How long does $5,000 at 24% APR take on minimum payments only?

On a typical 3%-of-balance minimum with a $25 floor: 234 months — about 19.5 years — and $8,886.95 of interest, more than the balance itself.

Why does a 2% minimum show "never pays off"?

At 24% APR the monthly interest is 2% of the balance, so a 2% minimum exactly treads water before the floor kicks in. The calculator flags any minimum that cannot outpace interest instead of inventing a payoff date.

Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Credit Card Payoff Calculator — Minimum Payments

The cautionary view: it simulates the issuer-style minimum — a percentage of the current balance with a dollar floor — which shrinks as the balance falls and stretches the debt for decades. A $5,000 balance at 24% APR on a 3% minimum with a $25 floor takes 234 months (about 19.5 years) and $8,886.95 of interest; at a 2% minimum the payment never beats the monthly interest at all. It exists to show why "just pay the minimum" is the most expensive plan.

Credit card payoff

ViewCard balance ($)APR (%)Minimum payment (% of balance)Minimum payment floor ($)

Minimums only: debt-free in

19 yr 6 mo

$8,886.95 total interest as the payment shrinks with the balance

Breakdown

Starting balance$5,000.00

Total interest$8,886.95

Total paid$13,886.95

A month-by-month amortization estimate from the balance, APR, and payment you enter. Card interest accrues daily in practice and issuers set their own minimum-payment formulas, so treat these totals as close estimates — not credit counseling or financial advice.

How a declining minimum stretches debt

Because the minimum is recalculated on the shrinking balance, the payment falls every month — and the share of it eaten by interest stays high. The same $5,000 that a fixed $200 payment clears in 3 years takes nearly two decades on a 3% minimum, with more interest paid than the original balance. The floor (commonly $25–$35) is the only thing that eventually forces the balance to zero.

The escape is converting the minimum into a fixed payment: pay this month's minimum amount every month without letting it decline, and the payoff collapses from decades to a few years. U.S. card statements carry a federally required minimum-payment warning box making the same point — this page lets you run the exact numbers for your own card.

Questions

How long does $5,000 at 24% APR take on minimum payments only?: On a typical 3%-of-balance minimum with a $25 floor: 234 months — about 19.5 years — and $8,886.95 of interest, more than the balance itself.
Why does a 2% minimum show "never pays off"?: At 24% APR the monthly interest is 2% of the balance, so a 2% minimum exactly treads water before the floor kicks in. The calculator flags any minimum that cannot outpace interest instead of inventing a payoff date.