Credit Card Transfer Calculator
A 0% balance transfer offer looks like free money, but the transfer fee is the part most people skip over. A 3% fee on a $5,000 balance is $150 added to your debt on day one, and if any balance is left when the promo ends, the regular APR (often 20% or more) starts charging on everything that remains. This calculator runs the full month-by-month math on both sides: what the transfer really costs with your planned payment, and what staying on your current card costs with that same payment, so you can see the true savings instead of guessing.
Balance Transfer Calculator
Worked example
Say you move a $5,000 balance from a card charging 24% APR to a card offering 0% for 12 months, then 21%. The transfer fee is 3% and you pay $460 a month. The calculator finds:
- Transfer fee: $150.00 (3% of $5,000), so the new balance is $5,150.00.
- To clear the whole $5,150 during the 12-month promo you would need $429.17 a month, so $460 a month finishes the job inside the promo.
- Interest during the promo: $0.00. Interest after the promo: $0.00. Paid off in 12 months.
- Total cost of the transfer: $150.00 (just the fee).
- Staying on the old card with the same $460 payment would cost $695.08 in interest.
- Net savings: about $545.08.
How it works
The calculator amortizes your debt month by month, exactly the way card interest accrues. Each month, interest of balance × (APR ÷ 100) ÷ 12 is added, your payment comes off the rest, and the new balance carries forward. It does this twice: once for the new card (promo rate first, then the post-promo rate), and once for your current card at its APR with the same monthly payment. Net savings is simply old-card interest minus transfer fee minus new-card interest. The “payment needed to clear it during the promo” is the standard loan payment formula applied to the post-fee balance over the promo months, so you know the exact monthly target that avoids post-promo interest entirely.
What changed in this version: the previous calculator estimated promo-period interest with a flat simple-interest figure on the full balance, which overstated the cost whenever you were making payments. For example, with a 6% promo rate it displayed $309.00 of promo interest where the true amortized figure is $233.75, an overstatement of $75.25. The tool now counts only the interest that actually accrues on your declining balance each month. It also computes your payoff month directly instead of asking you to guess a repayment horizon.
Balance transfer offers worth knowing in 2026
Long 0% windows change the math more than a slightly lower fee does. Based on a 2026 survey of issuer terms, the longest balance-transfer windows currently advertised include:
| Card | 0% window | Transfer fee |
|---|---|---|
| Citi Simplicity | 21 months | 3% early, then 5% |
| Wells Fargo Reflect | 21 months | 5% |
| Discover it Balance Transfer | 15 months | 3% early, then 5% |
Terms change, so always confirm the fee and the deadline for the transfer to post on the issuer’s own page before you apply.
Before you transfer: the traps
- Same-issuer transfers are usually blocked. You generally cannot transfer a balance between two cards from the same bank.
- New purchases may not get the 0% rate. Many cards charge the regular APR on new spending from day one, with no grace period while a transfer promo is active.
- One late payment can end the promo. Most issuers can cancel the promotional rate if you miss a payment.
- The fee is added to the balance. A 5% fee on $10,000 is $500 of new debt before interest even starts.
- Minimum payments will not clear it in time. Minimums are designed to stretch repayment out; use the “payment needed” figure above as your real target.
Frequently asked questions
What is a balance transfer fee?
A one-time charge for moving debt to a new card, usually 3% to 5% of the amount transferred. It is added to your new balance immediately.
How long do 0% balance transfer offers last?
Typically 6 to 21 months. The longest widely advertised windows in 2026 run 21 months, but the transfer usually must post within the first few months of account opening to qualify.
Does a balance transfer hurt my credit score?
Applying creates a hard inquiry, which can dip your score slightly and briefly. Over time, paying the balance down lowers your utilization, which usually helps your score.
Can I transfer a balance between two cards from the same bank?
Almost never. Issuers exclude their own cards, so the transfer must go to a card from a different bank.
Do new purchases get the 0% rate too?
Often not. Many cards apply the regular purchase APR to new spending during a transfer promo, and payments may go to the promo balance first. Avoid new spending on the card until the transfer is paid off.
What happens if I do not pay it off before the promo ends?
The regular APR applies to whatever balance remains. That is why the calculator shows the exact monthly payment needed to finish inside the promo window.
Is a 5% fee ever worth paying?
It can be, if the interest it prevents is larger. Compare the fee against the interest your current card would charge over the same payoff period. The verdict line above does exactly that comparison.