Your Net WorthHow long to clear a £5,000 credit card? Real numbers by APR and monthly payment
At a typical UK purchase rate of 24.9% APR, a £5,000 credit card balance is cleared in 58 months by a fixed payment of £150 a month, costing £3,594 in interest. Pay £250 a month instead and it is gone in 27 months. Pay only the card's declining minimum and the same balance can drag on for well over a decade.
TL;DR
- At 24.9% APR, £150 a month clears £5,000 in 58 months (£3,594 interest); £250 a month clears it in 27 months (£1,527 interest).
- A £100 payment at 24.9% APR never clears the balance; the first month's interest alone is about £104.
- The minimum payment shrinks as the balance shrinks, which is why minimum-only payers stay in debt for so long.
- Fix your payment at today's amount and do not let it decline. That one change turns a decades-long balance into a short, known timeline.
- This is educational, not financial advice.
How long does it take at each APR and payment?
The table below shows verified payoff timelines for a £5,000 balance, assuming a fixed monthly payment and no new spending on the card.
| Monthly payment | 19.9% APR | 24.9% APR | 29.9% APR |
|---|---|---|---|
| £100 | 108 months · £5,744 interest | never (interest exceeds payment) | never |
| £150 | 49 months · £2,339 | 58 months · £3,594 | 73 months · £5,820 |
| £200 | 33 months · £1,511 | 36 months · £2,123 | 40 months · £2,926 |
| £250 | 25 months · £1,126 | 27 months · £1,527 | 29 months · £2,007 |
Two things stand out. First, the "never" cells: at 24.9% APR the first month's interest on £5,000 is roughly £104, so a £100 payment does not even cover the interest, and the balance grows rather than shrinks. Second, the steep payoff from moving up a row. Going from £150 to £200 at 24.9% APR cuts 22 months and about £1,471 of interest.
What is the minimum payment trap?
Most UK cards set the minimum payment as a small percentage of the balance (typically 1–3%, often with a floor of £5–£25). Because the payment is a percentage of a shrinking balance, it declines every month. On a £5,000 balance that might start around £100–£150, but by the time the balance is £2,000 the required payment has halved, and progress slows to a crawl. Minimum-only repayment on a balance this size commonly runs well past a decade, and the interest paid can approach or exceed the original debt.
The Financial Conduct Authority calls this persistent debt: if you have paid more in interest and charges than you have repaid of the principal over an 18-month period, your card issuer must contact you, and must offer help if the pattern continues, potentially including a structured repayment plan. The FCA's rules exist precisely because minimum payments keep people in expensive debt for years.
The fix is simple: fix your payment at today's amount instead of letting it decline. If your first minimum is £125, keep paying £125 every month even when the statement says less is due. That single change turns a decades-long balance into the kind of timeline in the table above. No extra money required, just a refusal to let the payment shrink.
How much difference does the APR make?
A lot. The right-hand column of the table is noticeably worse than the left at every payment level. If your credit record allows, a 0% balance transfer card (typically charging a one-off fee of around 2–4%) can beat every row of the table, because every pound you pay goes to the balance rather than interest. The discipline is the same: divide the transferred balance by the interest-free period and fix that payment. MoneyHelper's guidance on balance transfers and credit card interest is a good starting point for comparing offers.
How do you run your own numbers?
Use our Debt Payoff calculator to enter your exact balance, APR, and payment, and see your own payoff date and interest cost. It handles multiple debts at once and can compare the snowball method (smallest balance first) with the avalanche method (highest APR first). Everything runs in your browser; your figures are never sent anywhere or stored on our servers.
Frequently asked questions
- How long to pay off £5,000 at 24.9% APR?
- With a fixed payment it depends on how much you pay: £150 a month takes 58 months (£3,594 interest), £200 takes 36 months (£2,123), and £250 takes 27 months (£1,527). A £100 payment never clears the balance because the first month's interest alone is about £104.
- What happens if I only pay the minimum on my credit card?
- The minimum payment is usually 1–3% of the balance, so it shrinks as the balance shrinks. Payoff then stretches well beyond a decade and the interest can approach the size of the original debt. Under FCA persistent-debt rules, your issuer must contact you if you pay more in interest and charges than principal over 18 months.
- Is a 0% balance transfer worth it for £5,000?
- Usually yes, if you qualify. A transfer fee of 2–4% (£100–£200) is far cheaper than a year of interest at 24.9% APR. The catch is discipline: divide the balance by the interest-free months and fix that payment so the debt is gone before the promotional rate ends.
- Should I use savings to clear my credit card?
- Often, yes. Cash savings rarely earn anywhere near 20–30% after tax, so money sitting in a savings account while a card charges 24.9% APR is usually losing you money overall. Keep an emergency buffer, but using spare savings to kill high-rate card debt is normally the mathematically better move.
- Where can I get free debt help in the UK?
- StepChange, National Debtline, and MoneyHelper all offer free, impartial debt advice. If your balance feels unmanageable or you are only paying the minimum, contact one of them before considering any paid debt-management service.
Last updated: 9 August 2026. Reviewed by Glenn Rodgers. This article is educational and is not financial advice.