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The Daily Insight Hub

What happens if a person pays only the minimum payment on their credit cards?

Author

Sarah Martinez

Updated on January 28, 2026

Paying only the minimum amount due on your credit card bill could impact your credit scores and cause you to pay a lot in interest. On the other hand, paying more than the minimum helps you save money, pay off your credit card balances faster and possibly improve your credit scores.

How do you calculate monthly interest on a credit card?

For example, if you currently owe $500 on your credit card throughout the month and your current APR is 17.99%, you can calculate your monthly interest rate by dividing the 17.99% by 12, which is approximately 1.49%. Then multiply $500 x 0.0149 for an amount of $7.45 each month.

What happens if you pay the entire amount owed on a credit card before the due date?

This means any payment you make will reduce your balance and the amount of interest that accrues on it. And when you pay your card’s closing balance in full by the due date on your statement, none of those transactions will be carried over to the new statement period.

Is there a penalty for paying off credit card in full?

You may have heard that you should carry a small balance on your cards to help your score, but that is simply not true. The FICO algorithm will not punish you for not carrying a balance on your cards. Not having a balance or paying one off in full is just fine with the score.

How much interest do I pay if I make minimum payment on my credit card?

This calculator will show just how much total interest you will pay if you only make the minimum payment required on your credit card balance.

How to calculate how much to pay on credit card each month?

Enter your credit card’s current balance, its annual interest rate, and the amount of time in which you’d like to get the card paid off. This calculator will tell you how much to pay each month to reach that goal. (This assumes you won’t make any more purchases with the card during the payoff period.)

What happens to your credit card balance when you make minimum payments?

Your monthly payment will decrease as your balance is paid down. This can greatly increase the length of time it takes to pay off your credit cards. This is the total length of time required to pay off this credit card debit if you use only minimum payments.

How long does it take to pay off a credit card balance?

Once you’ve transferred the balance, you will be given a longer period of time to pay it off with 0% interest. Balance transfer periods range from six months to three years. The longer the balance transfer period, the more likely you are to require a higher credit score.