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Balance Transfer Calculator

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Enter your current card balance and interest rate, plus the terms of a balance transfer offer, to see how much you could save.

Balance Transfer Calculator

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Estimated total savings
$2,087.14
Staying on current card
$2,403.20 interest, 34 months
With balance transfer
$180.00 fee, 26 months
Assumes the same fixed monthly payment on both cards and no new purchases added to either balance - real cards may have minimum payment rules that differ from this.

The formula

New balance after transfer = Current balance x (1 + Transfer fee %) For each month, on either card: Interest for the month = Remaining balance x (Card's APR that month / 12) Principal paid = Monthly payment - Interest for the month Remaining balance -= Principal paid On the new card, the APR used switches from the intro rate to the regular rate once the intro period's number of months has passed. Total savings = (Interest paid staying on current card) - (Interest paid on new card + Transfer fee)
Example

$6,000 balance at 24.99% APR, paying $250/month: staying put costs $2,403.20 in interest over 34 months. Transferring to a card with a $180 fee (3%), 0% APR for 18 months, then 22.99% after: costs $180 in fees plus $136.06 in interest after the intro period ends, finishing in 26 months - saving roughly $2,087.14 overall.

Step-by-step guide

  1. Enter your current balance and APR - both are on your most recent statement.
  2. Enter the monthly payment you realistically plan to make - the calculator compares both cards at this same payment amount.
  3. Enter the balance transfer offer's terms: the fee (usually 3-5% of the transferred amount), the intro APR (often 0%), how many months that intro rate lasts, and the regular APR that applies afterward.
  4. Compare the two outcomes shown - if the balance transfer saves money, check whether you can realistically pay off the new balance before the intro period ends, since the regular APR afterward may be similar to what you're paying now.

Why the transfer fee matters more than it looks

A balance transfer fee is charged once, upfront, added directly to your new balance - so it's not "free" even at 0% intro APR, it's a trade: you pay a smaller one-time cost now to avoid a much larger ongoing interest cost later. The math only works in your favor if the interest you'd otherwise pay on the old card exceeds that upfront fee, which is almost always true for high-APR cards carried for more than a few months, but worth checking directly rather than assuming.

Common mistakes

Not accounting for what happens if the balance isn't fully paid off before the intro period ends - any remaining balance starts accruing interest at the regular APR, which can erase much of the savings if it's high.
Adding new purchases to the transferred card - new purchases often don't get the intro APR and can start accruing interest immediately, and many issuers apply payments to the lowest-APR balance first, leaving the new-purchase balance to accrue interest longer.

Frequently asked questions

Does a balance transfer hurt my credit score?

Opening a new card typically causes a small, temporary dip from the credit inquiry, but paying down high-interest debt can help your credit utilization ratio over time, which is a larger factor in most scoring models. The net effect varies by individual credit history.

Can I transfer a balance between two cards from the same bank?

Usually no - most issuers don't allow balance transfers between their own cards, only from a different bank's card to theirs.

What if I can't pay off the balance before the intro period ends?

The remaining balance starts accruing interest at the card's regular APR, which this calculator models automatically - try lowering the monthly payment field to see how that changes your results if you're unsure you can pay it off in time.

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