1. Model the consolidation loan
Look at the consolidation loan on its own, including whether it is compared over the same length of time.
Decision journey
Debt Payoff Decision Journey
Enter your debts once, then compare three paths: keeping your current payment, taking a consolidation loan, and moving the balance to a promotional rate. Every figure is an educational estimate modeled from the values you enter.
Educational estimate only. Not a lending decision. Your numbers stay in this browser.
Your combined debt view
How to read this: the verdict describes how much room your numbers leave, not a decision or an offer. Change any input to see how much the result moves.
Take any path further
Each calculator shows the math behind the result and flags the tradeoffs to watch.
2. Compare paying the cards directly
See whether paying more each month on your current cards reaches a similar payoff date without fees.
3. Check the minimum-payment path
See how long the balance takes to clear when you pay only the minimum each month.
4. Compare a promotional transfer
See how the promotional period, the transfer fee, and the rate after it ends change the total cost.
How these numbers are worked out
This journey uses the same math as the individual calculators. The current path builds a payment schedule for your balance at its own rate and the amount you pay today. The consolidation path adds any fees to the balance, then works out a level monthly payment over the time to repay you enter. The optional transfer path charges the promotional rate for the promotional months, then charges whatever is left at your current rate.
The current and proposed plans often run for different lengths of time. The journey says whether the two are being compared over the same period. When they are not, any cost difference shows a direction only, not a firm saving.
Worked example
Take a 24,000 balance at 23.9% with a 900 monthly payment. Consolidating at 11.5% over 30 months models a payoff about 9 months sooner than the current path, with the monthly payment about 24 higher.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a loan offer or a credit decision?
No. It gives educational estimates from the values you enter. It does not check whether any of these products are open to you, and it is not an offer, a pre-screening, or a credit decision from any provider.
Why does the payoff sometimes take longer?
A lower monthly payment usually comes from taking longer to repay. The journey measures that and reports the extra months, so the tradeoff stays visible.