Finance
Snowball vs Avalanche: Which Credit Card Strategy Wins?
Morecalcs Team 2026-07-06· 6 min
Math says avalanche. Behavior often says snowball. Here's how to pick.
Two methods
- **Avalanche**: pay minimums everywhere, throw everything extra at the highest-APR card
- **Snowball**: pay minimums everywhere, kill the smallest balance first
The math
On $15,000 spread across three cards at 18/22/24% APR with $500/month total, avalanche saves roughly $400 in interest and finishes about a month sooner.
The psychology
Snowball works because closing a card is a visible win. Studies show snowball users are more likely to finish. Save less interest, actually reach zero.
Hybrid
Do snowball on the small ones, then avalanche the rest. Best of both.
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