A cloud credit is a pre-paid balance in your cloud account that automatically offsets charges for cloud services. Instead of paying with a credit card, cloud credits are deducted first to cover your usage costs.
Cloud credits are pre-loaded balances in a cloud provider account that automatically offset your usage charges before any credit card payment is processed. They function similarly to gift cards for cloud services — you have a balance, and as you use cloud resources, that balance decreases until it reaches zero, after which your linked payment method is charged.
Every major cloud provider uses cloud credits in some form. AWS credits are applied to your monthly bill before your credit card is charged. GCP credits work the same way, automatically reducing your invoice. Azure credits are called "Azure credits" or sometimes "prepaid billing" and function identically. The credits appear in your billing dashboard and decrease as you consume cloud services.
Cloud credits are valuable for several reasons. First, they allow you to use cloud services without worrying about per-use billing until the credits are exhausted — this is particularly helpful for developers testing new architectures or running experiments where costs are unpredictable. Second, they create a spending cap — once the credits are used, you can choose not to add a payment method, effectively capping your spend. Third, credits purchased at a discount (as we offer) represent a cost arbitrage opportunity, allowing you to buy more cloud capacity than the credit's face value would suggest.
Credits typically have some restrictions. They may have expiry dates (often 12 months from activation), they may not apply to all services (marketplace purchases and support plans are common exclusions), and they cannot usually be transferred or cashed out. The terms vary by provider and by how the credits were obtained.
Not all cloud credits are equal in value. AWS credits at $1 face value are worth exactly $1 of AWS spending. The discount you get by purchasing through BuyAWSAccount.com reflects the market rate for access to these credits — you pay less than face value and use the credits at face value for AWS services, providing a clear arbitrage benefit.
At BuyAWSAccount.com, we offer cloud credit accounts for AWS ($1K–$100K), GCP ($300–$25K), and Azure ($1K–$25K), giving you significant compute capacity at below-market prices for your cloud workloads.
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