💳 Balance Transfer Calculator

Is a balance transfer worth it?

A balance transfer moves debt from one credit card to another. It may save money when the interest you would pay on the current card exceeds the transfer fee plus interest on the transferred balance. A high fee, short promo, low current APR, high post-promo APR, or slow repayment can reduce or eliminate the savings.

The benefit depends on both APRs, the promotional period, the fee, and your monthly payment. Repaying most or all of the balance during a favorable promo can limit post-promo interest, but savings are not guaranteed.

🧮How the balance transfer comparison works

The current-card scenario keeps the original balance at the current APR. The transfer scenario adds the transfer fee to the balance, applies the promotional APR for the selected number of months, and then applies the post-promotional APR to any remaining balance. Both scenarios use the same fixed monthly payment.

How much is the balance transfer fee?

Some offers charge a percentage of the balance transferred and specify a minimum dollar fee. Percentage fee = balance transferred × fee percentage ÷ 100. The final fee is the larger of the percentage fee and the minimum fee.

For example, a $5,000 transfer with a 3% fee and no higher minimum costs $150, making the starting transferred balance $5,150 in this model. A 5% fee on the same balance would be $250. Enter 3, 4, 5, or the percentage in your actual offer; no fee percentage is assumed.

Does 0% promotional APR mean zero cost?

No. A transfer fee may still apply, and the debt still needs to be repaid. The calculator adds the fee before comparing costs. It supports 0% or low promotional APR, including entered rates such as 1.99% or 5.99%, rather than assuming every offer is interest-free.

🎯How much should I pay each month to finish before the promo ends?

The promo payoff target is a separate planning number. It tells you the fixed monthly payment needed to reduce the transferred starting balance, including the transfer fee, to zero by the end of the promotional period at the promotional APR. Your actual comparison still uses the monthly payment you entered.

At 0% promo APR, the target is starting transferred balance ÷ promo months. For a positive promo APR, the target includes interest: P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)⁻ⁿ), where P is the balance plus fee, r is promo APR ÷ 100 ÷ 12, and n is the number of promo months. This target is not a replacement for your planned payment or an issuer's minimum payment.

What balance will remain when the promotional APR ends?

The promo-end balance is what remains after applying your planned fixed payment for all selected promo months. Each month, interest accrues on the opening balance at APR ÷ 100 ÷ 12, then the payment is applied, limited to the amount due. Both card scenarios use this order without monthly rounding.

What happens after the balance transfer promo ends?

Promo APR applies through the selected full promo months. Any remaining modeled balance uses the post-promo APR beginning the following month. This is a standard introductory-APR model, not deferred-interest retail financing: the calculator does not retroactively charge post-promo interest for earlier promo months.

When does a balance transfer break even?

Promo break-even is the first promotional month when cumulative current-card interest minus cumulative transfer interest is at least the transfer fee. If the fee is zero, break-even is immediate. If the fee is not recovered by promo end, the result is not reached during promo; the calculator does not search later months for this measure.

Gross interest savings during promo = current-card promo-period interest − transfer promo-period interest. Net savings at promo end = gross interest savings − transfer fee. Either may be negative. Recovering the fee during promo does not guarantee lower total cost over the full repayment period.

How are overall savings and payoff time compared?

Current total cost = original balance + current-card interest. Transfer total cost = original balance + transfer fee + transfer-path interest. Overall savings = current total cost − transfer total cost; a negative value means the transfer costs more under the entered assumptions.

Both paths use the same planned payment to isolate the effect of the card terms. Payoff projections stop at repayment or 600 months. If either balance is not paid off within that limit, overall savings and payoff months saved are unavailable, not zero. The promo comparison and each path's accumulated interest remain available.

⚖️Worked example

Suppose you have a $5,000.00 balance at 24% APR and plan to pay $300.00 per month. A transfer offer charges 3%, offers 0% for 15 months, then 29% afterward.

With the entered $300.00 payment, the current card is projected to pay off in 21 months and the transfer in 18 months. The transfer still has $650.00 remaining after the 15-month promo.

🔍What this calculator does not model

This estimate assumes one full transfer, a fixed monthly payment, no new purchases, and constant APRs within each modeled period. It does not model annual card fees, cash advances, late fees, penalty APRs, changing variable APRs, issuer-specific payment allocation, partial transfers, transfer deadlines, promotional eligibility, credit limits, or credit score effects.

A real approved credit limit can restrict the amount you can transfer, and some offers require transfers within a specified time to qualify for promotional terms. A balance-transfer APR does not necessarily apply to new purchases. Check the actual offer; these conditions are not calculated here.

Sources and methodology

The references below explain credit-card terms and promotional financing. FigureNorth uses the disclosed monthly planning assumptions, not issuer statement calculations or live card offers.

• CFPB: balance transfer fees and zero-percent offers — why a transfer fee can apply even with 0% APR.
• CFPB: credit card key terms — balance transfers, percentage/minimum fees, limited promotional rates, and daily periodic interest.
• CFPB: zero-interest and deferred-interest promotions — the distinction between introductory interest and retroactive deferred interest.