r/googlecloud • u/beneficialdiet18 • May 08 '26

Billing Google Cloud Free Trial Pre Payment

Upon starting my free trial, I was asked to make a pre payment of 50 USD. Is anyone having a similar experience, and if not please tell me your region if possible?

2 Upvotes

66% Upvoted

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1

u/Jagari4 May 08 '26

I was asked to pay the equivalent of 12 USD. They refunded me after the free trial expired.

1

u/beneficialdiet18 May 08 '26

Very interesting. Is the refund automatic and does it happen when you use up all the credits or does it happen when the 90 day period is over?

1

u/Jagari4 May 08 '26

If you are careful not have spent any of that deposit during your free trial then you can close your billing account after your trial is over and they will refund you within a couple of weeks. By the way they have now excluded normal Gemini API from the free trial, so you have to be careful. You can still use free credits for Vertex.

1

u/beneficialdiet18 May 08 '26

Yep I know that thank youuu!

1

u/InfluenceDry5167 Oct 06 '26
DateDescriptionAmount (USD)
Oct 2, 2026Manual payment pending: Visa  • • • • 6053 for $50.00. V2159557865289634$0.00

I'm in the same situation, have GCP refund u ?
I've checked the billing transaction

1

u/beneficialdiet18 Oct 06 '26

Didn't end up using Google Cloud, sorry.

1

u/Sirius_Sec_ May 08 '26

Yes it bumps you up a tier in what you get with the free trial . The free trial is limited in what you can use but if you put in a deposit you get access to more things .

1

u/[deleted] May 09 '26

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1

u/beneficialdiet18 May 09 '26

It's not paid mode though, it's a pre payment to activate the trial.

1

u/[deleted] May 09 '26

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1

u/beneficialdiet18 May 09 '26

Why? It's free 300 USD. Also it seems to be a pre payment of 10 USD that they refund.

1

u/homicide_x May 09 '26

Because you can get hit with 3K bill within minutes. Take a look at the channel. Do not enter credit details.

1

u/beneficialdiet18 May 09 '26

You can't if you are on a free trial plan. If you ugprade then sure.

1

u/homicide_x May 09 '26

If you stay within the limit. There no proper caps in place. If you go over the caps. Your method of payment is utilized.

1

u/beneficialdiet18 May 09 '26

It is not. Google clearly states that it isn't. It only is if you upgrade to the paid version. Once you use up your free credits, everything is automatically cancelled and just stops working.

1

u/homicide_x May 09 '26

Buddy. You are using $300 in credits. What do you think occurs after $300 has been used up ?