Do AWS credits expire? Yes. Every credit has a fixed end date.

IHow to find your expiry date and balance

The AWS Billing and Cost Management console lists every credit with its remaining amount and its expiration date.

• Open the Credits page: Sign in to the AWS account that received the credits and open Billing and Cost Management, then Credits.
• Allow a few hours after approval: AWS says approved Activate credits and their expiry dates appear in the console 3 to 4 hours after approval.
• Read each line: Each credit shows its name, the amount left and its own expiration date. If you hold several credits, each one ends on its own date.
• Watch your inbox: AWS Activate emails you 60 days and 30 days before credits expire, when they expire, and when 75% and 100% of your credits are used (AWS Startups FAQ).

IIHow long AWS credits last

AWS does not publish one fixed period for every credit. The date depends on the package, and it is set when the credit is issued.

For Activate, AWS says credits "usually expire within 1-2 years depending on the package" (AWS Activate credits guide). That covers AWS Activate Founders ($1,000 to start, up to $5,000) and AWS Activate Portfolio (up to $200,000). Your console shows the real date for your package.

Promotional credit codes, such as codes from AWS events or training, end on the date given when you receive the code. Under the AWS Promotional Credit Terms, a code cannot be redeemed after that date.

Credits from partner-filed funding work the same way. If a partner files MAP, POC or incremental workload (IW) funding and AWS issues credits to your account, they appear in the same console with their own date. Ask the partner what the approval says before the work starts.

Older versions of this page listed fixed windows per program and expiry rules for programs that do not exist. Those were not from AWS, and we removed them.

IIIAWS does not extend credits

Once the date passes, any balance left on that credit is gone.

The AWS Startups FAQ says the Activate team cannot extend the expiration date of Activate credits, even if credit is left unused. Credits also cannot be refunded or re-issued, even if they were used by mistake.

The Promotional Credit Terms (last updated 24 September 2026) say credit cannot be sold, licensed, rented or transferred, has no cash value and is nonrefundable. A code not redeemed before its expiry date is forfeited, and AWS gives no refunds for expired or cancelled credit.

One detail helps: under the same terms, redeemed credit covers eligible charges for the whole billing cycle in which it expires. Credit that ends mid-month still counts against that month's eligible charges.

IVWhat credits pay for, and in what order

Credits apply on their own during billing. You cannot choose which services they go to.

• Order of use: If you hold more than one credit, AWS applies the one that expires soonest first, then the one with the fewest eligible services, then the oldest (AWS Billing user guide). Within a credit, AWS applies it to the largest service charge first.
• No past bills: Credits do not cover bills or charges from before they landed.
• No upfront fees: Credits do not pay the upfront fee for Savings Plans or Reserved Instances.
• Other exclusions: Unless AWS authorizes it, the Promotional Credit Terms also exclude AWS Marketplace, AWS Professional Services, AWS Managed Services, training, certification, Route 53 domain registration and transfer, ineligible support plans and crypto mining.
• Bedrock models: AWS says Activate credits can pay for third-party models on Amazon Bedrock, such as models from Anthropic, Meta and Mistral AI (AWS post).

VPromotional credits vs Activate credits

"Promotional credit" is AWS's umbrella term. Activate credits are promotional credits too, and the same terms apply.

Activate credits land in your account after AWS approves your application. You do nothing else.

A promotional code, for example from an AWS event, has to be redeemed. On the Credits page, choose Redeem credit and enter the code. It applies only to the account that redeems it, and it cannot be moved to another account later.

Both kinds sit on the same Credits page, each with its own balance and date, and both follow the order of use above.

VIHow not to lose credit

Lost credit usually comes from applying long before real usage starts, or from a balance nobody watches.

• Apply when you will use it: The clock starts when credits are issued. If real usage starts in six months, applying today burns six months of validity.
• Forecast your spend: AWS Cost Explorer forecasts spend up to 18 months ahead. Compare the forecast with your balance and your expiry date.
• Share across accounts if you need to: In an AWS Organization, only the payer account can turn credit sharing on or off and choose which accounts can use a credit (AWS docs).
• Read the reminder emails: The 60-day and 30-day emails are your last chance to move planned work forward.

VIIWhen your credits run out

Expired credit is not renewed. The bigger source of AWS funding for most startups is partner-filed, and it is tied to new work.

If you are moving to AWS, testing something, or launching new work on AWS, a vetted AWS partner can file MAP, POC or incremental workload (IW) funding for that work. For startups: $50K to $150K. Depends on the workload; AWS approves. You apply for Activate yourself; a partner cannot file it.