It will take 47 months to pay off $20,000 with payments of $600 per month, assuming the average credit card APR of around 18%. The time it takes to repay a balance depends on how often you make payments, how big your payments are and what the interest rate charged by the lender is. Increasing your payments to $2,400 per month, for example, would decrease your payoff timeline to 9 months.
Examples of How Long It Will Take to Pay Off $20,000 on a Credit Card
- If you pay $600 a month, it will take you 47 months to pay off $20,000
- If you pay $1,200 a month, it will take you 20 months to pay off $20,000
- If you pay $1,800 a month, it will take you 13 months to pay off $20,000
- If you pay $2,400 a month, it will take you 9 months to pay off $20,000
Note: All examples assume an average APR of 18%.
With credit cards and other lines of credit, you can technically take as much time as you need to pay off $20,000 , as long as you always make at least your required minimum monthly payment. You can use WalletHub’s credit card calculator to find out exactly how long it would take you to pay off $20,000 with specific interest rates and monthly payments.
Finally, it’s worth noting that other types of borrowing, such as personal loans, mortgages, home equity loans, car loans and student loans, will give you a set repayment term from the start. You won’t need to figure out how long it will take to pay off the balance. But you can always pay back what you owe in a shorter amount of time by making larger monthly payments. Just make sure your lender doesn’t have a penalty for early payoff – most don’t.
This answer was first published on 12/05/23 and it was last updated on 12/13/23. For the most current information about a financial product, you should always check and confirm accuracy with the offering financial institution. Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company.
