Credit Card Minimum Payment

Issuers use one of two formulas. The first is a flat percentage of your balance — usually 1–3%, most commonly 2%. The second charges the month's interest plus a smaller percentage of the balance, usually 1%. Both come with a dollar floor, typically $25–$35: below that balance, the floor is your minimum. Your exact formula is in your cardholder agreement, and the CFPB's Ask CFPB library explains the rules issuers have to follow. Whichever formula applies, the result is recalculated every month — as your balance falls, so does the minimum, which is exactly why minimum-only payoff takes so long. For the full how-long-and-how-much story on a payment that doesn't shrink, see the credit card payoff calculator.

What the minimum is on common balances

All three examples use the most common formula — 2% of the balance with a $25 floor — at a typical 22% APR. Your card's numbers will differ; that's what the calculator above is for.

The minimum payment on $5,000 is $100 this month. Pay only minimums and the card takes about 80 years to clear, with roughly $43,400 in interest — because at 22% APR, $91.67 of that first $100 is interest.

The minimum payment on $10,000 is $200 this month. At these assumptions the minimum-only payoff stretches past 100 years — the calculator reports it honestly as never.

The minimum payment on $15,000 is $300 this month — and the same "effectively never" applies. The percentages scale with the balance, so a bigger balance doesn't pay off faster; it just makes each month's interest bill bigger.

On the interest-plus formula the minimums start higher — about $141.67 on $5,000 at 22% — and the payoff, while still slow, does finish: about 19 years and $8,100 in interest on that example.

The way out is a payment that refuses to shrink

Here's the comparison that matters: keep paying the first month's minimum — $100 on that $5,000 example — every month as a fixed amount, and the card clears in about 11 years 5 months instead of 80. Pay a fixed $200 and it's about 2 years 10 months with roughly $1,750 in interest. Same card, same rate; the only difference is that the payment stopped shrinking with the balance. Run your own fixed-payment numbers in the credit card payoff calculator — the receipt above pre-fills the comparison for you.

One honest limitation: our percent-of-balance formula reads the balance before the month's interest is added. Many issuers compute it on the statement balance including that month's interest and fees, and past-due amounts get added on top, so your real statement minimum can be slightly higher than what we show. Treat these figures as the optimistic end.

Common questions

Is it bad to pay only the minimum? It's expensive, and it's slow — but it is never worse than paying nothing. The minimum keeps the account current, which protects your credit score; the damage is the interest meter running on everything you didn't pay. If the choice is minimum or late, pay the minimum. If there's anything spare at all, every dollar above the minimum goes straight at the balance.

Why did my minimum change this month? Because it's recalculated from your balance every cycle. It falls as you pay the balance down, and rises with new purchases, a higher balance, or past-due amounts being added in.

Which cards do I tackle first if I have several? Pay minimums on all of them — a missed minimum hurts more than any interest math — and send everything extra at one target. The debt payoff calculator compares both classic orders, highest rate first and smallest balance first, on your actual numbers. The mechanics of how minimums are set are covered in plain English in how credit card minimum payments are calculated.

This is an estimate assuming no new charges and no fees while paying the card off. Real payoff will be longer if new purchases are added along the way.