See how long it takes to pay off your credit card balance and how much interest you’ll pay — or work out the monthly payment needed to be debt-free by a date you choose.
Credit card interest compounds on your outstanding balance every month. If you only make minimum repayments — typically 2% of the balance or $25, whichever is higher — most of each payment goes straight to interest rather than reducing what you owe. A $5,000 balance at 20% APR with minimum-only payments can take over 30 years and cost more than $15,000 in interest to clear. Even a small increase in your monthly payment dramatically cuts both the time and the total cost.
The most effective approaches are to stop adding to the balance while paying it down, pay more than the minimum every month (even $50 extra makes a large difference compounded over time), and consider a balance transfer to a 0% promotional rate to temporarily eliminate interest while you pay down the principal.
This shows how long it takes to clear a card balance and the interest you'll pay. Its assumptions:
This is a guide to help you plan a payoff strategy, not a statement of your exact account. Check your card's terms for precise interest and fees.
You owe $5,000 on a card at 20% APR and pay $200 a month.
| Balance | $5,000 |
| APR | 20% |
| Monthly payment | $200 |
| Time to clear | ~33 months |
| Interest paid | ~$1,520 |
It depends on your balance, interest rate and monthly payment. At minimum repayments (around 2% of balance), a $5,000 balance at 20% can take decades. Paying a fixed higher amount, say $200 a month, clears the same balance in around 33 months. This calculator shows the exact timeline for your numbers.
Credit card interest is calculated daily on your outstanding balance and charged monthly. The annual rate (APR) is divided by 12 to get a monthly rate, which is applied to your balance each statement period. This means interest compounds monthly, so the balance grows faster than the annual rate alone suggests.
Most Australian credit cards require a minimum payment of 2% of the closing balance or $25, whichever is higher. Paying only the minimum means most of each payment goes to interest rather than the balance, dramatically extending the time to pay off the debt.
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