IBM Cloud Docs
Applying promo codes

Applying promo codes

Promotions are limited-time credits toward your IBM Cloud® account and services that you can get by applying promo codes. Each promo code can be used one time and is valid only for a certain amount of time. Promo codes are provided on a limited basis by IBM Cloud sales to customers with billable accounts.

Promo codes are typically based on short phrases, like PROMO200. If you have an alphanumeric code, such as a1b2c3def456, it's a different type of code that is referred to as a feature code. You can apply these codes on the Manage > Account > Account settings page or when you register for a new account. For more information, see Applying feature codes.

Promotions are one type of credit for your account. For example, if you have a Pay-As-You-Go or Subscription account, you can use promo codes for limited-time credits toward your account and IBM Cloud products. Promo codes are different from feature codes that provide access to Trial accounts, or subscriptions that add credits as discounts to your account.

Promo codes cannot be used for third-party services unless otherwise stated in the definition of the promo code.

Types of available promotion credits

Both one-time credit promotions and recurring dollar credit promotions are available for all IBM Cloud products.

  1. One-time credit promotion

    • Credit promotions can be used only one time, for a set time period, and you can't remove them after you apply them. Credit promotions use the following format: $X off for Y days.

  2. Recurring credit promotion

    • Recurring credits are offered for a set time period. For example, you can have a promotion of $100 USD value that is recurring every 30 days for 6 months. Recurring dollar credit promotions use the following format: $X every Y months, repeats Z times.

    • Promo credit expires at the end of the committed term. Any credit that isn't used doesn't roll over to the next term.

      With a recurring credit, if the amount of credit that is allocated to a client is not used within the allocated time, the credit expires.

Applying promo codes to your account

You can apply promo codes to Pay-As-You-Go, Subscription, and IBM Cloud enterprise parent accounts. Any user in the account has access to view promo codes. You can have multiple promo codes that are applied to an account at a time. You can use each promo code only one time, and you can't remove them after you apply them.

To apply a promo code to an IBM Cloud enterprise account, you must be assigned the enterprise billing administrator role. After the promo code is applied to an IBM Cloud enterprise parent account, it applies to all child accounts within the enterprise.

Complete the following steps to apply promo codes to your account and IBM Cloud products:

  1. From the IBM Cloud console, go to Manage > Billing and usage, and select Promotions and credits.
  2. Click Apply a promo code.
  3. Enter your promo code and click Verify.
  4. Review the promotion details, and click Apply. After the promo code is applied, a success message is displayed.

You can also apply promo codes for IBM Cloud products from the catalog when you create a resource. To apply the code, select a billable plan, enter the promo code, and click Apply. The promo code is added to your account even if you don't create the service.

Existing classic infrastructure promo codes can be applied only through the catalog when you create those classic infrastructure services. To apply these promo codes, you must have one of the following classic infrastructure permissions on the account: add or upgrade storage, add or upgrade services, or add server. For more information, see Classic infrastructure permissions.

Viewing your promotions

You can view details about active promotions in your account, including your promotion start and end dates and the history of redeemed promo codes, from the table on the Promotions and credits page.

  1. In the IBM Cloud console, go to Manage > Billing and usage, and select Promotions and credits.
  2. Click a promotion to expand the table and view a description of each promotion and the products it applies to.

You can search for specific promotions, or you can filter by the status or type of promo code. To filter by status, you can select Active, Upcoming, Expired or All promotions. To filter by the type of promo code, you can select One-time, Recurring, or All promotions.

Promo codes can't be removed from your account, but they expire and become inactive when they reach their end date.