Is a 0% balance transfer worth the fee?

Usually, on a normal offer. A 3% fee on $8,000 is $240, against interest that would otherwise run into four figures at card rates. The calculator gives you the breakeven fee, the rate above which it stops paying, so you can judge any offer rather than just this one. It stops being worth it when the promotional period is short, the revert rate is high, or your payment is too small to clear much before the deadline.

What happens if I do not pay it off before the 0% ends?

Whatever is left reverts to the new card’s standard rate, which is typically no better than the card you left. You still keep the interest you avoided during the promotion, so the transfer can be worth doing even if you do not clear it, but most of the value is in clearing it, and the calculator shows the monthly payment that would. The credit card payoff calculator shows what staying put costs at any payment.

How is the balance transfer fee calculated?

As a percentage of the amount moved, typically 3% to 5%, charged once and added to your new balance rather than billed separately. Some cards cap it, and a few promotional offers waive it entirely, a 0% fee offer changes the arithmetic completely, so it is worth searching for.

Can I put new purchases on the balance transfer card?

You can, and it is the standard way these offers go wrong. Under the CARD Act, payments above the minimum go to the highest-rate balance first, so if purchases sit at the regular rate while your 0% balance is still there, your payments clear the wrong balance first. Transfer the debt, then leave the card alone.

Does a balance transfer hurt my credit score?

It can move it in both directions and this calculator does not model any of it. A new account lowers your average account age and adds a hard inquiry; a high utilisation ratio on the new card can hurt too. Against that, clearing the old card’s balance lowers utilisation there. The effects are usually small and temporary next to the interest at stake. A consolidation loan is the other way to restructure the same debt, trading the fee for a longer term.

Should I close the old card after transferring?

Not usually, and not for reasons this calculator can see. Closing it removes its credit limit from your utilisation ratio and eventually shortens your credit history. The reason to close it is behavioural, if leaving it open means it gets used again, that outweighs the scoring point.

Is a Balance Transfer Worth It?

Is a balance transfer worth it? Only when the interest the promotional period saves is larger than the fee charged to move the balance. This solves for the exact fee at which that stops being true, so the answer applies to any offer you are shown rather than just this one.

Example numbers

The verdictfrom an example

Transferring saves you $1,892. The fee would have to exceed 24.10% before it stopped being worth it.

Worked on $8,000 at 22.9%, a 3% fee, 0% for 18 months, paying $400 a month. Change anything below to use yours.

The fee you are being charged3.00%

24.10%The bar to beat

← Transferring winsStaying put wins →

You save: $1,892
Breakeven fee: 24.10%

The figures behind it

You save: $1,892; Transferring against staying, on the same monthly payment.
Breakeven fee: 24.10%; Above this fee the offer stops being worth taking.
Transfer fee charged: $240; 3.0% of $8,000, added to the balance on day one.
Left when the promotion ends: $1,040; This reverts to 24.90% and starts accruing again.
Interest if you stay put: $2,173; Clearing the balance in 2 years, 2 months.
To clear it inside the promotion: $458; A month for 1 year, 6 months, this is the payment that makes the offer free.

What transferring costs you$281

85%

15%

Transfer fee$240
Interest after the promotion endsCharged on whatever is left at the deadline.$41

Payment scheduleShow

The table scrolls sideways

Item	Stay put	Transfer
Balance	$8,000	$8,240
Transfer fee	$0	$240
Interest charged	$2,173	$41
Total cost	$2,173	$281
Months to clear	26	21

What this result assumes

Both plans are run at the same monthly payment, so the comparison is like for like. A transfer that only looks good because you would pay more into it is not a saving.
The fee is added to the transferred balance rather than paid separately, which is how card issuers do it. You therefore pay promotional interest on the fee as well.
New purchases are not modelled. Putting spending on a card carrying a promotional balance is the standard way these offers go wrong: under the CARD Act, payments above the minimum go to the highest-rate balance first, so purchases at the regular rate accrue while your payments clear the 0% balance.
Any effect on your credit score is not modelled. A new account and a high utilisation ratio on it can both move the number.
At $400 a month the balance does not clear inside the promotion, so $1,040 reverts to 24.90%. Most of the value of one of these offers is in clearing it before the deadline.

Methodology

Reviewed August 31, 2026

The comparison

Both plans start from the same balance and pay the same amount every month until the debt clears. Holding the payment identical is what makes them comparable — a transfer that appears to win only because you would put more money into it is not a saving, it is a different plan.

Staying put runs the balance at your current APR until it clears. Transferring adds the fee to the balance on day one, runs it at the promotional rate for the promotional period, and then runs whatever is left at the revert rate. The cost of each plan is its total interest, plus the fee for the transfer.

The fee is added to the transferred balance rather than paid separately, which is how issuers actually do it. A consequence worth noticing: you carry the fee as debt for the whole payoff, so on a low promotional rate you also pay promotional interest on it.

Why the breakeven fee is the number to keep

The dollar saving depends on your balance, so it does not transfer between offers. The breakeven fee does. It is the fee at which the two plans cost exactly the same, so any offer below it is worth taking and any offer above it is not — a single figure you can hold against whatever the next mailer says.

It is found by bisection on the fee rate. Cost rises monotonically with the fee — a bigger fee is simply a bigger balance carried at the same rates — so there is exactly one crossing, and halving the interval forty times locates it to well under a basis point. The test suite checks that the two plans really do cost the same at the fee the solver returns.

On a typical offer the breakeven sits far above the 3% to 5% actually charged, which is why these transfers are usually worth taking. Where they stop being worth it is when the promotional period is short, the revert rate is high, or the payment is too small to clear much of the balance in time.

The deadline is the whole game

A 0% offer is only 0% for the balance you clear inside the window. Whatever is left on the day it expires reverts to a rate that is typically no better — and often slightly worse — than the card you left.

The calculator reports the payment that would clear the transferred balance, fee included, inside the promotional period. If you can manage that figure, the transfer costs you exactly the fee and nothing else. If you cannot, you are buying a rate holiday rather than a way out, and the arithmetic gets much tighter.

One trap the model deliberately calls out but does not simulate: new purchases. Under the CARD Act, payments above the minimum must be applied to the highest-rate balance first, so if you also spend on the card, that spending sits at the regular rate accruing interest while your payments go to clearing the 0% balance. The clean version of this manoeuvre is to transfer the balance and never use the card. If you hold several balances, the order you clear them in matters as much as the rate on any one.

Assumptions

The same monthly payment is made on both plans, every month, until the balance clears.
The transfer fee is charged once, up front, as a percentage of the amount moved, and added to the balance.
Interest compounds monthly on the balance rather than daily on an average daily balance.
The promotional rate applies from month one and ends exactly at the stated month.
No new purchases, cash advances or further transfers are made on either card.
No annual fee, late fee or penalty APR is modelled. A single late payment can void a promotional rate entirely.
The full balance is accepted for transfer. Issuers set a credit limit, and it is often lower than you asked for.
Effects on your credit score, from the new account or the utilisation on it, are not modelled.

Sources

Common questions

Is a 0% balance transfer worth the fee?: Usually, on a normal offer. A 3% fee on $8,000 is $240, against interest that would otherwise run into four figures at card rates. The calculator gives you the breakeven fee, the rate above which it stops paying, so you can judge any offer rather than just this one. It stops being worth it when the promotional period is short, the revert rate is high, or your payment is too small to clear much before the deadline.
What happens if I do not pay it off before the 0% ends?: Whatever is left reverts to the new card’s standard rate, which is typically no better than the card you left. You still keep the interest you avoided during the promotion, so the transfer can be worth doing even if you do not clear it, but most of the value is in clearing it, and the calculator shows the monthly payment that would. The credit card payoff calculator shows what staying put costs at any payment.
How is the balance transfer fee calculated?: As a percentage of the amount moved, typically 3% to 5%, charged once and added to your new balance rather than billed separately. Some cards cap it, and a few promotional offers waive it entirely, a 0% fee offer changes the arithmetic completely, so it is worth searching for.
Can I put new purchases on the balance transfer card?: You can, and it is the standard way these offers go wrong. Under the CARD Act, payments above the minimum go to the highest-rate balance first, so if purchases sit at the regular rate while your 0% balance is still there, your payments clear the wrong balance first. Transfer the debt, then leave the card alone.
Does a balance transfer hurt my credit score?: It can move it in both directions and this calculator does not model any of it. A new account lowers your average account age and adds a hard inquiry; a high utilisation ratio on the new card can hurt too. Against that, clearing the old card’s balance lowers utilisation there. The effects are usually small and temporary next to the interest at stake. A consolidation loan is the other way to restructure the same debt, trading the fee for a longer term.
Should I close the old card after transferring?: Not usually, and not for reasons this calculator can see. Closing it removes its credit limit from your utilisation ratio and eventually shortens your credit history. The reason to close it is behavioural, if leaving it open means it gets used again, that outweighs the scoring point.

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