Minimum Payment Trap: Plan to Get Rid of Credit Card Debt

The statement came, there is no cash to pay the entire debt. You think, "I'll pay the minimum anyway, the card won't be closed," and you deposit 6,000 TL. You feel relaxed. But three months later, the debt did not decrease but increased. Are we familiar? You are not alone: ​​banks earned 417 billion TL interest income from credit cards in the first eight months of 2026. In this article, we will show you why the minimum payment does not melt your debt, with the current interest rates and rules of 2026, and then give a concrete 5-step plan to get out of the spiral. What Does the Minimum Payment Really Mean? The minimum payment is the minimum amount you must deposit to keep your card open. It will prevent you from falling behind and damaging your credit score — but it won't pay off your debt. Interest continues to accrue on the entire remaining amount. In other words, the minimum payment is not a "payment plan", but a "deferral fee". Rates are determined according to your card limit. With the decision of BRSA dated October 1, 2026, the threshold changed: Cards with a limit of 100,000 TL and below: 20% of the period debt. Cards with a limit over 100,000 TL: 40% of the period debt. Example: If your card with a limit of 80,000 TL has a period debt of 30,000 TL, your minimum payment is 6,000 TL. In the past, 40% was applied within this limit range; With the new decision, the payment obligation has been halved. That sounds like good news — but be careful: the reduced amount doesn't reduce your debt, but the amount you have to deposit that month. Interest continues to accrue on the remaining 24,000 TL. Why Doesn't Your Debt Go Out? Mathematics of Interest According to the CBRT's maximum rates valid as of September 2026, if the term debt is below 30,000 TL, the monthly contractual interest is 3.25%; In the range of 30,000–180,000 TL, 3.75% is applied. These rates are thought to be small because they appear monthly. However, 3.25% monthly means approximately 47% compounded annually. Credit card is one of the most expensive borrowing channels on the individual side in Türkiye. Let's make it concrete: You have a debt of 25,000 TL and you only pay 20% of the minimum (5,000 TL) every month. The first month leaves 20,000 TL and 3.25% interest accrues on this amount — roughly 650 TL per month. If new expenses are included in the statement the following month, the situation becomes even more serious: a significant portion of the money you pay goes to interest, and the principal remains stagnant. After a few months, "why hasn't the debt decreased despite paying so much?" This is the answer to the question: compound interest, new interest is written on every unpaid penny every month. If you pay below the minimum, the situation gets worse: delay interest comes into play (3.55% per month for debts under 30,000 TL), your credit score drops and if you do not deposit the minimum amount three times in a calendar year, your card will be blocked first for cash use and then for shopping completely. If payment is not made for three months in a row, legal proceedings begin. 2 Critical Changes Awaiting Card Users in 2026 If you are reading this article in October 2026, it would be useful for you to know two current developments. 1. The minimum payment threshold increased to 100,000 TL. The decision of October 1, 2026, which we explained above, particularly relieved users whose limit was in the range of 50,000-100,000 TL: the minimum payment decreased from 40% to 20%. But this is not a "debt forgiveness". If the low minimum turns into a low payment habit, the interest burden grows. Allocating the relieved cash flow to new spending rather than using it to reduce debt is the most common version of the trap.2. The limits are tied to income, the deadline is January 1, 2027. According to the BRSA's decision in January 2026, banks will align the total credit card limit of customers in all banks with the documentable income. The rule is roughly as follows: the total limit cannot exceed 2 times the monthly income in the first year, and 4 times thereafter. In other words, the limits of those living with high limits that are incompatible with their income may be reduced at the beginning of 2027. This means the end of the "limit is high, I'll pay it anyway" era — spending discipline is no longer a choice, it's a necessity. Exiting the Spiral: 5-Step PlanDiagnosis is complete. Now let's move on to the treatment. Follow the plan below in order; Every skipped step is a ticket back to the spiral. Step 1: Take a debt inventory. Write down the period debt, limit, interest rate and due date of all cards in a single table. It can be frustrating to see total debt in net numbers for the first time — but planning doesn't work with invisible debt. With Giderr's debt tracking feature, you can record the debt of each card separately and monitor the maturity dates; so you can see what you're paying for which card and when on one screen.Step 2: Choose a closing strategy — snowball or avalanche?There are two proven methods. In the snowball method, you start with the smallest debt and pay it off; The initial feeling of “done” ignites motivation and maintains discipline. In the avalanche method, you start with the debt with the highest interest rate; Mathematically, you pay less interest in total, but the first result comes later. If you have a lot of small debts and need motivation, choose the snowball method, or if you have one large high-interest debt, choose the avalanche method. The rule is the same for both: pay much more than the minimum to the card you choose, deposit the minimum to the others, and when a debt is paid off, add that payment to the next card. Step 3: Ask about your right to restructure. If your debt is at a point where it cannot be paid, discuss restructuring with your bank. The interest to be applied to restructured credit card debts cannot exceed the specified reference rate — that is, you have the chance to pay the debt in installments at a lower rate than the card interest. Feel free to bargain; A regular payment structured for the bank is always better than a delinquent receivables file.Step 4: Make the direct debit “minimum + Thus, without your will power, you will take on more debt every month. Also note the statement cutting and payment due dates in your calendar; A single delay erases a month's discipline along with its interest. Step 5: Close the new debt tap. Adding new installment purchases to the card while the plan is in progress is like filling the bucket when it is still full. Until the debt is paid: use the card only for traceable mandatory payments and not for daily expenses; Do not withdraw cash advances (cash withdrawal interest is applied at the top bracket, 4.25% per month); Do not spend unnecessary money on campaign points. When you regularly record your expenses in Giderr and categorize them, you will clearly see where the money is leaking in the first month. 3 Critical Mistakes That Should Not Be Done Paying off the debt with debt: Paying off the credit card debt with a consumer loan or a cash advance from another card does not solve the problem; extends and often enlarges. This is the mistake that experts most frequently warn about: each new debt taken before the income-expense balance is established will turn the spiral around one more time. Thinking "My limit is high, I am safe": The limit is not money; It is the debt ceiling that the bank opens to you. Income compliance on January 1, 2027 will end this illusion anyway — you finish ahead and limit your total limit to a reasonable coefficient of your income. Relying only on the minimum and not planning: The minimum payment is an emergency valve; It is not a strategy. If you've been paying only the minimum for more than three months, start the 5-step plan above today. A credit card is a powerful tool that offers installments, points and cash flow advantages when used correctly. When used incorrectly, it turns into Türkiye's most expensive individual debt trap. It is not the card that makes the difference, but the payment behavior: if you cannot pay it off in full each month, pay in multiples of the minimum, monitor the debt on a single screen and turn off the new debt tap. Getting out of the spiral doesn't happen overnight — but each planned month puts the money that was going to interest back into your pocket.