Claude usage credits bought from Dec 7 expire in 12 months

Claude usage credits bought on or after December 7, 2026 will expire 12 months after purchase. Anthropic emailed subscribers about the change on November 6, and Anthropic’s help center page on usage credits now lists the rule. If you keep a prepaid balance or run auto-reload on Pro, Max or Ultra, anything you buy from that date has a year to be spent, while credits bought before December 7 don’t expire. The page says the rule applies “generally” and that expiration dates may vary in certain countries.

The rule covers one-time purchases, usage bundles and auto-reload purchases. Each top-up is dated by its own purchase, so an account on auto-reload will hold balances with different expiry dates. “Any unused amount after 12 months will be removed from your balance,” the email says. Auto-reload can only be set up on the web. Subscribers who pay through the App Store or Play Store can still buy credits and set a spend limit inside the app.

Usage credits are the pay-as-you-go balance billed at standard API rates once you use up one of your plan’s limits. That means the five-hour session limit, the weekly limit, or the separate weekly Fable limit on Max and Ultra. They are a separate balance from the monthly API credits that come with Max and Ultra, which can’t be spent in Claude, Claude Code or Claude Cowork. The 12-month clock applies to the credits you buy yourself to keep working past a limit.

The refund terms haven’t changed. Usage credit purchases are still non-refundable, so whatever expires unspent is lost. The only exceptions are where local law requires a refund, or in cases of fraud. If you cancel your subscription, the balance stays on your account, but it can only be spent with an active paid plan, and expiry is still counted from the purchase date. If you delete your account, any remaining credits are forfeited.

The country-specific expiry rules are in Anthropic’s Consumer Credit Terms.

The Usage page in Settings shows the expiry date of each purchase, and Anthropic says it will email you before purchased credits expire. You can also turn usage credits off from Settings > Usage, which leaves you with only your plan’s included usage.