I'm in a bit of a bind regarding my Azure sponsored subscription. I was part of a program that offered up to $150K in credits to startups. The way it works, you need to use at least 50% of your current credits to unlock the next round. I'm consolidating a bunch of App Service Plans into either Azure Kubernetes Service or Azure Container Apps, and I've been using these credits for testing. However, after about three months, I launched some expensive resources for load testing, which cost around $14-17K a month. This pushed my usage over the 50% threshold of my $25K credits much quicker than expected, depleting the subscription. Initially, I monitored our costs, but due to a bug on their site, it only showed about $6K in usage. Suddenly, I received an invoice for $14K, and my subscription was switched to a Pay as You Go model. After contacting support, they told me they couldn't credit the $47K bill because I needed to use more than 50% of the new credits they finally unlocked after two months of waiting. This feels unfair, and I'm frustrated. What are my options? Do I need to create more expensive resources just to reach that usage threshold, or is there another way to manage this situation?
3 Answers
Honestly, you’re in a tough spot. You either pay the invoices or dispute them. It sounds like lack of visibility due to the bug caused some of this. Governance is key in situations like these. Azure does teach that in the AZ-900 and AZ-104 courses, but it’s frustrating when you try monitoring and still don’t get accurate numbers. Sometimes it feels like you have to babysit everything to avoid these financial surprises.
It’s not just about babysitting costs, though. Even when you do, if tools are broken, it’s not your fault. Looking out for those bugs is something they should handle on their end.
You might want to take a step back and evaluate what you actually need versus what you think you need. The program sounds great for startups, but it’s crucial to avoid overspending especially when credits are involved. Since you’ve already burned through a lot, perhaps focus on necessary resources and ensure you meet only what’s needed in the future to avoid any further debt.
I agree. In a shared team setting, it can get chaotic, but everyone should know what the limits are. Just remember that those credits are a limited resource, and learning from this oversight will help prevent it from becoming a severe financial mistake.
Exactly! It’s good to warn others, too. If others are looking at this kind of offer, they need to be mindful. It's not just free money; it's very real costs that come with responsibility.
One thing I’ve learned is to always double-check costs before launching any resources. Use the Azure Pricing Calculator; it really helps to have an estimate. That way, you can manage what you're spending before it’s too late. And as for the credits, moving forward, just keep an eye on how much you're actually using to prevent this from happening again.
Right? The tools to monitor costs should be available, especially since you’re under sponsorship. It's like they set you up to get blindsided. Those new tiers you unlock should reflect your actual usage in real-time.