Compare your current card with a promo-APR transfer, including the fee, and see whether the move saves money.
Results
Enter your numbers to see the results.
Current card compared with the balance transfer. A cash fee is shown next to the transfer total.
Figure
Current card
Transfer
Months to payoff
Total interest
Total paid
Transfer fee
—
New starting balance
—
Interest saved
Net savings
Current card payoff schedule
Month
Payment
Interest
Principal
Balance
Transfer payoff schedule
Month
Payment
Interest
Principal
Balance
Estimate only, not credit or financial advice. Card issuers figure interest on your average daily balance, so a real statement can differ from this monthly APR ÷ 12 version. Promo APR, promo length and the transfer fee are whatever you enter — the 0% / 15 months / 3% starting values are planning assumptions, not an offer from any issuer. New purchases, missed payments or a changed go-to rate will change the result.
Last reviewed: November 5, 2026
A balance transfer can cut interest if the promo rate is low enough and you pay the balance down before (or soon after) it ends. It can also cost you money if the fee is larger than the interest you would have saved. Enter your current balance, APR and monthly payment, then the transfer fee, promo APR, promo length and the go-to APR afterward. You’ll see months to pay off, interest and total paid on each path, the interest saved, the net savings after the fee, and a clear verdict when the fee does not break even. By default the fee is added to the new balance; you can switch to paying it in cash instead.
How to use it
Enter the balance on your current card, that card’s APR and the monthly payment you can keep making.
Enter the transfer fee as a percent of the transferred balance (the labeled default is 3%) or as a flat dollar amount.
Choose how the fee is treated: added to the new balance (the default) or paid in cash.
Enter the promo APR (the labeled default is 0%) and how many months it lasts (the labeled default is 15).
Enter the go-to APR after the promo. Leave it blank to reuse your current APR.
Compare the two columns, then read interest saved, net savings and the verdict.
If your current payment never covers a month’s interest, the tool stops and does not invent a savings figure against an infinite current path.
How it works
Each path uses the same month-by-month simulation as the Credit Card Payoff calculator: interest = balance × (APR ÷ 12), rounded half-up to the cent; principal = payment − interest; the last payment = remaining balance + that month’s interest. The loop is capped at 1,200 months.
Transfer fee (percent mode) = balance × fee %, rounded half-up. A flat fee uses the dollar amount you typed.
New starting balance = current balance + fee when the fee is rolled in. If you pay the fee in cash, the new starting balance stays the current balance, and the cash fee is counted separately next to total paid.
Months 1 through the promo length use the promo APR (0% means no interest that month). After that, the go-to APR applies.
Interest saved = current-path interest − new-path interest. The fee is not interest.
Net savings = current total paid − (new total paid + any cash fee). When the fee is rolled into the balance, you already repay it as principal, so it is not subtracted a second time.
If net savings is above $0.00: “Transfer saves $X overall.” If it is $0.00: “No net savings after the fee.” If it is below $0.00: “The transfer fee costs more than you save by $X.” / “Fee exceeds savings (does not break even).”
If the payment is less than or equal to a month’s rounded interest and the balance is not cleared, that path never pays off. The current card is checked first. After a promo, the same check runs against the go-to APR.
Worked examples
A typical 0% transfer with the fee rolled in (BT1).
$5,000 at 22% APR, paying $200 a month, versus 0% for 15 months with a 3% fee added to the new balance, then 22% again. The fee is $150.00, so you start the new card at $5,150.00. Staying put takes 34 months and $1,749.90 of interest (total $6,749.90) — the same path as Credit Card Payoff’s $5,000 / 22% / $200 example. The transfer takes 28 months, $266.60 of interest and $5,416.60 total. Interest saved: $1,483.30. Net savings: $1,333.30. Verdict: Transfer saves $1,333.30 overall.
The same transfer with the fee paid in cash (BT2).
The fee is still $150.00, but the new balance stays $5,000.00. The new path takes 27 months, $229.80 of interest and $5,229.80 paid on the card, plus $150.00 cash. Interest saved: $1,520.10. Net savings: $1,370.10 — $36.80 more than rolling the fee in, because you never pay interest on the $150.00.
Clearing the balance during the promo (BT3).
$3,000 at 19.99%, paying $250 a month, versus 0% for 15 months with a 3% fee rolled in. The fee is $90.00 and the new balance is $3,090.00. Staying put takes 14 months and $375.27 of interest. The transfer finishes in 13 months with $0.00 of interest, because $3,090.00 ÷ $250 fits inside the 15-month window. Interest saved: $375.27. Net savings: $285.27.
When the fee costs more than you save (BT4).
$2,000 at 14%, paying $400 a month, versus 0% for 12 months with a 5% fee rolled in. The fee is $100.00 and the new balance is $2,100.00. Both paths take 6 months. Current interest is $73.05; the transfer interest is $0.00. You save $73.05 of interest but pay a $100.00 fee, so net savings is −$26.95. Verdict: The transfer fee costs more than you save by $26.95. Fee exceeds savings (does not break even).
A payment that never pays off the current card (BT5).
$8,000 at 24% APR, paying $160 a month. The first month’s interest is also $160.00, so the current card never pays off at this payment. The tool does not report a transfer savings figure against that path.
A larger, higher-rate balance (BT6).
$12,000 at 27.99%, paying $400 a month, versus 0% for 18 months with a 3% fee rolled in, then 27.99%. The fee is $360.00 and the new balance is $12,360.00. Staying put takes 53 months and $8,872.97 of interest (total $20,872.97) — matching Credit Card Payoff’s $12,000 / 27.99% / $400 example. The transfer takes 34 months, $1,050.98 of interest and $13,410.98 total. Interest saved: $7,821.99. Net savings: $7,461.99.
Staying on the current card is 34 months and $1,749.90 of interest either way.
FAQ
Is a balance transfer worth it?
It is when the interest you avoid is larger than the fee, and you can keep the payment going through the promo (and after it, if anything is left). In the $5,000 example with a 3% fee rolled in, the transfer saves $1,333.30. In the $2,000 example with a 5% fee, you lose $26.95.
How is the transfer fee handled?
By default it is added to the new balance, so you finance it. Paying it in cash keeps the transferred balance the same and usually saves a little more, as BT1 vs BT2 shows ($1,333.30 vs $1,370.10).
What is a go-to APR?
It is the regular rate after the promo ends. If leftover balance remains, that rate starts applying. Leaving the field blank reuses your current APR.
Will I pay interest during a 0% promo?
Not in this model: a 0% month adds $0.00 of interest. If you clear the new balance during the promo, new-path interest is $0.00, as in the $3,000 example. After the promo, the go-to APR applies to whatever is left.
What if my current payment only covers interest?
The current card never pays off, and the calculator will not invent a savings comparison. Raise the payment first, then compare again. The same warning appears if the payment would stall after the promo on the new card.
Does this use my issuer’s exact interest method?
No. It uses monthly APR ÷ 12, the same approach as the Credit Card Payoff calculator. Most issuers use average daily balance, so treat the result as a plan, not a statement.
Should I keep using the old card after I transfer?
Only if you can pay new purchases in full. Interest savings disappear if you run the balance back up, and many offers apply the promo only to the transferred amount.
How is this different from the credit card payoff calculator?
That page follows a single card. This page’s job is the fee-plus-promo comparison: interest saved, net savings and an explicit does-not-break-even result.
