Tier Upgrade Problem. Anyone faced something similar?

API Bugs
1

Hi. A client of mine created an account and load it with 85$ but I can’t use its API(when I try to use it there is a notification mentioning that ‘’ The rate limits associated with your OpenAI API key are too low to run this action with the selected model. See [“Increasing your limits” here.] . He sent to the OpenAI Help Team(bot) the following message:
''Hey, I’ve added $250 to my balance. I know there is usually a waiting period, but I would really appreciate it if you could upgrade my rate limit to Tier 4 today, please? ‘’
The bot came back with that:
Thank you for reaching out to us with your request to upgrade your rate limit to Tier 4. I understand the importance of having the appropriate rate limits to support your projects and endeavors with the OpenAI API. To move to Tier 4, there are specific criteria that need to be met, including a payment history of at least $250 and a waiting period of 14+ days since your first successful payment. Given the information you’ve provided, if you believe you meet these criteria and your usage needs exceed the current limits provided in Tier 1, I can certainly help guide you through the process of requesting an upgrade. You can request an increase in your rate limits by visiting the Limits section of your account settings. There, you should find an option to “Request an exception” for a monthly usage limit increase. Please fill out the form with the necessary details about your use case and why the current limits are insufficient for your needs. Our team will review your request and get back to you as soon as possible. Please note that these reviews are conducted to ensure fair usage and system integrity, and we appreciate your understanding in this matter. If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Best,
OpenAI Team

But there is no such an exception option there.
Has anyone faced that? What can I do?

2

The help bot is dumb. Along with anyone pasting bot answers back to you.

It is probably reciting back training found scraping this forum, almost words I have written before.

“Request exception” cannot elevate a tier. It only requests that certain allowed rate limits be set higher, and only appears for higher tiers anyway.

This is the URL link now to see your organization tier: https://platform.openai.com/settings/organization/limits

If you pay $250 right away, and 15 days have not already elapsed since any payment, your tier will not increase. The tier does not increase simply when the waiting period has passed, either, it is recalculated only upon another payment.

Instead, the strategy would be to send $10 (tier 1), wait over a week. Send $50 or $100 (tier 2 or 3), wait an additional week. Then send $200, a total paid greater than $250 and the time since the first payment greater than two weeks. (of course paying enough for your usage in the mean time).

If all criteria are met, and tossing the API another $5 to force a recalculation does not escalate the tier, then that is just more symptom of a broken system, and only staff can intervene. On both your account, and by FIXING THE PROBLEM!

Access to o1 should not be the reason in sending OpenAI excess cajoled money to expire after a year. The model should roll out to more API users.

3

So there isn’t any fast-track road? Because is very important!

4

It is also important for committing credit card fraud that the perpetrator quickly execute large transactions without establishing trust. That is the original reason for which the tier system seems to be justified (although OpenAI used it for reducing performance of AI models even before it was announced).