Credit Card Payoff Strategies That Work

The two main payoff strategies: avalanche (highest rate first) minimizes total interest. Snowball (smallest balance first) builds momentum. Mathematically, avalanche wins — but snowball often wins behaviorally.

The fastest path to payoff: stop adding new charges, pay more than the minimum every month, and redirect any windfalls (tax refunds, bonuses) directly to the highest-rate balance. On $10,000 at 24.99%, paying $400/month instead of $200/month cuts payoff time from 8+ years to under 3.