Updated · Built and checked by the PlinzoTools team, formulas tested against published sources
Estimate real savings from a balance transfer offer, netting the transfer fee against interest avoided.
$681.86
Balance transfer offers move a card balance to a new card with a promotional low (often 0%) intro rate, but nearly always charge an upfront transfer fee (commonly 3-5% of the balance). This calculator compares the interest you'd avoid during the intro period against that fee, netting out real savings rather than assuming the offer is automatically worthwhile.
Enter your balance, the transfer fee percentage, your original card's APR, the intro period length in months, and your planned monthly payment during that period.
Transfer Fee = Balance × Fee Rate
Interest Avoided = interest that would have accrued on the original card during the intro period at its APR
Net Savings = Interest Avoided − Transfer Fee
This calculates savings during the intro period only -- if you don't pay off the transferred balance before the intro rate expires, the remaining balance typically reverts to a standard (often high) APR, which could erase some of the calculated savings if not paid off in time.
Using the page's example, a $5,000 balance at 22% APR, paid down by $300 a month for 12 months, would accrue roughly $830 of interest if it stayed on the original card (this is an approximation from a simple monthly-interest model). A 3% transfer fee costs $150, so the net saving is roughly $680. That looks attractive, but notice the balance still remaining: with the fee added, the transferred balance starts at $5,150, and twelve payments of $300 total $3,600, leaving about $1,550 when the promotion ends. That leftover would then start accruing at the card's regular rate, which is why the payment amount matters as much as the offer itself.
For a 0% offer, the payment needed to clear the balance in time is simply the starting balance plus the fee, divided by the number of intro months. For $5,150 over 12 months that is about $429 a month. If your budget allows only $300, you can still come out ahead, but plan for the remaining balance or a second strategy such as a personal loan.
The tool estimates savings during the intro period only, and does not model what happens afterward. It also cannot know whether you will be approved, how large a credit limit you will receive, or whether you can transfer the full amount. A transfer may also affect your credit score, through the new inquiry and account, and by changing your utilization. Moving debt around does not reduce it; the benefit only materializes if you use the interest-free window to pay it down faster. If you are considering a transfer because several debts are unmanageable, compare a consolidation loan or speak with a nonprofit credit counselor.
Usually yes when there's a meaningful APR gap and you can pay off most or all of the balance during the intro period -- but always run the numbers, since a very short intro period or small APR difference might not offset the fee.
The remaining balance typically reverts to the card's standard ongoing APR (often higher than typical purchase APRs), so plan your payments to clear the balance within the intro window whenever possible.
Usually it is added to the transferred balance, so you start with the balance plus the fee. Check your offer, because it affects how much you must repay during the intro period.
Many issuers do not allow transfers between their own cards, so a transfer typically needs a card from a different lender. Read the offer terms.
Not always. A longer 0% window helps, but a lower fee or a better ongoing rate can matter more depending on how fast you can repay. Run each offer through the calculator and compare net savings.
Reference: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau