- When credits take over from your plan
- Switching credits on with a cap first
- The three spend controls, and expiry
- Usage bundles and their listed discounts
- Usage credits versus the monthly API credits on Max and Ultra
- Ways to stretch a plan before paying more
- My verdict on usage credits
- Frequently asked questions
Claude usage credits let a paid Pro, Max or Ultra plan keep working after you hit your included limits, by switching your requests to pay-as-you-go billing at standard API rates instead of stopping you. As of Nov 2026 you switch them on in Settings, then Usage, set a monthly spend limit and prepay with Add funds.
They're charged separately from your subscription and show up as additional charges on your bill. Keep that in mind before you click anything.
When credits take over from your plan
Most paid plans have two limits: a session limit that resets every five hours and a weekly limit. Ultra has a weekly limit, and verified Ultra accounts don't have a five-hour limit; Max and Ultra also have a separate weekly limit for Fable. The guide to Claude's usage limits covers how those work.
With credits switched on, the moment any of those limits is used up, your requests move onto credits and keep going. You may briefly still see the warning that you're approaching your limit; once the next request goes through, it changes to 'Now using credits'. You haven't been cut off. You carry on until you reach your monthly spend limit, or until your balance runs out with auto-reload off. Your normal limits still reset on schedule.
Credits cover both Claude conversations and Claude Code in the terminal, and your combined use counts. Research mode can get through them faster because of the many searches it runs, and documents in project files count towards your context, so they use tokens too.
Switching credits on with a cap first
The order matters. Set the cap before you put any funds in.
- Go to Settings, then Usage, in your Claude account on the web.
- Find the Usage credits section and click Enable.
- Add a payment method if you haven't already.
- Click Adjust limit and set a monthly spend limit. There's also a Set to unlimited option; leave it alone for now.
- Click Add funds, enter the amount you want to prepay and click Purchase.
- Decide on auto-reload, which tops your balance up when it falls below a threshold you choose.
If you subscribed through the iPhone or Android app, you can't do any of this in the app. Anthropic says mobile subscribers can only enable usage credits on the web version of Claude, after adding a payment method there.
You can switch credits off at any time from the same screen, and you'll drop back to your plan's included usage.
The three spend controls, and expiry
- Monthly spending cap: the most you're willing to spend on credits in a month.
- Auto-reload: adds funds when your balance drops below your threshold.
- Usage alerts: notifications as you get close to your spend limits.
The usage dashboard in Settings, then Usage, shows real-time use, month-to-date spending and history, and it separates your included plan usage from credit use, so you can see where the extra charges came from.
In most cases credits don't expire. The exception Anthropic names is certain jurisdictions such as Japan, where credits expire six months after purchase starting September 10, 2026, with an email seven days before they go.
Usage bundles and their listed discounts
If you know you'll use credits regularly, bundles let you prepay at a discount. As of Nov 2026, Anthropic lists:
| Bundle value | You pay |
|---|---|
| $50 | $45 |
| $250 | $200 |
| $1000 | $700 |
Bigger bundles save more. Individual Pro, Max and Ultra subscribers can buy up to $2000 worth of discounted bundles a month, and Team Owners and Primary Owners up to $3000. Past that cap you can still use credits, billed at standard rates without the discount.
You need credits enabled before you can buy one. Then go to Settings, then Usage, click Buy usage, choose a bundle size and confirm; the discount applies automatically at checkout. Your bundle balance is a single pool across Claude on the web, desktop and mobile, Claude Code, Cowork and third-party products that use your Claude account. Bundles don't replace your plan's included usage; they only start once you're past your limits.
Usage credits versus the monthly API credits on Max and Ultra
This one trips people up. Max, Ultra and Team plans include monthly API credits, and Anthropic is clear they're a separate pot: monthly API credits don't apply to usage credits in Claude, Claude Code or Claude Cowork.
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| Usage credits | Monthly API credits | |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets them | Pro, Max and Ultra subscribers who switch them on and pay | Included with Max, Ultra and Team plans |
| What they're for | Keeping Claude, Claude Code and Cowork going past your limits | Building on the Claude Platform: the API, the Console Playground, Managed Agents and the Agent SDK |
| How you get them | Enable in Settings, then Usage, and prepay | Link a Claude Console organisation from your Billing settings |
| Do they expire | Usually not | Yes, at the end of each billing cycle |
So if you're on Max and running out in an interactive Claude Code session, your API credits won't rescue you; usage credits are what keep you going there. For what each plan costs in the first place, see the Claude plan breakdown.
Ways to stretch a plan before paying more
Anthropic's own tips for keeping credit costs down are worth following before you add a single dollar:
- Use the efficient Haiku model, or the latest Sonnet, for most tasks; both cost fewer tokens than Opus.
- Plan intensive work around your five-hour windows, so you use included usage first.
- Start a new conversation for each new topic, to keep the context small.
- Keep documents you reference often in project knowledge instead of re-uploading them.
- Start with a conservative spending cap and adjust from there.
Look out for limit resets too. Anthropic occasionally gives a free reset that sets your five-hour or weekly limit back to full, shown as a Reset for free button in the Resets section of Settings, then Usage. It won't refund extra usage you've already been billed for or change your credit balance, and once you use it you can't undo it.
My verdict on usage credits
I'd set a low monthly cap before adding funds, and skip unlimited until I know how much I'll use. A month of data in the usage dashboard tells you more than any estimate.
If you're topping up every month, look at Max before you buy bigger bundles. Max is listed at $100 per month on the web as of Nov 2026, against $20 per month for Pro in the US, and the Pro versus Max comparison lays out what changes. Bundles suit the occasional crunch month; an upgrade suits a habit. Prices change at Anthropic's discretion, so check its help centre for the latest.
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Frequently asked questions
What are Claude usage credits?
They let Pro, Max and Ultra subscribers keep using Claude after reaching their included limits, billed separately at standard API rates.
How do I turn on Claude usage credits?
Go to Settings, then Usage, find Usage credits and click Enable. Add a payment method, set a monthly spend limit with Adjust limit, then prepay with Add funds.
Can I turn on usage credits in the Claude mobile app?
No. If you subscribed through a mobile app, you can only enable usage credits on the web version of Claude.
Are usage credits the same as the API credits on Max?
No. Monthly API credits on Max and Ultra are separate and don't apply to usage credits in Claude, Claude Code or Cowork.
Do Claude usage credits expire?
In most cases no. In certain jurisdictions such as Japan, credits expire six months after purchase starting September 10, 2026.
