💸 Balance Transfer Savings Calculator
Enter your balance, current APR, the intro 0% period length, and the balance transfer fee to estimate your net savings from transferring.
How the net saving is worked out
interest avoided = balance x (APR / 100 / 12) x intro months
transfer fee = balance x fee% / 100
net saving = interest avoided - transfer feeOn the defaults, $5,000 at 22% left alone for 12 months accrues $1,100 of
interest. A 3% fee on $5,000 is $150, so the net saving reads $950. Break-even
comes from the same arithmetic: the fee pays for itself once
fee% < APR x months / 12, which at 22% takes about seven weeks.
Read the result as a ceiling
The interest line holds your balance level for the whole intro period, with no compounding and no paydown - the best case for a transfer. Clear that $5,000 in even payments over the 12 months instead and the interest dodged is nearer $600, so the real gain is closer to $450. Enter the amount you will actually move, and the rate you are charged today rather than an advertised range.
Frequently asked questions
Is a 3% balance transfer fee worth paying?
At 22% APR, 3% of the balance is about seven weeks of interest, so any window longer than two months comes out ahead. Months to break even = fee% / APR x 12, so the fee only loses on a low current rate or a very short 0% period.
Why is my real saving smaller than the figure shown?
Because the calculation keeps the balance at full size every month. Each payment cuts the interest you would have been charged, so paying the balance down evenly across the intro period roughly halves the saving.
What happens to the balance left when the 0% period ends?
It accrues at the new card's ordinary APR, and this calculator stops before that point. Divide the balance by the intro months to get the payment that clears it in time.