Free trial credit not being used

[kevinwang]

Hi,

In my billing account, there are 2 credits:

• $2000 start-up program credit, expiring on 3 January 2026.
• $300 free trial credit, expiring on 27 March 2024.

I've noticed the billing account is not using the free trial credit, instead it is using the start-up program.This doesn't make sense. How to let the billing account use the free trial credit first?

P.S. I know that I can purchase the customer support package to raise a ticket, but ironically, spending money to solve a money problem doesn't sounds logical to me.

[lawrencenelson]

Hi @kevinwang,

Welcome to the Google Cloud Community!

Free trial credits offer a wider range of use cases beyond just GCP, including services like Maps API and Firebase. However, startup and educational credits are specifically designed for and restricted to GCP usage. Based on the reduced scoping, Startup and EDU credits will be deducted first even if Free Trial credits may expire earlier.

Unfortunately, you will need to raise a ticket. What will likely happen is that the support team assigned to your case will extend the expiration date of the free trial credit to match the expiration date of the startup program credit.

I hope this provides clarification on the matter. Thank you.