Subscription forstartup

Question

My account should not have been billed because we are part of the startup program. We opened a support ticket regarding this issue over a month ago. The support engineer confirmed that we were approved for the $5,000 benefit and told us to continue using the services as usual.

This continued until this week, when the charges began to accumulate. In the meantime, I also need my domain transfer request approved. I obtained the authorization code and initiated the transfer to DreamHost five days ago, but the request is still pending. Please approve the transfer as soon as possible.

Azure subscription 1

c1e7b4bc-4565-4530-9111-d75bdcf7aad2

and

Subscription 1

a9ed2aa4-35a6-4be9-bb46-baf88e993fd4

Answer 1

Hey there, taiwo popoola

My account should not have been billed because we are part of the startup program. We opened a support ticket regarding this issue over a month ago. The support engineer confirmed that we were approved for the $5,000 benefit and told us to continue using the services as usual.

According to program documentation, the credits are applied to a subscription when you redeem the subscription through the portal.

How do I apply Azure Sponsorship Credits to an existing subscription? After logging in to the Microsoft Startups Portal, go to the Benefits tab and select Redeem in the Azure sponsorship benefits section. Use your Azure subscription email when redeeming credits. (~ Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/startups/benefits/azure-credits/azure-usage-and-billing#applying-azure-credits)

But looking at your other part of your post, you say you have two subscriptions. Please can you make sure the resources you are using are tied to the subscription covered by the credits. It is also worth noting that Azure credits will only cover services in the Azure portal that is billed as a standard Azure consumption. Anything that is provided by third-party providers/services, support plan or non-Azure product, then credits won't cover this. You can find out more here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/startups/benefits/azure-credits/use-azure-credits#understand-what-startup-credits-cover

I would recommend reaching out to the billing team so they can see exactly why you have been billed and why your credits haven't been used. You can do this through the Azure help & support blade here: https://portal.azure.com/#blade/Microsoft_Azure_Support/HelpAndSupportBlade

This continued until this week, when the charges began to accumulate. In the meantime, I also need my domain transfer request approved. I obtained the authorization code and initiated the transfer to DreamHost five days ago, but the request is still pending. Please approve the transfer as soon as possible.

I think for this request, you must submit support request through the Azure Startups program support. Depending on when you signed up for the Azure Startups program will depend on the method available for you to reach their support team.

If you joined the Microsoft Startups program before 29th May 2026, please use this link to contact the Startups Support team: https://portal.startups.microsoft.com/login

If you joined after 29th may 2026, please sign into your Azure portal here: https://portal.azure.com/

Once you have signed in, please:

1. Navigate to your "Startup overview page",
2. Click onto the "Overview" tab,
3. Navigate to "Your Microsoft team" section,
4. Click onto "Request technical guidance from your support team"

You can find out more on how to reach out to the Startups program support team here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/startups/benefits/technical-benefits/technical-support#requesting-technical-guidance

Hope this helps,
Nathan