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which credit card should i pay off first

You generally should pay off the credit card with the highest interest rate first while making at least the minimum payments on all your other cards.

What to pay first

  • Highest APR card first (debt avalanche) :
    • List all cards with balance, APR, and minimum payment.
* After paying minimums on every card, send all extra money to the card with the highest APR.

* When that card is paid off, roll that payment onto the card with the next‑highest APR, and repeat. This usually saves the most **interest** and gets you debt‑free faster.
  • Alternative: smallest balance first (debt snowball) :
    • If motivation is a struggle, you can instead target the card with the smallest balance first, then move to the next‑smallest, always paying minimums on the rest.
* This can feel more rewarding because you see cards hit zero sooner, but you may pay more interest overall if larger balances have higher APRs.

When priorities change

You might choose a different “first card” if:

  • One card is near its limit and you’re worried about maxing out or going over‑limit fees, so you attack that balance to bring utilization down.
  • One card has a 0% promo APR while others are charging high interest; in that case, focus on the non‑promo, high‑APR cards first and pay just enough to keep the promo valid.
  • Your main goal is boosting credit score quickly, in which case paying down the card with very high utilization (for example, 80–90% of the limit) can help more.

Simple step‑by‑step plan

  1. List every card with balance, APR, minimum, and credit limit.
  1. Decide your main goal:
    • Save the most money → avalanche (highest APR first).
 * Stay motivated with quick wins → snowball (smallest balance first).
  1. Set up automatic payments for at least the minimum on every card to avoid late fees and damage to your credit.
  1. Send all extra cash each month to your chosen “first” card until it’s paid off, then roll that payment to the next card on your list.

Quick forum‑style takeaway

If you’re asking “which credit card should I pay off first,” the default answer is: hit the one with the highest APR first, keep every other card on autopay for at least the minimum, and then snowball those freed‑up payments card by card until you’re done.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.