Free credit card interest calculator to calculate credit card balance.

Find out how long to pay off credit card balances with our free credit card interest calculator. Calculate payment balance on your card, duration till pay off, and total interest paid.

Or use our payment calculator to calculate minimum monthly payment

Or use our credit card payoff calculator for extra monthly payment savings

How to use our credit card interest calculator: In the first box, enter the total balance due on your credit card statement. In the next box, enter the interest rate charged by the issuer. In the third box, type in the amount of money you can re-pay each month. Click the "Calculate" button and you will be shown: * the number of months it will take to pay-off the credit card balance, * the total you will end up paying (with interest charges included), and a separate calculation of the total interest paid at pay-off.

Tips to avoid monthly credit card interest:

Follow payment guidelines as outlined by the issuer on the back of each credit card bill, and payoff balances in full before the grace period expires.

Use the preprinted envelope provided by the credit card company.

Include the billing coupon, and be sure to write the amount being paid in the box provided.

Make sure checks are legible and the payment amount is correct.

Write the credit card account number on the check.

Send payment with proper postage at least one week in advance of the due date to the payment address requested by the issuer.

Consider online bill paying. Issuers, including Discover, American Express and First USA, accept online payments.

If the due date is looming, consider sending the payment by express mail or wiring the payment. These express services may prove cheaper than paying monthly interest.

How to lower credit card interest rates:
Tired of paying high interest on your credit card charges? If you have been a good customer and make timely repayments, many issuers will negotiate a lower APR.

Call your card issuer, and politely explain how you've been a good customer by making payments on time and not going over your limit.

Let them know that you are unhappy with your interest rate, and that you want to speak to someone who can reduce your APR.

Chances are, the customer service person can handle this right away without needing to transfer you to a manager or supervisor. If you've been a good customer, the issuer is likely to lower your card interest rate in order to keep your business. If so, request the issuer to send you a letter detailing the new APR rate and when it will go into effect.

 

Need more information? Read our financial and credit articles related to interest and join our online financial newsletter.

Interest Rates

Most consumers want the best interest rates on loans, especially mortgage loans. A mortgage is a big responsibility and is the most common loan families pursue. The length of a mortgage is generally 20-30 years. If a mortgage loan is taken out at age 30 the home could be paid by the age of 60. For that many years, if the interest fees are high, you could pay thousands of dollars in interest. That is why it’s best to seek the a low interest rate for a mortgage loan.

Don't think just because you apply for a mortgage loan you automatically get the best interest rate. It will be up to the borrower to make sure the lowest interest rate will be available for the loan. Check credit scores before applying for any mortgage. A second way to save on interest, is to save a huge down payment so less money is financed for the least amount of years. 

Whenever you apply for credit and get turned down, you can get a free credit report. To try to figure out the level of interest rate you will be eligible for, you need to know your FICO score. This score is determined from all the information on your credit report and is a factor that determines the interest rate paid on what is borrowed, what down payment is required, and the length of the mortgage. 

A FICO score is a compilation of your payment history, the credit you have, the length of time of different types of credit, and how much credit to debt you have. Scores range from 300-850 and most lenders will not lend to you if you have a score less than 550. Scores between 550 and 649 will get higher interest rates. Usually borrowers with scores above 650 are offered lower interest rates.

FICO scores are not the only determination for a loan. A big down payment lets the lender know you are probably planning on making payments are serious. Also, a bigger down payment will reduce the amount of money needed from a lender.

To get your FICO score, you must request it as a free credit report will not contain this information. It is in your best interest to determine if your score is good enough to get a low interest rate so you may need to purchase this report before applying for a loan. If credit is less than perfect, consider taking time to improve it and apply later for a loan to get the lowest interest rates possible.

Lower Interest Rate

 
Most people carry a credit card balance from month to month and sometimes the interest rate can be high. There are some ways to try to get lower interest rates. First you can try being firm with your credit provider and you may have the power as the credit card industry has become very competitive. Because of this, credit providers may not be want you to cancel your card.

Make sure you know what you are paying on your current card's balance and then find another card that offers 0% balance transfers and no annual fee. Find out what the interest rate will become after the initial introductory period. Call your current card's customer service department and let them know you may be planning to cancel the card because of the high interest rate. You may have to talk to an agent who may try to convince you to stay on as a customer.

Let them know you may stay if the interest rate could be lowered equal to another credit card's rate. Try not to tell them the credit card that offers lower interest rates as they may try to tell you all the reasons why the card may not be good for you. During your conversation stay focused on the issue of lowering your current rate. Hopefully you may get a lower interest rate. If you don't, you can still check out other credit card options to get lower rates. Canceling a credit card can effect FICO credit rating, so it is better to try to get a good rate out of your existing card provider than to make a switch.

Interest Rate

The Prime Rate is the interest rate charged by banks for short-term loans to most creditworthy customers. These usually have great credit so that there is little risk to the lender. Not many customers qualify for the lowest prime rate or the lowest going interest rate. This rate is almost always the same among major banks and any adjustments to the prime rate are made by banks at the same time. However, the prime rate does not adjust on any regular basis but it can rise quickly and declines very slowly.

There are some expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates around September 2010 and some think about that time the unemployment will be over 9%. Most economists indicate the Fed won't raise rates until the third quarter of 2010 and may be unlikely to raise rates until the unemployment rate is lower.

It can be a bit misleading when the terms interest rate and interest rates are used as there are hundreds of interest rates between borrowers and lenders. The differences in rates can be due to the duration of the loan or how much the borrower is a risk. Then there is nominal interest and real interest rates. For example, nominal interest rate can be when a one year bond is bought for face value that pays 6% at the end of the year. If there was $100 paid at the beginning of the year and you get $106 at the end of the year as the bond pays an interest rate of 6%. The 6% is the nominal interest rate, and inflation was not factored.

For real interest rate, pretend that there is an inflation rate of 3% for the year. If goods are bought today and the cost is $100, or if bought next year, they will cost $103. If a bond was bought with a 6% nominal interest rate for $100 and we sell it after a year and get $106, buy a basket of goods for $103, we have $3 left over. After factoring in inflation, the $100 bond will earn $3 in income; a real interest rate of 3%. The relationship between the nominal interest rate, inflation, and the real interest rate is described by the Fisher Equation:Real Interest Rate = Nominal Interest Rate - Inflation.  When inflation is positive, the real interest rate is lower than the nominal interest rate. If we have deflation and the inflation rate is negative, the real interest rate will be larger.

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