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Pay for an OpenAI API key with your ChatGPT Pro or Business credits

Since 28 October 2026 OpenAI lets ChatGPT Pro and Business subscribers claim monthly API credits. The credits are not an API key: you claim them for an API organization, use a key from that organization, and the credits pay for the key's usage in AskWatch.

Last updated 29 October 2026.

What you get

  • ChatGPT Pro: $100, $200 or $500 of API credits a month, matching your Pro tier.
  • ChatGPT Business: $20 for every paid Standard seat or $100 for every paid Premium seat, pooled for the workspace and capped at $500 per workspace a month.
  • The credits arrive on their own at each renewal while you stay eligible; you activate the benefit once. The first grant is prorated for the rest of your current billing cycle. Unused credits expire at the end of the billing cycle and do not roll over. A Business workspace that pays annually upfront gets the whole year's grant at once.
  • No API payment method is needed to spend active free credits. Free credits are used before purchased ones.

What you need first

  • An active, paid ChatGPT Pro or Business subscription that is at least seven days old. Free trials and complimentary subscriptions do not qualify.
  • You must own the ChatGPT subscription (or the Business workspace) and own the API organization that receives the credits.
  • The ChatGPT account and the API account must use the same email address.

Step by step

  1. Sign in to ChatGPT with the account that owns the subscription. On Pro open Settings, Billing; on Business open the workspace billing settings or the Admin Console. Find the API credits benefit, start the claim, choose the API organization that should receive the credits and confirm. You can also start from the API Platform: Billing, API credit benefit.
  2. Create a project API key in that API organization on the API Platform. The OpenAI Developers plugin in ChatGPT can also create keys directly from ChatGPT.
  3. In AskWatch, open the AI tab, choose OpenAI and paste the key. On Mac it is Settings, Providers, OpenAI.
  4. Keep using a project key of that same organization: requests made with any other key do not draw on the credits.

What the credits cover

  • OpenAI lists API Platform usage, including the Responses API, the Images API, the Realtime API and built-in tools such as web search, file search and Code Interpreter.
  • Codex usage through API keys is not covered, and the credits do not raise your ChatGPT or signed-in Codex usage limits.
  • When the credits are used up, requests fail with HTTP 429 and the error code credit_balance_exhausted until you add paid credits or set up Auto Recharge.

What we have not checked

  • We have not claimed the credits ourselves, because AskWatch has no ChatGPT Pro or Business subscription. This page follows OpenAI's guide of 29 October 2026, not a test with a live account, and we have not run an AskWatch request against the credits.
  • OpenAI's guide does not say in which countries the benefit is offered.
  • OpenAI can change the amounts and the rules. Read the guide and your own billing page before you rely on this.

Frequently asked questions

Does ChatGPT Pro or Business include an OpenAI API key?

No. The credits are a balance on an API organization that you own. You create the project API key yourself, and the credits pay for that key's usage.

How much can I claim?

ChatGPT Pro: $100, $200 or $500 a month by tier. ChatGPT Business: $20 per paid Standard seat or $100 per paid Premium seat, pooled for the workspace up to $500 a month.

Do the credits roll over?

No. Unused credits expire at the end of the billing cycle and do not carry over. New credits are issued automatically at each renewal while you remain eligible.

Do I need a card on the API account?

Not to spend the free credits: OpenAI says no API payment method is required to use active free credits. Once they are gone, requests fail until you add paid credits or Auto Recharge.

Can I use the key in AskWatch?

Yes. It is an ordinary OpenAI project API key. Paste it in the OpenAI provider in AskWatch like any other key.

API credits of other plans: Claude · Google

Sources