I can't update my subscription for students

Question

I have subscription for students, but I can't update it.

Azure needs my credit card number.

What must I do?

Answer 1

Hello Георгій Костянтинович Кожевніков, You have an Azure for Students subscription, but you’re unable to update it because Azure is asking for a credit card number. This situation usually happens when the free student plan is expiring or when you try to access services outside the free tier.

• Azure for Students starts with free credits and doesn’t require a credit card at sign-up.
• When credits expire or if you want more services, Azure requires you to upgrade to a paid subscription, which does need a credit card.
• Without upgrading, you can only use the free services included in the student plan.

With Azure for Students, eligible customers receive $100 in credits, which can be used within 12 months on most Azure products. Any unused credits cannot be carried over to subsequent months and cannot be transferred to other Azure subscriptions.

If you exhaust your available credits, your Azure subscription will be disabled. You may then upgrade to a Pay-As-You-Go subscription by contacting Azure Support. This allows continued use of Azure.

Reference: Azure for College Students—Offer Details | Microsoft Azure

Hope this helps. and please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions. Thanks

Answer 2

For an Azure for Students subscription, upgrading or continuing to use services beyond the free credit requires adding a valid payment method (credit card) and moving to a pay-as-you-go subscription.

If the Azure for Students subscription is disabled because the free credit is used up or expired, the subscription must be upgraded to pay-as-you-go. To do that when Azure asks for a credit card:

1. Sign in to the Azure portal and go to Subscriptions.
2. Select the Azure for Students (or Azure free) subscription.
3. Choose Upgrade subscription (or follow the upgrade banner shown on the subscription overview).
4. When prompted, enter a valid credit card as the payment method and complete identity verification (phone number, if requested).
5. Finish the upgrade process.

After upgrade, services are billed at pay-as-you-go rates. Free services (where applicable) remain available for the defined period from the original sign-up date. If the subscription is already disabled or cannot be upgraded through the portal, contact Azure support from the Azure portal to request help with upgrading or reactivating the student subscription.

If there are issues adding or changing the credit card (for example, errors, declined card, or browser problems), use the guidance in the payment troubleshooting article: verify the card with the bank, ensure international/online transactions are allowed, try a different browser or InPrivate session, and make sure to sign in with the correct account administrator.

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References:

• Why is my Azure for Students subscription disabled and how do I reactivate it?
• Upgrade your Azure free account or Azure for Students Starter account
• What is Azure for Students Starter?
• Add, update, or delete a payment method
• Troubleshoot Azure payment issues