Use your Azure credits

Appropriate roles: Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program partner admin

This article describes how to view, assign, redeem, and activate monthly or yearly Azure credits that are available to partners in Partner Center. To look at specific Azure credits that you receive, refer to the respective membership pages. For more information, see Manage membership.

Modernized Azure Credits Redemption (Only for rolled out countries/regions)

Summary of what's changing

What is the modernized Azure credits experience?

It's a new, streamlined way for partners to redeem Azure credits directly onto a Billing Profile from Partner Center. In the legacy experience, partners had to assign a user, copy an activation link, and share it with that user to activate a new Azure subscription — and credits couldn't be applied to existing subscriptions. In the modernized experience, none of that is needed. The credits are deposited directly onto your chosen Billing Profile, and all subscriptions linked to that Billing Profile — both existing and new — can use those credits immediately.

What do I need before I redeem Azure credits?

Before you begin the redemption process, make sure you have the following in place:

• Partner Center role: You must have the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program partner admin role in Partner Center.
• An eligible Billing Profile: You need an MCA standard or MCA premier Billing Profile under the same MCA Billing Account that was used to purchase your MAICPP offer.
• No active Azure credits from a different Membership offer: The Billing Profile you select must not already have active Azure credits from a different Membership offer. If it does, you must wait until those credits are fully consumed before depositing new ones.
• A credit card or payment instrument linked: The Billing Profile must have a valid credit card or payment method linked. If no payment instrument is linked, add one in the Azure portal before proceeding.
• Owner or Contributor access on the Billing Profile: You must have Owner or Contributor permissions on the Billing Profile where you want to deposit credits. If you don't have access, contact the Billing Profile owner to grant you the appropriate role.

How do I redeem my Azure credits now?

Here are the steps to redeem Azure credits through the modernized experience:

1. Sign in to Partner Center and go to the Benefits section. Under Azure credits, find the Azure credits benefit you want to redeem and select it.

2. In the redemption panel, you see the credit amount available and your Billing Account. Select a Billing Profile from the list of eligible Billing Profiles under your purchase Billing Account.

   

3. After you select an eligible Billing Profile, the profile details are displayed. Verify that the correct profile is selected.

   

4. Check the box to confirm that you've read and understood the Azure sponsorship limitations and terms and conditions.

5. Select Redeem to deposit the credits. After the credits are successfully deposited, you see a confirmation with the redeemed amount and the Billing Profile.

Which Billing Profiles are eligible for Azure credit deposits?

Only Billing Profiles that meet all of the following criteria are eligible:

• The profile is of type MCA standard or MCA premier.
• The profile is under the Billing Account used for your MAICPP offer purchase.
• The profile doesn't currently have active Azure credits from a different Membership offer.

What is an eligible Billing Profile?

An eligible Billing Profile is one where you can immediately deposit Azure credits. To be eligible, the profile must:

1. Be of type MCA standard or MCA premier — other account types (MOSP, MCA-Individual, MCA-E, Legacy EA, MPA) aren't supported for credit deposits.
2. Belong to the same MCA Billing Account that was used when you purchased your MAICPP offer — credits can't be deposited on Billing Profiles under a different Billing Account.
3. Not have active Azure credits from a different Membership offer already deposited on it — you can only deposit new credits after the existing ones are fully consumed.

If your Billing Profile meets all three conditions, it appears as "Eligible to redeem" in the list and you can select it to proceed with redemption.

Why does my Billing Profile show "Has active Azure credits"?

This Billing Profile already has active Azure credits from a different Membership offer. Additional credits can be deposited only after the current ones are fully used. Check your credit balance in the Azure portal and wait until the existing credits are consumed before redeeming new ones.

Why does my Billing Profile show "Link credit card"?

This Billing Profile doesn't have a credit card or payment instrument linked. You need to add a credit card to the Billing Profile before Azure credits can be deposited. Go to the Azure portal and add a payment method to this Billing Profile.

Why does my Billing Profile show "Get contributor access"?

You don't have Owner or Contributor access to this Billing Profile. Contact the owner of the Billing Profile to grant you the appropriate role, then return to Partner Center to redeem credits.

Why is my Billing Profile listed as "Not eligible"?

A Billing Profile can be ineligible for credit deposits for two reasons:

• Account type isn't supported: Billing Profiles of type MOSP, MCA-Individual, MCA-E, Legacy EA, or MPA aren't eligible. Credits can only be deposited into a Billing Profile of type MCA standard or MCA premier. You can create a new MCA Billing Profile under the same Billing Account used for your MAICPP offer purchase, and then move your subscriptions to the new profile.
• Not associated with your purchase: The Billing Profile isn't under the Billing Account used for your MAICPP offer purchase. Azure credits can only be redeemed on Billing Profiles that belong to your purchase Billing Account.

What happens after I successfully redeem credits?

After a successful redemption:

• A confirmation is displayed showing the amount deposited and the Billing Profile the credits were deposited on.

• The credits appear on your selected Billing Profile in the Azure portal.

• All subscriptions under that Billing Profile can use the deposited Azure credits.

• Whenever you return to the Azure credits benefit in Partner Center, you see the Redeemed status with details about when and where the credits were deposited.

  

What happens if the credit deposit fails?

If the deposit fails, you see an error message explaining the reason. The most common failure reasons are:

• Billing Profile already has active credits: "Billing profile already has active credits – Please consume them before adding new credits."
• Insufficient permissions: "You don't have Owner or Contributor access to this billing profile. Please obtain access to proceed with credit deposit."

If you see either of these errors, resolve the underlying issue and try again. Your credit balance isn't affected by a failed attempt.

Why do I not see the Azure credits in the Billing Profile, even after successful redemption?

After a successful redemption in Partner Center, it can take some time for the Azure credits to appear on your Billing Profile in the Azure portal. This delay is normal and can take up to several minutes. If you don't see the credits immediately, wait a few minutes and then refresh the Azure portal page. If the credits still don't appear after 30 minutes, contact support for assistance.

Can I move my subscription to a different Billing Profile after credits are deposited?

No. Once Azure credits are deposited on a Billing Profile, subscriptions under that profile can't be moved to a different Billing Profile until the credits are fully consumed. This is a safeguard to ensure credits remain within the intended Billing Profile boundary.

If you try to move a subscription while credits are active, the move fails. You're prompted to first move the credits to a different subscription within the same Billing Profile, and then you can move the subscription itself.

Can I move a Billing Profile from one Billing Account to another?

Moving a Billing Profile between Billing Accounts isn't a supported scenario at this time. Your Azure credits and all related subscriptions remain within the Billing Account where the credits were deposited.

Is there any change to my Azure credits entitlement?

No. The amount of Azure credits you're entitled to isn't changing. You continue to receive the same credit amount as before. The only change is in how you redeem those credits — directly onto a Billing Profile instead of the legacy process of assigning a user, sharing an activation link, and having that user activate a new Azure subscription.

Who is the audience for this change?

The Azure credits modernization is being rolled out in a phased manner for different geographies. Partners should wait for the change to be rolled out in their country/region. Most countries/regions are expected to be covered by end of July 2026.

After the change goes live for your country/region, any partner who has Azure credits as part of their offer uses the new modernized experience for offers purchased after the rollout date.

Do I need to track user assignments for Azure credits?

No. In the legacy experience, you had to assign a user, copy an activation link, and share it with the assigned user so they could activate the benefit on a new Azure subscription. In the modernized experience, none of these steps are needed. The credits are deposited directly onto a Billing Profile, and any user with access to subscriptions under that profile can use the credits.

What types of services can I use with Azure sponsorship credits?

Azure sponsorship credits are applicable only toward first-party Azure consumption services. The following aren't covered by sponsorship credits:

• Reserved Instances
• Third-party Marketplace offers
• Support plans

Where can I see an overview of credit consumption after redemption?

After redemption, you can view your credit balance and consumption in the Azure portal under your Billing Profile. The Credits consumed link in the Partner Center redeemed view also takes you to the Azure portal to check your usage.

View your Azure credits in Partner Center

To view your Azure credits, sign in to the Partner Center Azure credits page. You see a list of the Azure credits that are either already redeemed or yet to be redeemed.

You receive the following two types of Azure credits, depending on your active membership type:

• Azure monthly credit: These Azure credits are available to be consumed per month. For example, $100/month means you get $100 Azure credits every month until the end date of your membership. If you don't consume these credits fully by the end of the month, these unconsumed credits lapse and don't carry forward to the next month.
• Azure bulk (yearly) credit: These Azure credits are available to be consumed for one year from the start date to the end date. For example, $6,000/year means you get 6,000 Azure credits once. You can consume these 6,000 credits anytime between the start date and the end date of these credits.

If you hold multiple program offers (for example, Action Pack and a Solutions Partner designation), you first choose which offer's benefits to view. You can then see all Azure entitlements in a searchable, filterable grid showing:

Activate or redeem your Azure credits

When you select an Azure credits benefit, a details wizard opens with three steps:

1. Introduction — Displays the benefit name, associated offer or competency, total quantity, expiry date, and current status.
2. Activation Walkthrough — A visual step-by-step guide with two walkthrough steps:
   • Step 1: Manage user assignment — Assign the Azure subscription to a user in your Microsoft Entra ID tenant.
   • Step 2: Send link to users — Send the activation link to the assigned user so they can activate the benefit.
3. Activate Benefits — The user assignment and activation screen described in the following steps.

To assign a user to Azure credits in Partner Center:

1. Go to the Azure credits page under the Benefits workspace.

2. Identify the Azure credits benefit that you want to activate or redeem. Make sure that the status of the benefit is Not Redeemed. Quick filters are available on the top of the screen to easily locate the Azure credits that aren't yet redeemed.

3. Select the name of the Azure credits benefit that you want to redeem.

4. On the side pane, go to the Activate Benefits tab. The activation screen is divided into two sections:

Section 1: Manage user assignment

This section assigns the benefit to a user in your organization's Microsoft Entra ID (AAD) tenant.

• Assign user(s): You can assign only one user from your AAD tenant to each subscription. Use the search box to look up users by name or user principal name (UPN), then select Assign user.

  Note

  Guest or external users can't be assigned to Azure bulk credits. Only users who belong to your organization's tenant with a company domain are supported.

  If you can't find a user, select Add a new user and then assign Azure credits to this newly added user. For more information, see how to create a user.

  Once a user is assigned, the search area becomes disabled with the message: "You can not assign anymore users since you have already assigned user."

• View/Remove User: After assignment, a table displays the currently assigned user with the following columns:

  Column	Description
  Name	Display name of the assigned user
  Email ID	User principal name (UPN) of the assigned user
  Action	Remove button with an info tooltip explaining reassignment restrictions

Section 2: Send link to users

After a user is assigned, you need to send them an activation link to complete the process:

• A message is displayed: "Send the below activation link to the assigned user along with the steps to activate the benefit."
• A read-only text box shows the activation message that the assigned user should follow to activate their Azure subscription on the Azure portal.
• Use the copy-to-clipboard button next to the text box to copy the message and share it with the assigned user.

View and remove assigned users

After the initial redemption or assignment, you can change a user assignment, with some conditions:

• For each Azure monthly credit, you can add or remove users at any time, but you're capped at five reassignments only. Exceptions aren't granted beyond five reassignments.
• For the Azure bulk (yearly) credit, reassignment isn't supported. You can change the user in the next year only after you renew your membership and you're awarded a new set of benefits.

To remove an assigned user, select the Remove button next to their name in the Assigned Users list. Removing a user frees up the seat for a new assignment, subject to the reassignment caps listed above.

View the new Azure credits benefits

The following Azure credits benefits are new:

• Copilot for Security Benefit (by way of Azure credits)
• GitHub Copilot Enterprise (by way of Azure credits)
• GitHub Enterprise Metered Benefit (by way of Azure credits)

The process for redeeming the new Azure credits is the same as that for yearly and bulk Azure credits.

Azure credits FAQs (Legacy experience)

Use these frequently asked questions to learn more about the legacy Azure credits experience. For FAQs about the modernized experience, see the Modernized Azure Credits Redemption section.

Why can't I access my benefits?

If you recently purchased a Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program benefit offer but can't view or access the benefits in the Benefits workspace, it's likely that your credit card payment is still being processed and we're awaiting bank confirmation. Your benefits are provisioned after four days of the purchase date. Check back after this period.

What credits can I assign to a user?

You can assign a user in your organization to both an active Azure monthly credit and an Azure bulk credit. You can't assign a user to more than one Azure bulk credit.

Can I reassign credits?

You can remove an existing user assignment and assign a new user for an Azure monthly credit. User reassignments on each credit are capped at a maximum of five.

Can I assign a user who doesn't belong to my organization's tenant?

No. Guest or external users can't be assigned to Azure bulk credits. Only users who belong to your organization's Microsoft Entra ID tenant with a company domain are supported. Users with free-hosted domains (such as @live.com, @hotmail.com, and @gmail.com) are also not supported.

What happens when I assign a user?

When you assign a user, the system performs the following validations in order:

1. Checks that no other assignment is already in progress for the same benefit.
2. Verifies the user isn't already assigned to this benefit.
3. Confirms there's still an available seat (current assignments haven't reached the maximum allowed).
4. Looks up the user in Microsoft Entra ID to verify they exist in your tenant.
5. Confirms the user isn't a guest or external user (for bulk credits).

If all validations pass, the user is assigned and a new Azure subscription is provisioned. The status is set to Provisioned. You can then copy the activation link from Section 2 of the Activate Benefits screen and share it with the assigned user.

What happens when I remove an assigned user?

When you remove a user:

• The user is unassigned from the benefit.
• The seat becomes available for reassignment, subject to the reassignment caps (five for monthly credits; no reassignment for bulk credits within the same year).

Can I apply Azure credits to an existing pay-as-you-go subscription?

No. Redeeming Azure credits in the legacy experience always creates a new Azure subscription. You can't use the credits on an existing pay-as-you-go subscription. After redemption, you must move your existing resources to the new subscription to use the sponsorship credits.

Can I move my Azure subscription after credits are applied?

Once Azure credits are deposited on a subscription, the subscription can't be moved to a different Billing Profile until the credits are fully consumed. If you try to move the subscription, the move fails and you're asked to first move the credits to a different subscription within the same Billing Profile before moving the original subscription.

Can I move a Billing Profile between Billing Accounts?

No. Moving a Billing Profile from one Billing Account to another isn't supported. If credits are deposited on a Billing Profile, the profile and all related subscriptions remain within the original Billing Account.

What happens if my purchase is cancelled or revoked?

If your MAICPP purchase is cancelled or identified as fraud, the Azure credits associated with that purchase are also revoked. For example, if you received $10,000 USD in Azure credits as part of your purchase and the purchase is later cancelled, the full credit amount is revoked.

How long are monthly credits valid?

Azure monthly credits are valid for 13 months from the date of benefit activation. At the end of 13 months, free monthly Azure credits are no longer available. You need to convert your subscription to a pay-as-you-go model if you want to continue running your Azure resources. You can convert your Azure monthly subscription to a pay-as-you-go model by removing spend restrictions on your Azure subscription. For more information, see Remove the spending limit in the Azure portal.

What are the terms and conditions for Azure credits?

Azure credits awarded under the Microsoft membership program should adhere to monthly Azure credits or yearly Azure credits terms and conditions.

How can I redeem Azure credits for new benefits?

The process to redeem Azure credits for the following new benefits is the same as that for yearly and bulk Azure credits:

• Copilot for Security Benefit (via Azure credits)
• GitHub Copilot Enterprise (via Azure credits)
• GitHub Enterprise Metered Benefit (via Azure credits)

Related content

• Benefits overview
• Benefits FAQs
• Membership overview