Updated · Built and checked by the PlinzoTools team, formulas tested against published sources
Estimate a credit card's minimum payment from its balance and your issuer's minimum payment terms.
Credit card issuers typically set your minimum payment as the greater of a percentage of your balance (commonly 1-3%) or a flat dollar minimum (commonly $25-35), sometimes plus accrued interest and fees. This tool estimates that using max(balance × minimum %, flat minimum) -- your actual statement may add interest/fees on top, so check your card agreement for the exact formula.
Enter your balance and your issuer's minimum payment percentage and flat minimum amount (check your card agreement or a recent statement). Your estimated minimum payment appears instantly.
The calculator takes your balance, multiplies it by the minimum payment percentage you enter, and compares that result with the flat minimum amount. Whichever is larger is shown. In other words, the percentage matters for larger balances, and the flat amount acts as a floor that protects the issuer on small balances. The tool does not add interest, late fees or other charges, and it does not cap the result at your balance.
Estimated minimum = the larger of (balance x minimum percent / 100) and the flat minimum amount.
Take a balance of $3,000, a 2 percent minimum and a $25 flat minimum. Two percent of $3,000 is $60, which is more than $25, so the estimate is $60. Now take a balance of $800 with the same terms. Two percent is $16, which is below the floor, so the estimate becomes $25. The crossover point is where the percentage equals the flat amount: at 2 percent and $25, that is a balance of $1,250. Below that, the flat minimum decides the payment; above it, the percentage does. Because the tool does not cap the result at your balance, a tiny balance such as $10 would still display $25, even though you would never owe more than the balance itself plus any charges. In practice, issuers pay off the whole balance when it is below the minimum.
Some issuers define the minimum as a percentage of the balance plus that month's interest and fees, which produces a higher figure than this tool shows. Others use a percentage of the balance alone. If your statement number is higher than the estimate, that difference is usually accrued interest or a fee, and you can confirm it in the statement's payment breakdown.
The minimum is the smallest amount that keeps the account in good standing for the cycle, not a target for paying the debt down. Because the minimum tends to shrink as the balance shrinks, paying only the minimum stretches repayment over a long period, and most of the early payments can go toward interest. Use the estimate for cash-flow planning: it tells you the lowest monthly commitment a card is likely to demand, so you can check it fits in your budget. If you are managing several cards, running each one through the tool and adding the results gives you a total monthly floor.
Paying only the minimum on a revolving balance can take years to pay off and cost significant interest -- see the Credit Card Payoff Calculator to compare paying more than the minimum.
Many issuers add that cycle's interest and fees to the percentage-of-balance amount, or include past-due amounts. This tool uses only the percentage and flat minimum, so your statement can legitimately be higher.
Enter 2 in the percentage field. The tool divides by 100 itself, so entering 0.02 would be treated as two hundredths of one percent.
Usually yes, because the percentage part shrinks with the balance until the flat minimum takes over. That is why paying only the minimum can take so long to clear a balance.
It is only the estimated lowest payment to stay current. Paying more than the minimum reduces interest and shortens the payoff time.
Reference: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau