The short answer
At a 22% APR, paying $500 a month clears $10,000 of credit card debt in 26 months and costs about $2,571 in interest. Paying only the minimum can stretch it to roughly 25 years and more than $17,000 in interest. The table below shows every common payment in between.
We used 22% because it's close to what card holders actually pay right now: the Federal Reserve's G.19 consumer credit data put the average rate on credit card accounts that were charged interest at 22.15% in the second quarter of 2026.
Payoff time and interest by monthly payment
$10,000 balance, 22% APR, fixed monthly payment, no new charges:
| Monthly payment | Time to pay off | Total interest |
|---|---|---|
| $250 | 73 months (6 yrs 1 mo) | $8,189 |
| $300 | 52 months (4 yrs 4 mos) | $5,596 |
| $400 | 34 months (2 yrs 10 mos) | $3,500 |
| $500 | 26 months (2 yrs 2 mos) | $2,571 |
| $750 | 16 months (1 yr 4 mos) | $1,573 |
| $1,000 | 12 months (1 yr) | $1,149 |
Notice how lopsided the savings are at the low end: going from $250 to $300 a month — just $50 more — cuts nearly two years and about $2,600 of interest. At 22%, a $10,000 balance generates about $183 of interest in the first month alone, so a $250 payment only knocks about $67 off the balance at first.
What if you only pay the minimum?
Card issuers set minimums differently, but a common formula is the month's interest plus 1% of the balance, with a small dollar floor. On $10,000 at 22%, that starts around $283 — but because it's recalculated as the balance falls, the payment keeps shrinking. Following the minimum all the way down with a $25 floor takes about 299 months (nearly 25 years) and costs about $17,266 in interest — more than the original balance.
The fix is simple: whatever your minimum is today, keep paying that same dollar amount every month even as the required minimum drops. Locking in that first $283 payment would clear the debt in 58 months — under five years — instead of 25, and cut the interest to about $6,243.
Four ways to pay it off faster
- Pick a fixed payment and automate it. Use the table above to choose a payoff date you can live with, and set that amount as an automatic payment.
- Stop adding new charges. Every new purchase on a card carrying a balance starts accruing interest at the same rate. Switch everyday spending to cash or debit until the card is paid off.
- Consider a lower rate. A personal loan at 12% over 36 months would mean a payment of about $332 and roughly $1,957 in total interest — far less than the $300-a-month card plan, if you qualify and don't run the card back up. A 0% balance-transfer card can be cheaper still, but watch the transfer fee (often 3%–5%) and the date the promotional rate ends.
- Use windfalls. Tax refunds, bonuses, and side income applied directly to the balance shorten the timeline more than the same money spread over months.
Plug your own balance, APR, and payment into the Credit Card Payoff Calculator. If you have more than one card, the Debt Snowball / Avalanche Calculator will tell you which one to attack first.
Figures assume interest accrues monthly at APR ÷ 12, a fixed payment made each month, and no fees or new purchases. Your issuer's exact daily-balance calculation may produce slightly different results.