How to use $5k Azure credits
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Raymond Pitts
0
Reputation points
Hello,
My Founders Hub portal shows we have $5k in credits. I understand the program has changed in July, so am trying to get a sense of how to 'activate' these credits. It is showing we have `~250 days to use the credits.
On my main Azure account, I got a toast notification that said something about needing a Microsoft ID/Microsoft email domain to be able to 'link' the credits to an Azure account. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to click the toast notification for more information.
On the other end, the docs said I need my Founders Hub account and Azure account emails to match. So I just created a new Azure account matching my Founders Hub email, and I just got the error saying: You are not eligible for startup credit offers.
Does anyone know what's happening here?
Instructions followed:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/signups/overview
Azure | Azure Startups
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Ravi Varma Mudduluru 410 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator2025-08-28T14:29:12.73+00:00 Hello @Raymond Pitts,
Hope you're doing well!
Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.
The Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub has recently updated how Azure credits are activated.
1)Credits can only be linked to the same Microsoft Account (MSA) you used when signing up for Founders Hub (for example, an Outlook or Hotmail account). Organizational Azure AD accounts won’t work for the initial activation.
2)If you create a new Azure subscription with that same MSA, the credits usually activate automatically, though sometimes it can take a little while to sync.
3)If you’re seeing the “not eligible for startup credit offers” message, it’s often because the subscription wasn’t created under the correct MSA, or an organizational tenant was used instead of the personal MSA tied to Founders Hub.
To fix this, sign in to Founders Hub with your MSA, then go to Benefits → Azure Credits → Activate. This should automatically provision a new subscription with the credits. If you prefer to use an existing subscription, make sure the owner is the same MSA linked to your Founders Hub profile.
If the problem continues, I recommend opening a support ticket from Founders Hub (Help & Support → Azure credits activation issue) so the program team can review your account and manually resolve the linking issue.
Kindly let us know if the above helps or you need further assistance on this issue.
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