Do OpenAI API credits expire?
Yes. OpenAI’s help center says purchased API credits expire one year after purchase and are non-refundable, and OpenAI’s Service Credit Terms, updated January 1, 2026, apply the same one-year rule to any prepaid or promotional credit unless a different period was stated when you bought it. OpenAI also says it cannot extend the expiration date of purchased credits or credit grants.
The sections below cover the policy, which OpenAI balances it applies to and which run on different clocks, and how to check what you have before the year is up.
The policy
OpenAI’s prepaid billing article explains that API users pre-purchase credits, with a $5 minimum and a maximum set by the account’s trust tier, and that usage is deducted from those credits first. It states that purchased credits expire after one year and are non-refundable. A separate help page, Can you extend my credits?, gives a one-line answer: OpenAI is unable to extend the expiration date of credit grants or purchased credits.
The legal version is in the Service Credit Terms. Service Credits, whether prepaid or promotional, are not refundable except where required by law, and they expire one year after the date of purchase or issuance if unused, unless otherwise specified at the time of purchase. They are non-transferable, OpenAI does not recognize attempts to gift, sell or trade them, and it may cancel credits involved in such an attempt. The Business Terms, which govern the API, point to those credit terms in section 6.5.
Which balances this covers
OpenAI runs several prepaid balances, and they have different rules.
| Balance | Where it lives | Expiry | Refundable |
|---|---|---|---|
| API prepaid credits | platform.openai.com, Settings, then Billing | 1 year after purchase | No |
| Promotional credit grants | platform.openai.com, Settings, then Billing | 1 year after issuance unless the grant says otherwise; not extendable | No |
| ChatGPT usage credits (Codex, Work, Office add-ins) | ChatGPT Settings, then Usage | 12 months from purchase | Only where law requires |
| Gifted ChatGPT credits | A claim link, then the recipient’s credit balance | Claim within 30 days, then 12 months from redemption | Refunded to the buyer only if unclaimed after 30 days |
| Gift card wallet balance | ChatGPT Settings, then Billing | Does not expire | Not once redeemed |
The ChatGPT rows come from OpenAI’s articles on usage credits, gifting credits and gift cards. The credits article is explicit that ChatGPT credits are not API credits; the balances are separate, and buying one does not fund the other. Banked Codex resets, the promotional allowance refreshes OpenAI handed out around the GPT-6 Astra launch, expire on the date shown in the account and are not restored once gone, per the banked resets article.
How to check your balance and your deadline
For the API, the balance is on the billing overview at platform.openai.com under Settings, then Billing; OpenAI’s spend limits guide links there as the place to add credits. The Service Credit Terms put the burden on you: you are responsible for verifying that the right amount was added or deducted. The expiry is one year from each purchase, so the purchase receipt gives the deadline.
For ChatGPT credits, Settings, then Usage shows the balance and lets you buy more. For gift card funds, Settings, then Billing shows the wallet balance and a transaction history.
What happens at zero and at expiry
When the API balance reaches zero, requests fail with the error code credit_balance_exhausted until you add credits, per the spend limits guide. The prepaid billing article adds that the cutoff can lag, so usage past zero shows up as a negative balance and is deducted from the next purchase.
Expired credits are gone. The credits article says unused credits expire and do not roll over, and the extension page says the date cannot be moved. OpenAI’s prepaid billing page does not promise a reminder before the date, so set your own.
How to avoid losing money
Buy small and often. The $5 minimum plus auto-recharge with a monthly recharge cap keeps the balance near what you use, so nothing sits for a year. Loading a large amount up front saves nothing, because the API bills at the same list prices either way.
The one-year clock is common. Anthropic’s Claude API credits expire one year from purchase and are non-refundable. OpenRouter’s terms let it expire credits 365 days after purchase and allow refunds only within 24 hours. Brass’s prepaid packs ($10 to $250) are built the other way: paid credits never expire, and each message is billed at the model’s list price plus 25 percent with a receipt.
To size a purchase before the clock starts, the per-message costs in Is there a pay-as-you-go version of ChatGPT? show what $5 buys at list prices on October 2, 2026.
Sources
- OpenAI: Setting up and managing prepaid API billing
- OpenAI: Can you extend my credits?
- OpenAI: Service credit terms
- OpenAI: Business terms
- OpenAI: Using credits for flexible usage in ChatGPT (personal plans)
- OpenAI: Gifting credits in ChatGPT
- OpenAI: Buying and redeeming OpenAI gift cards
- OpenAI: How banked Codex resets work
- OpenAI: Spend limits
- Anthropic: How do I pay for my API usage?
- OpenRouter terms of service
Related guides
- Is there a pay-as-you-go version of ChatGPT?
Not for the chat app. ChatGPT sells $8, $20 and $100 to $500 monthly plans. Pay-per-use exists through the API and add-on credits, and most messages cost cents.
- ChatGPT says you reached your limit. What can you do?
Which ChatGPT limit you hit, when it resets, and the real options: wait, switch models, upgrade, or buy credits or an instant reset. No setting bypasses it.
- Where to buy a ChatGPT gift card and what it covers
OpenAI sells digital ChatGPT gift cards of $15 to $250 through US retailers such as Best Buy. How to redeem one, what the balance pays for and what it will not.