Latest update on Azure reservation exchange and refund?

Question

Hello,

There are few Azure services such as Databricks which never allow any reservation exchange or refund. This question is about Azure services which allowed reservation exchange or refund till last year.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/reservations/reservation-exchange-policy-changes says Initially planned to end on January 1, 2024, the availability of Azure compute reservation exchanges for Azure Virtual Machine, Azure Dedicated Host and Azure App Service is extended until further notice.

Somewhere it reads "Exchanges are changing only for Azure Virtual Machine, Azure Dedicated Host and Azure App Service reservations. The policy change does not affect any other types of reservations. For example, if you have a reservation for Azure VMware Solution, then the policy change doesn't affect it. Any Azure Virtual Machine, Azure Dedicated Host and Azure App Service reservation acquired after the grace period ends (either through a new reservation purchase or reservation exchange), will have a no-exchange policy."

Is it correct understanding that Azure reservation policy remains intact after above mentioned changes ? I meant reservation exchange or refund are allowed on most of the Azure services including ADF, VMs, DBs and App Service.

Appreciate your response.

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hello @Anil Kumar Thank you for posting your question. Happy to assist you!

Your understanding is correct based on the information provided by Microsoft regarding Azure reservation policies.

The policy allowing reservation exchanges for Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Dedicated Hosts, and Azure App Service reservations has been extended until further notice. This means that reservations for these services can still be exchanged or refunded under certain conditions. New reservations acquired after the grace period will have a no-exchange policy.

For other Azure services like Azure Data Factory (ADF) and Azure SQL Database (DBs), reservation exchange or refund policies remain intact. You can typically exchange or cancel reservations for these services within the applicable terms and conditions.

However, it is important to note that the reservation exchange and refund policies may vary depending on the service and the type of reservation. Always refer to the specific service documentation and the latest updates from Microsoft to ensure you are aware of any changes or exceptions to these policies. Microsoft periodically updates its policies and communicates any changes through official channels like the Azure updates page and documentation.

For reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/reservations/exchange-and-refund-azure-reservations

Hope this clarifies. Please reply if you have any further questions.

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