How to pay off buy now, pay later plans

List every plan in one place

Write every plan on one list. For each one, note the lender, what is left to pay, the payment, the next due date, the date of the last payment and the APR. Add your credit cards to the same list.

Many people have more than one plan at a time. In a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau study of pay-in-four loans, about 63% of borrowers in 2022 took out more than one loan at the same time at some point in the year. About 33% did so with more than one company. The study counts two loans as taken out at the same time when the second starts within 42 days of the first. The average number of open loans per borrower spiked between Black Friday and Christmas Eve.

Rates differ by plan. Affirm says its rates run from 0% to 36% APR based on credit, and that its Pay in 4 option is 0% APR. Klarna says Pay in 4 is interest-free when you pay on time and collects payments automatically every 2 weeks. Its Pay over time loans run from 0% to 35.99% APR, based on creditworthiness and term. Your own plan’s APR is in the lender’s app.

Can you pay off Affirm or Klarna early?

Yes. Affirm says there are no penalties or fees for paying early, and that paying a plan off early may save you interest. If you pay more than the amount due, “every extra penny will go toward your total plan balance.” Affirm uses simple interest. If you pay early, it charges interest calculated daily on the principal you still owe.

Klarna says you can make early payments anytime. Its Pay in 4 plans are interest-free when you pay on time.

So paying early helps on a plan that charges interest. On a 0% plan, it saves no interest, and the same money can do more on your credit card.

Which to pay first, a 0% plan or your credit card?

Pay each plan as scheduled and put any extra money on the debt with the highest APR. In our example, that is the credit card.

The card’s 22.15% APR is the average rate on credit card accounts at commercial banks that were charged interest in the second quarter of 2026, from the Federal Reserve’s G.19 release. The plans copy the lenders’ own examples. One is Affirm’s 12 monthly payments at 15% APR on the $320 left after an $80 down payment on $400. The other is Klarna’s 3 payments at 0% APR per $1,000. Our calculator rounds each payment up to the cent so the plan ends on time, and it counts interest by the month. So its payments are $28.89 and $333.34, a cent more than in the lenders’ examples.

When a plan ends, move its payment to the card

The 0% plan ends after 3 months. Keep paying the same $452.23 a month and send its $333.34 to the card. The table shows the same $4,320 paid off in different ways.

The table assumes no new purchases, no fees and the same APRs. The balances are from December 1, 2026, and the first payments are in January 2027. Interest is the balance times the APR divided by 12, rounded to the cent each month.

• In this $4,320 example, moving each finished plan’s payment to the card cuts the payoff from 53 months to 12 and saves $1,307.43 of interest, with no new money.
• In the same example, the snowball pays the small plan off first and finishes a month sooner, but it costs $21.50 more interest than the avalanche.

The same idea works for any mix of debts. How to start paying off debt walks through it with four debts, and the snowball and avalanche comparison shows when each one wins. Open this example to see these three debts in the free debt payoff calculator, with the avalanche and $100 more a month.

Should you pay a buy now, pay later plan with a credit card?

Klarna says it accepts major debit and credit cards for payments, but not credit cards for purchases made with the Klarna Card. Paying a plan with a card moves the balance to the card. If you do not pay the card in full, the balance costs the card’s APR.

The card column assumes the whole plan goes on the card at once, the card charges 22.15% APR from the start and you pay the card the same amount each month.

A card’s grace period only helps if you pay the card in full by its due date. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says grace periods typically apply only to purchase transactions, so check how your card treats the payment.

If you can’t make a payment

Affirm says it doesn’t charge late fees, but missing a payment can still affect your credit history and limit your ability to use Affirm. A payment is reported to the credit bureaus as late if you miss paying the full amount by 30 days or more. Affirm shares your payment history with Experian and TransUnion.

Klarna says that if it cannot collect a Pay in 4 payment a second time, the payment is added to your next one with a late fee of up to $7.00. Its late fees never add up to more than 25% of the order value. You can extend your next payment date once per order, but not for Pay over time. Klarna reports Pay over time loans to credit bureaus, and if a payment is late, you cannot keep using Klarna until it is paid.

If you cannot keep up with several debts, a nonprofit credit counselor can go through them with you. See When to talk to someone below.

Track the plans and the card on iPhone

Debt Payoff Planner: Tracker is an iPhone app for paying off debt with the snowball or avalanche method. You type in each plan and card, and it plans the payoff and records each payment. It is free for up to 3 debts, so this example fits in the free version, with no account and no bank link. Premium adds unlimited debts. See it on the App Store.

When to talk to someone

• If your payments take more than you can cover each month, a nonprofit credit counselor can go through your budget and your debts with you. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says credit counseling can be free or low cost, and that counselors may charge for some services. It points to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (nfcc.org, 877-360-6322) and the Financial Counseling Association of America (fcaa.org). Get any fee in writing before you sign up.
• If a debt collector or your card issuer treats you unfairly, you can submit a complaint to the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint or (855) 411-2372, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.
• If a company wants a fee before it settles any of your debts, the FTC calls that a warning sign. You can report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
• If you are sued over a debt and your income is low, a legal aid office may help for free. Find the one near you at lsc.gov.
• If money worries leave you in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It is free, confidential and open 24/7. In an emergency, call 911.

Outside the US, look for a free debt advice service run or approved by your government.

Sources

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Use of Buy Now, Pay Later and Other Unsecured Debt, January 2025
• Federal Reserve, G.19 Consumer Credit, release of October 7, 2026
• Affirm, How it works
• Affirm Help Center, Payments overview
• Affirm Help Center, How interest works
• Affirm Help Center, Late payments
• Klarna, Pay in 4
• Klarna Help, How can I pay?
• Klarna Help, What happens if I can’t pay on time?
• Klarna Help, Why was I charged a late fee?
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, What is a grace period for a credit card?

Sources checked on October 17, 2026.