--- title: "AWS Credits for Marketplace Purchases: What Counts" url: https://www.fours.com/resources/blog/aws-credits-marketplace-purchases/ canonical: https://www.fours.com/resources/blog/aws-credits-marketplace-purchases/ type: Blog description: "Can AWS credits pay for AWS Marketplace purchases? What the credit, Activate and MPOPP terms say, how EDP drawdown differs, and the Azure and Google rules." --- # AWS Credits for Marketplace Purchases: What Counts > Canonical HTML version: https://www.fours.com/resources/blog/aws-credits-marketplace-purchases/ 1. [Home](/) 2. [Resources](/resources/) 3. [Blog](/resources/blog/) 4. AWS Credits for Marketplace Purchases: What Counts # AWS Credits for Marketplace Purchases: What Counts A buyer with AWS credits wants to spend them on your Marketplace deal, but AWS's terms exclude AWS Marketplace unless AWS authorizes it. Here's what each kind of AWS credit can pay for, where committed spend fits, and what to tell the buyer. 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"Summarize with Perplexity") Table of Contents - [Can AWS credits pay for AWS Marketplace purchases?](#can-aws-credits-pay-for-aws-marketplace-purchases) - [What does “unless authorized by us” leave open?](#what-does-unless-authorized-by-us-leave-open) - [Can AWS Activate credits pay for AWS Marketplace purchases?](#can-aws-activate-credits-pay-for-aws-marketplace-purchases) - [Which AWS budget does count toward a Marketplace purchase?](#which-aws-budget-does-count-toward-a-marketplace-purchase) - [Do Azure and Google Cloud credits work the same way?](#do-azure-and-google-cloud-credits-work-the-same-way) - [What should an account executive tell a buyer who wants to use AWS credits?](#what-should-an-account-executive-tell-a-buyer-who-wants-to-use-aws-credits) - [How does Fours help with AWS credit requests?](#how-does-fours-help-with-aws-credit-requests) - [Frequently asked questions](#frequently-asked-questions) - [Takeaways](#takeaways) _AWS Promotional Credit is the credit AWS gives customers through programs such as AWS Activate, and its terms keep it off AWS Marketplace charges “unless authorized by us,” with a carve-out in Activate’s terms for third-party models on Amazon Bedrock. What an eligible Marketplace purchase does count toward is the buyer’s committed spend under an EDP or PPA, and that isn’t a credit._ * * * Globex is about to accept Acme’s AWS Marketplace private offer when its cloud lead asks one more question: the company holds AWS credits that expire at the end of the year, so can the purchase come out of those? Acme’s account executive would like to say yes. AWS’s terms say no, unless AWS authorizes it. Whether AWS credits can pay for marketplace purchases turns on which credit the buyer holds, and AWS publishes the rules for each: its Promotional Credit Terms, AWS Activate’s program terms, and the announcement of the AWS Marketplace Private Offer Promotion Program (MPOPP). The budget that can count toward a Marketplace purchase is a different one: committed spend. This guide reads each from AWS’s own pages, sets out Azure and Google Cloud in one table, and ends with what to tell the buyer. The rest of the buyer’s side of a purchase is covered in [how enterprise buyers buy through a marketplace](/resources/blog/how-enterprise-buyers-buy-through-a-marketplace/). ## Can AWS credits pay for AWS Marketplace purchases? **Not unless AWS authorizes it.** AWS’s Promotional Credit Terms, last updated September 24, 2026, “apply to all Promotional Credit,” which includes the credits AWS Activate and MPOPP hand out, and they put AWS Marketplace among the Ineligible Services: “Unless authorized by us, Promotional Credit will not be applied to any fees or charges for … AWS Marketplace.” Credit applies “only to the specific Services designated by your AWS contracting entity,” and AWS’s redemption page warns that “some services are not eligible for promotional credit, and you will be billed for any use of these services.” Four kinds of AWS money can come up when a buyer asks. Three are credits, and one is a commitment: What the buyer has Can it pay for your Marketplace purchase? In AWS’s words What to do Promotional Credit, from any AWS program Not unless AWS authorizes it ”Unless authorized by us, Promotional Credit will not be applied to any fees or charges for … AWS Marketplace” Have the buyer check the credit’s **Applicable products** in the AWS Billing console AWS Activate credits Only for third-party models on Amazon Bedrock ”AWS Marketplace is an Eligible Service solely when incurring Bedrock 3P Model Spend” Don’t count them toward any other Marketplace purchase MPOPP credits They’re issued after the purchase, as an incentive; nothing AWS publishes publicly lets them pay the Marketplace invoice ”Promotional Credits will be issued to the customer’s AWS account based on the Total Contract Value (TCV)“ Present them as a reward for buying, not a way to pay Committed spend (EDP or PPA) It isn’t a credit, but an eligible purchase counts toward it ”Yes, if the products are eligible for AWS committed spend drawdown.” Confirm your product is eligible for drawdown MPOPP is the row that starts on your side of the deal. AWS announced the program on August 12, 2025, “offering AWS Promotional Credits to customers as an incentive for purchasing from participating ISVs.” An eligible seller requests the funding through the AWS Partner Funding Portal, and “Following deal completion and AWS Marketplace transaction verification,” AWS issues the credits to the customer’s account. They reward the purchase rather than pay for it. AWS sets out the program’s eligibility and benefits in its Partner Funding Benefits Guide, which needs a Partner Central sign-in; where MPOPP sits among the rest of AWS’s funding is covered in [AWS partner funding programs](/resources/blog/aws-partner-funding-programs/). ## What does “unless authorized by us” leave open? **Room for AWS to make exceptions, so the answer for a given credit is on that credit, not in a rule of thumb.** The Promotional Credit Terms don’t say how AWS authorizes one; Activate’s terms, below, are where AWS publishes one for AWS Marketplace. The buyer can check its own credits on the **Credits** page of the AWS Billing console, where each credit’s details show its **Credit type**, **Expiration date** and **Applicable products**: “The AWS services that the credit can be applied to.” AWS applies credits automatically “to help cover costs that are associated with eligible services,” so a charge outside those products is billed as usual. Two more lines in the terms settle what a buyer can do with a credit on a deal: - **It stays in the buyer’s account.** “You may not sell, license, rent, or otherwise transfer Promotional Credit,” and it “may be applied only to your own AWS account,” apart from authorized sharing within an AWS Organization. A buyer can’t hand its credits to a seller in place of payment. - **A project credit stays on its project.** Credit provided “for a specific scope or purpose agreed between you and AWS” “will be used only to support the Project.” ## Can AWS Activate credits pay for AWS Marketplace purchases? **Only for third-party foundation models on Amazon Bedrock.** AWS Activate’s terms, last updated January 22, 2026, let Activate credits “offset fees and charges for AWS Marketplace incurred for the use of third-party foundation models available on Amazon Bedrock,” which they call Bedrock 3P Model Spend, and then narrow it: “AWS Marketplace is an Eligible Service solely when incurring Bedrock 3P Model Spend.” That covers a third-party model a startup uses on Amazon Bedrock, not a SaaS subscription from a listing like yours. Activate credits also remain “subject to the AWS Promotional Credit Terms & Conditions,” and founders meet the rule from both sides: - **Buying:** a startup can’t pay for your SaaS product with Activate credits, because that charge isn’t Bedrock 3P Model Spend. - **Selling:** a startup can’t pass its own Activate credits to a customer. They “are for your use only, and cannot be passed on to any end customers.” ## Which AWS budget does count toward a Marketplace purchase? **The buyer’s committed spend under an EDP or PPA, when your product is eligible for drawdown.** It isn’t a credit: the buyer still pays for the purchase, and drawdown counts that spend toward what it has committed to AWS. AWS answers the question in its buyer FAQ on multi-product solutions, which asks “Can I use my AWS committed spend (EDP/PPA) for Multi-Product Solutions?” and replies: “Yes, if the products are eligible for AWS committed spend drawdown. Products deployed on AWS typically qualify. Eligibility is determined separately for each product in the solution.” Deployment is what AWS points to. When it opened its SaaS catalog to products hosted anywhere, in a policy effective May 1, 2025, AWS gave products “100% deployed on AWS infrastructure” a **Deployed on AWS** badge and said they “will continue to count towards additional customer benefits.” Its seller FAQ ties the badge to drawdown: eligibility is evaluated for each product, and in an offer set “only eligible products will qualify for PPA drawdown.” How drawdown shapes enterprise buying is covered in [what sellers need to know about AWS EDP](/resources/blog/aws-edp-what-sellers-need-to-know/). ## Do Azure and Google Cloud credits work the same way? **Broadly, yes: their credits mostly can’t pay for a third-party marketplace purchase, and their commitments count eligible ones.** Each provider words it differently, so quote the row that matches the buyer’s program: Program Credit or commitment Third-party marketplace purchase In the provider’s words Free credits on an Azure subscription, such as the Visual Studio monthly credit Credit Not covered Free credits “can’t be applied to charges from external services,” and the Visual Studio credit excludes “Third-party branded products” Microsoft for Startups credits Credit Not reliably covered ”If the service is a non-Azure product, a Microsoft Support Plan, or an Azure Marketplace purchase, it might not be covered.” [Grow Azure sponsorship](/resources/blog/azure-sponsorship-on-marketplace-deals/) Sponsored Azure usage Not covered It can’t be used “towards third-party marketplace purchases, services, or support” [Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC)](/resources/blog/what-is-a-macc-azure-committed-spend-explained/) Commitment Counts, for Azure benefit-eligible offers ”100% of the pretax purchase amount also contributes toward your commitment” Google Cloud Free Trial ($300 Welcome credit) Credit Not during the trial; after an upgrade, see below A Free Trial account can’t “Use Google Cloud Marketplace.” Google for Startups Cloud Program credits Credit Not covered ”The credits cannot be applied to any third-party services or offerings including those on Google Cloud Marketplace.” [Google Cloud commitments](/resources/blog/gcp-commitments-and-marketplace-drawdown/) Commitment Counts, for qualifying purchases ”Qualifying purchases of third-party Google Cloud Marketplace solutions can draw down on your Google Cloud commitments.” Microsoft’s external services are the ones third-party software vendors publish in the Azure Marketplace, and its startup wording is a hedge, so treat “might not be covered” as a reason to check before the purchase, not as a yes. The Free Trial row has a second half. When a buyer upgrades to a Paid billing account, Google unlocks the products “restricted during the Free Trial, such as GPUs, Google Cloud Marketplace, and third-party generative AI models,” and says the remaining credit “is available for use on products and services covered by the Free Trial,” within the original 90 days. Google’s page doesn’t say whether a Marketplace purchase made after the upgrade counts as one of those, so don’t tell a buyer the credit will pay for yours. ## What should an account executive tell a buyer who wants to use AWS credits? **Separate the credit from the commitment, and promise neither until the buyer has checked.** Ask which credits it holds and whether it has an EDP or PPA, then answer in three lines: > **On credits:** “AWS’s credit terms exclude AWS Marketplace charges unless AWS authorizes it. Before we plan around your credits, check their Applicable products on the Credits page of your AWS Billing console.” > > **On committed spend:** “If you have an EDP or PPA with AWS, this purchase can count toward it, as long as our product is eligible for committed-spend drawdown. Your AWS account team can confirm how your agreement treats it.” > > **On incentives:** “If we qualify for AWS’s Marketplace Private Offer Promotion Program, we can request AWS promotional credits for you. AWS issues them after the purchase, so plan to pay this invoice in full.” For a startup buyer holding Activate credits, add that they cover third-party models on Amazon Bedrock, not a SaaS subscription. Before the call, check whether your listing carries the **Deployed on AWS** badge, since AWS says products deployed on AWS typically qualify for drawdown. ## How does Fours help with AWS credit requests? **With funding enabled on your ACE integration, Fours files MPOPP credit requests for your customer from the deal’s ACE opportunity, through the AWS Partner Central Funding Benefits API, from the Fours Console or your CRM.** This is Fours behaviour, as Fours’ documentation describes it: - **Two programs, one form.** Fours offers MPOPP as MPOPP Grow and MPOPP Activate, each under its own AWS benefit. MPOPP Activate is part of MPOPP, not the AWS Activate startup credits above. - **Credits only, sized by AWS.** An MPOPP request is always a credit request: Number of Codes is fixed at 1, the value reads “Calculated by AWS from Total Contract Value,” and you choose the currency. - **The opportunity.** The picker lists ACE opportunities at Business Validation, Committed or Launched, and a linked Marketplace offer fills in the offer and product. - **Tracking.** Fours syncs each request’s status and stage from AWS roughly every three hours, and a credit request stays in Pre-approval until AWS has disbursed all its credit codes. Fours’ documentation adds that the form’s rules, such as the opportunity stages, aren’t AWS’s eligibility rules for the program, which AWS keeps in its Partner Funding Benefits Guide. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can you use AWS credits on AWS Marketplace? Not unless AWS authorizes it. AWS’s Promotional Credit Terms list AWS Marketplace as an Ineligible Service “unless authorized by us.” AWS Activate’s terms make one exception: third-party models on Amazon Bedrock. Check a credit’s Applicable products in the AWS Billing console. ### Can AWS Activate credits be used for AWS Marketplace purchases? Only for Bedrock 3P Model Spend: AWS Marketplace charges for third-party foundation models on Amazon Bedrock. Other Marketplace charges, such as a SaaS subscription, aren’t covered, and a startup can’t pass its Activate credits on to its own customers. ### Do MPOPP credits pay for the private offer? Nothing AWS publishes publicly says they do. AWS issues them to the customer’s account after deal completion and transaction verification, based on Total Contract Value, as an incentive for buying. Treat them as a reward for the purchase, not a way to pay for it. ### Do AWS Marketplace purchases count toward an EDP or PPA? Eligible ones do. AWS says committed spend can be used “if the products are eligible for AWS committed spend drawdown,” and that products deployed on AWS typically qualify. It isn’t a credit: the buyer pays, and the spend counts toward the commitment. ### Can a buyer transfer AWS credits to the seller? No. AWS’s terms say Promotional Credit can’t be sold, licensed, rented or otherwise transferred, and may be applied only to the holder’s own AWS account, apart from authorized sharing within an AWS Organization. ### Can Azure or Google Cloud credits pay for marketplace purchases? Generally not. Microsoft’s free credits can’t be applied to external services, and Google for Startups credits can’t be applied to Google Cloud Marketplace offerings. Commitments differ: a MACC or a Google Cloud commitment counts eligible marketplace purchases. ## Takeaways - AWS’s Promotional Credit Terms keep credit off AWS Marketplace charges “unless authorized by us,” so have the buyer check each credit’s Applicable products before anyone counts on it. - Activate credits cover AWS Marketplace only for third-party models on Amazon Bedrock, not a SaaS subscription. - MPOPP credits arrive after the purchase as an incentive. Present them as a reward, not a payment. - Committed spend under an EDP or PPA is where an eligible purchase counts, and AWS says products deployed on AWS typically qualify. - Azure and Google Cloud split the same way: credits mostly can’t pay for a third-party marketplace purchase, and commitments count eligible ones. Fours files MPOPP credit requests for your customers from the ACE opportunity and tracks them with the rest of your AWS funding, from the Fours Console or your CRM. See how funding fits your co-sell motion in [Fours for cloud alliances and co-sell partnerships](/solutions/alliances-partnerships/). ## Sources Primary sources for the platform rules cited above. Last verified October 20, 2026. Cloud providers change fees, eligibility, and program terms without notice — check the source before relying on a figure. - [AWS Promotional Credit Terms & Conditions](https://aws.amazon.com/awscredits/) — Last updated September 24, 2026, and applying to all Promotional Credit: credit applied only to the Services the AWS contracting entity designates; unless authorized by AWS, not applied to fees or charges for AWS Marketplace, among other Ineligible Services; the redemption note that some services aren't eligible and are billed; no sale or transfer, and use only on the holder's own AWS account apart from authorized sharing within an AWS Organization; credit as an incentive to use AWS services; project credit used only to support the project - [AWS Activate Terms](https://aws.amazon.com/activate/terms/) — Last updated January 22, 2026: section 1.2, Activate Credits subject to the Promotional Credit Terms and applicable to AWS Marketplace fees and charges for third-party foundation models on Amazon Bedrock (Bedrock 3P Model Spend), with AWS Marketplace an Eligible Service solely for that spend; Activate Credits for the recipient's own use, not passed on to end customers - [AWS What's New: Announcing new incentives for ISVs selling in AWS Marketplace](https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2025/08/aws-marketplace-private-offer-promotions/) — Posted August 12, 2025: the AWS Marketplace Private Offer Promotion Program (MPOPP) in AWS Partner Central, offering AWS Promotional Credits to customers as an incentive for purchasing from participating ISVs; requests through the AWS Partner Funding Portal; credits issued to the customer's AWS account after deal completion and transaction verification, based on Total Contract Value and program rates; eligibility and benefits in the Partner Funding Benefits Guide, behind a Partner Central login - [AWS Billing User Guide: Applying AWS credits](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/useconsolidatedbilling-credits.html) — Credits applied automatically to costs associated with eligible services; the Credits page and each credit's details, including Credit type, Expiration date and Applicable products, the AWS services the credit can be applied to - [AWS Marketplace Buyer Guide: Multi-Product Solutions Frequently Asked Questions](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/marketplace/latest/buyerguide/multi-product-solutions-buyer-faq.html) — AWS committed spend (EDP/PPA) usable if the products are eligible for AWS committed spend drawdown; products deployed on AWS typically qualify; eligibility determined separately for each product - [AWS Marketplace Seller Guide: Multi-product solutions FAQ](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/marketplace/latest/userguide/multi-product-solutions-faq.html) — Deployed on AWS badge eligibility evaluated separately for each product; on offer set procurement, only eligible products qualify for PPA drawdown - [AWS Marketplace Blog: AWS Marketplace announces upcoming expansion to SaaS product catalog](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/awsmarketplace/aws-marketplace-announces-upcoming-expansion-to-saas-product-catalog/) — Posted February 25, 2025, for a policy effective May 1, 2025: SaaS products accepted regardless of where they're deployed; products 100% deployed on AWS infrastructure receive a Deployed on AWS badge and continue to count towards additional customer benefits - [Microsoft Learn: Understand your Azure external services charges](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/understand/understand-azure-marketplace-charges) — Dated April 29, 2026: external services published by third-party software vendors in Azure Marketplace; free credits on an Azure subscription can't be applied to charges from external services - [Microsoft Learn: FAQs for Azure for Visual Studio subscribers](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/subscriptions/faq/subscriber/azure/) — The monthly Azure credit doesn't apply toward third-party branded products, among other exclusions - [Microsoft Learn: Best ways to use your startup credits](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/startups/benefits/azure-credits/use-azure-credits) — Dated May 27, 2026: startup credits apply to eligible Azure services on the sponsored subscription; a non-Azure product, a Microsoft Support Plan or an Azure Marketplace purchase might not be covered - [Microsoft Learn: Use Grow Azure sponsorship](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/frontier-accelerate-marketplace/grow/azure-sponsorship) — Dated October 16, 2026: sponsorship covers first-party Azure usage and can't be used towards third-party marketplace purchases, services or support - [Microsoft Learn: Azure Consumption Commitment Benefit](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/azure-consumption-commitment-benefit) — Eligible Microsoft Marketplace purchases count toward a MACC; 100% of the pretax purchase amount of an Azure benefit-eligible offer bought from a Microsoft partner through Marketplace contributes toward the commitment - [Google Cloud: Free Google Cloud features and trial offer](https://docs.cloud.google.com/free/docs/free-cloud-features) — Last updated October 13, 2026: the $300 Welcome credit for products and services covered by the Free Trial; a Free Trial account can't use Google Cloud Marketplace; after an upgrade to a Paid billing account, Google Cloud Marketplace is unlocked and the remaining credit is available for products and services covered by the Free Trial, within the original 90 days - [Google Cloud: FAQs about the Google for Startups Cloud Program](https://cloud.google.com/startup/faq) — Program credits usable for Google Cloud services, and not applicable to any third-party services or offerings, including those on Google Cloud Marketplace - [Google Cloud: What is Google Cloud Marketplace](https://cloud.google.com/marketplace) — Qualifying purchases of third-party Google Cloud Marketplace solutions can draw down on Google Cloud commitments - [Fours docs: AWS Funding](https://doc.fours.com/cosell/cosell-funding/) — Fours behaviour: funding requests sent through the AWS Partner Central Funding Benefits API, from the Fours Console or the CRM; MPOPP offered as MPOPP Grow and MPOPP Activate, each under its own AWS benefit on one form; credits only; Number of Codes fixed at 1 and the value calculated by AWS from Total Contract Value; opportunities at Business Validation, Committed or Launched; form rules, not AWS's eligibility rules; status and stage synced roughly every three hours; credit requests held in Pre-approval until all credit codes are disbursed ## Keep reading - [AWSAWS Marketplace Agreement Status and Renewal ChainsOct 15, 2026](/resources/blog/aws-marketplace-agreement-status/) - [AWSAWS Marketplace Metering Agent Skill: What It BuildsOct 15, 2026](/resources/blog/aws-marketplace-metering-agent-skill/) - [AWSAWS Marketplace Vendor-Metered Tagging, ExplainedOct 15, 2026](/resources/blog/aws-marketplace-vendor-metered-tagging/) - [AWSAWS Marketplace in Japan and Korea: Who Collects TaxOct 14, 2026](/resources/blog/aws-marketplace-japan-korea-tax/) [Browse every post on the Fours Blog](/resources/blog/) ### Stay Updated New posts, product updates and marketplace strategy are shared on LinkedIn as they publish. 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