Balance Transfer Calculator

When the transfer fee is smaller than the interest you'd otherwise pay. As a rule of thumb: the bigger your balance, the higher your current APR, and the longer the 0% promo, the more likely it pays off. It almost never makes sense if you can clear the debt in two or three months anyway — the 3–5% fee would cost more than the interest you'd save.

The remaining balance starts accruing interest at the card's regular APR. Some retail/store cards go further and charge deferred (retroactive) interest on the original balance back to day one — always check the terms before transferring to a store card.

3% of the transferred amount is the most common, with 5% on longer promo offers. A few cards offer 0% fee promotions, usually with shorter 0% windows. The fee is added to your balance on day one.

Expect a small temporary dip from the hard inquiry and the new account lowering your average account age. But moving debt to a new card with a fresh limit often lowers your overall utilization ratio, which can help your score within a few months.

Usually not — most issuers prohibit balance transfers between their own cards. You'll need a card from a different bank.

Many people keep it open with a zero balance, since that preserves credit history length and total available credit (which helps the utilization ratio). The critical part is that new spending stops on it.

Enter your balance, current APR, the transfer fee, and the 0% promo length. The calculator compares the fee against the interest you would pay at your current APR and tells you whether the transfer wins — and whether you can clear the balance inside the promo window.