an adviser. This tool is for general education. Results are estimates based on the figures you enter and assume the rate and rule stay constant. Your issuer's exact minimum formula may differ.
Every field updates the result as you type. No signup, no email, no data leaves your browser.