What are AWS Credits?

AWS credits are promotional coupons offered through the AWS Activate program. You can apply AWS credits to your account to cover various eligible AWS service usage bills. Amazon understands that startups need technology resources to host core businesses, and that’s achievable through AWS credits.

The AWS Activate program offers free credits to help startups grow their businesses. In addition, it offers technical support and training programs to qualifying startups. Its main purpose is to help startups with IT infrastructure establish their businesses on AWS.

A business can receive a maximum lifetime value of AWS credits of $100,000. The $5,000 tier is a starting tier, and its credits are available for a year. The $10,000 and $25,000 credits fall under the Accelerate tier. These credits are valid for two years.

How Do AWS Credits Work?

When starting a business, you can apply AWS credits to launch your business and accelerate its growth. 

Startups with previous AWS Activate credits can apply for additional credits. However, if the amount applied exceeds the previous credits, they can only receive the difference. For instance, a business previously received $5,000 in AWS Activate credits and applied for an additional $15,000. The business will receive $10,000 in AWS credits. If you have exhausted your lifetime value of $100,000, you will not receive any credits on any subsequent applications.

It’s advisable to apply for credits that you can utilize before they expire. For the $25,000 tier, Amazon has various eligibility requirements that companies should meet before approval. You can view and monitor your AWS credits through the AWS Billing and Cost Management Console. The AWS Activate Console lists the eligible services where you can apply for credits.

nOps has an alternative cost management console that gives you deeper insights into your AWS bills. You can also view your credits through the nOps Cost Optimization dashboard.

You can use AWS credits to offset bills incurred during the same billing cycle that you receive the credits. However, they don’t apply for past bills. For instance, AWS credits received in August cannot offset bills incurred in June or July. 

How to Get AWS Credits

The AWS Accelerate Program is the primary source of AWS credits. Startups that qualify can apply for credits directly through the AWS Activate console. In addition to the AWS Accelerate Program, users can receive credits in the following ways:

• AWS Nonprofits
• AWS Educate
• AWS Events
• AWS Activate Providers

You can receive lower amounts of AWS credits to offset your cloud usage bills through these programs.

Sharing AWS Credits

Through the AWS Billing and Cost Management Console, you can enable credit sharing. This means you can share AWS credits with associated accounts in your organization. Credit sharing takes a month to approve after applying, so you need to request it early. You can deactivate sharing at any time.

Using nOps Cloud Optimization Feature for Your Cost Management

nOps is streamlined with the AWS Well-Architected Framework to help organizations manage their cloud resources. With nOps, you can easily view your AWS credits and optimize your cloud costs.

Schedule a Demo to understand how nOps works and manages your AWS costs.