I can't redeem my Azure Sponsorship credit because my billing profile is not active

Hello @Nicolas Nakasone

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Q&A platform.

The error "This billing profile is not active. Please select another billing profile" typically occurs when the billing account (and the billing profiles under it) has been marked as inactive by Microsoft due to prolonged inactivity. As per official documentation, a billing account is classified as inactive when for a minimum of 12 months there has been no usage, no sign-in activity, and no open support requests associated with it. Once inactive, the billing profiles under that account also become inactive, which prevents actions like redeeming credits or creating new subscriptions.

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/understand/keep-billing-accounts-active

Please have a look into below workarounds:

Option 1 – Contact Azure Billing Support to reactivate your billing profile

Since you purchased/signed up directly with Microsoft, the recommended path is to contact Microsoft Billing Support to unblock and reactivate your billing account and profile. You can do this through the Azure portal:

1. Go to https://portal.azure.com/#view/Microsoft_Azure_Support/HelpAndSupportBlade/~/overview in the Azure portal.
2. Click Create a support request.
3. Select Billing as the issue type.
4. Under Problem type, choose Manage Billing Account or Profile.
5. Describe the issue, mention that your billing profile is showing as inactive and you need it reactivated to redeem your Azure Sponsorship credit.

Billing support is free of charge, and the support team can manually reactivate your billing profile.

Option 2 – Create a new billing profile

If you'd prefer not to wait, you can try creating a new billing profile under the same billing account:

1. In the Azure portal, go to Cost Management + Billing.
2. Select your billing account (<PII>@hotmail.com).
3. Go to Billing profiles and click + Add to create a new one.
4. Attach a valid payment method to the new profile.
5. Go back to the Redeem credit page and select the newly created billing profile.

This should allow you to proceed with redemption as long as the new profile is active.

• Your sponsorship credit of $1,900.00 expires on 8/7/2026, so there's still time but it's best to resolve this soon.
• The sponsorship includes a Developer Support Plan at no extra cost for the duration of the sponsorship.

Hope this helps get you unblocked. Please let us know if you have any further questions!

Thanks,

Suchitra.