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See whether moving your credit card debt saves money once the transfer fee and the revert rate are counted. On $6,000 at 20.99%, a 12-month 0% transfer with a 2% fee cuts the cost from about $1,449 to about $350 at $300 a month, but leaves $2,520 owing when the offer ends.
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Compare moving your debt with staying on your current card.
Often 0%
One-off, % of the amount moved
From the new card's key facts sheet
Stay on your current card
Interest paid: $1,449
Time to clear: 2 yr 1 mth
Balance transfer
Transfer fee: $120
Interest and fee: $350
Time to clear: 1 yr 10 mth
The transfer saves about $1,099 in interest and fees, if you make no new purchases on either card.
Balance left when the 12-month offer ends: $2,520, which then accrues interest at the revert rate.
Monthly repayment needed to clear it within the offer: $510
Estimates only. Interest is calculated monthly (rate ÷ 12) and the fee is added to the transferred balance. Real cards calculate interest daily, may charge annual fees and may have no interest-free days on new purchases while a transfer is on the card. Check the card's key facts sheet.
The number that matters most is the balance left when the offer ends. Whatever remains starts accruing interest at the revert rate, so a transfer you can't clear in time saves less than it seems. The calculator also shows the level repayment that clears the balance within the offer: if you can afford it, set it up as an automatic payment on day one.
If the transfer only just beats staying put, check the new card's annual fee (not included here) and whether you'll really stop spending on the old card. Moneysmart suggests cancelling it once the balance moves.
| Monthly repayment | Stay: interest, time | Transfer: interest + fee, time | Left when the 0% ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| $300 | $1,449, 25 months | $350, 22 months | $2,520 |
| $510 | $777, 14 months | $120, 12 months | $0 |
Purchases on the new card are the big one. ASIC found 4 of 13 lenders in its review gave no interest-free days on new purchases while a balance transfer was on the card, and the law requires your repayments to go to the highest-rate part of your balance first, so new purchases are cleared before the transfer. Missing a required repayment can also end the promotional rate early.
Read the full guide to balance transfer credit cards, or how credit card interest works. If you carry a balance often, a low rate cardavoids the revert-rate cliff altogether.
A new card pays out your existing card debt and charges 0% or a low rate on it for a set period, usually 6 to 24 months, often for a one-off fee that is a percentage of the amount moved. Anything left when the period ends is charged at the card's revert rate.
On a 0% offer, divide the transferred amount plus the fee by the number of months in the offer. $6,000 plus a 2% fee over 12 months is $510 a month. The calculator works this out for any rate.
It is when the interest you avoid is more than the transfer fee and any interest after the offer ends, and you don't add new spending. ASIC found 74.2% of people who made a balance transfer reduced their total card debt, but about 11% ended up with over 50% more.
The revert rate on the new card's key facts sheet. ASIC found it is in most cases the card's standard purchase rate.
Because purchases on a balance transfer card change the maths: they're charged at the purchase rate, some cards give them no interest-free days while a transfer is on the card, and by law your repayments clear the highest-rate part of the balance first.
Tell us about your balance and how you use a card, and we'll match you on transfer terms, fees and rate.
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