The whole story, as text
Should I consolidate my credit cards into one loan?
Three debts totalling $17,700. Two cards at 24.99% and 19.99%, a loan at 14%. Minimums come to $563 a month. The offer: one loan at 11.5% over 48 months, with a 3% fee. What will the consolidation loan cost in all, fee and interest together?
The answer
$5,151. That is $4,603 of interest plus the $547 fee. Paying minimums only would cost $7,545 over 45 months.
Why
Consolidation wins on rate and loses on term: 48 months instead of 45, with a lower payment. $547 fee, $17,700 pays off the debts. Its payment is $476. The old minimums were $563. That gap is where most of the saving leaks away. Keep the cards and pay $200 extra instead: $4,304 in interest, debt-free in 29 months. That beats plain consolidation by $847.
One move
Take the rate. Keep paying $763. Consolidate, $476 a month: 48 months, $5,151 cost of borrowing. Consolidate, keep paying $763: 28 months, $3,125 cost of borrowing. Cheapest of all: $3,125 cost of borrowing, debt-free in 28 months. Only if the cards stay at zero. New spending on them wipes out the saving; the tool shows by how much.
Consolidation only helps if the old balances stay at zero. The tool has a field for new monthly spending on the cards and shows what you would owe when the loan ends.
Yours
Consolidate or pay faster? runs these numbers for any loan. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
The longer read
We cannot tell you whether to consolidate. We can show you what each path costs on your numbers, which is usually enough to make the choice obvious. There are four paths, not two, and the one people rarely consider often wins.
The four paths
- Pay the minimums on every card and let them run down.
- Keep the cards, pay extra each month, aimed at the highest rate first.
- Consolidate into one loan and pay its scheduled payment.
- Consolidate, but keep paying what you pay today instead of the loan’s lower payment.
A worked example
Three debts: a card with $6,500.00 at 24.99% (minimum $195.00), a card with $3,200.00 at 19.99% (minimum $96.00), and a personal loan with $8,000.00 at 14% (payment $272.00). Minimums total $563.00 a month. A consolidation offer: 11.5% over 48 months with a 3% fee.
| Path | Debt-free in | Interest and fees | First month’s payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay minimums only | 45 months | $7,544.53 | $563.00 |
| Pay $200.00 extra, highest rate first | 29 months | $4,304.22 | $763.00 |
| Consolidate | 48 months | $5,150.74 | $476.06 |
| Consolidate, keep paying $763.00 | 28 months | $3,125.26 | $763.00 |
Consolidation on its own saves about $2,400 against minimums, but takes three months longer, and its lower payment is the reason. Keeping the cards and paying $200 extra beats plain consolidation by $846. And taking the consolidation rate while keeping the $763 payment is cheapest of all, $3,125.26, and debt-free in 28 months. The saving comes from the lower rate; the lower payment gives most of it back.
The part the table cannot show
Consolidation only helps if the card balances stay at zero. If $150 a month goes back on the cards and is never paid down, by the time the loan ends you owe thousands on the cards again, on top of everything paid on the loan. The tool has a field for this and will show you the figure.
What to check on the offer
- The fee. A 3% fee on $17,700 is $547.42, borrowed and paid with interest.
- The rate against your highest-rate card. If the new rate is not clearly below the card rates it replaces, paying extra in rate order usually wins.
- The term. A 48- or 60-month loan can cost more than 29 months of extra payments even at a lower rate.
- Whether extra payments are allowed without a fee.
Questions to ask your lender
- What is the APR including the origination fee, and how is the fee charged?
- Can I pay more than the scheduled payment each month with no penalty?
- What is the total of all payments over the term?
- Will the loan pay the cards directly, or do I receive the money?
See it with your own numbers
Enter each debt’s balance, rate and minimum in Consolidate or pay faster?, then an extra amount and the offer. Drop each card statement on the page to fill a debt in.
Related: Debt payoff simulation. Glossary: consolidation, avalanche method.
Educational tool, not advice. Your lenders’ disclosures are the authoritative figures.
Written and reviewed by Riverbend Crossroads Digital LLC, Sunday, September 6, 2026. Figures from the Show Real Cost engine, computed exactly and shown to the cent. Educational, not advice; your lender's disclosures are the authoritative figures. How we calculate · Corrections.