I recently added $10 to my OpenAI API account yesterday and have since spent $5.70, expecting this usage to qualify me for an upgrade to Tier 1. However, my account status still shows as “Free Tier.”
Could someone explain why this might be the case and what steps I should take to upgrade to Tier 1?
The fact that you have been successfully able to use the API indicates that you are already at Tier 1 level even if it may not show. OpenAI basically no longer offers a Free Tier. Any use of the API requires the addition of a minimum of $5. There might just be a small system lag regarding the “visible” update of your tier under the above link.
I hope this helps. Any further questions, just let us know.
I see. Anecdotally, we’ve seen a few cases where the upgrade to a higher Tier took longer despite being successful payment and meeting certain other criteria that may apply.
I’d give it another 24h and if the old limits still prevail then, I’d reach out to OpenAI support via chat.
I understand the urgency of your situation, but it’s also true that other users have reported similar experiences where their tier was not upgraded immediately after meeting the requirements.
Therefore, while we recommend that you wait a little longer or contact OpenAI support for assistance, please understand that there’s not much more we can do here beyond offering this advice.
This is false. the “free” tier (that isn’t actually free) has rate limits, which I am currently consistently hitting. 70$ spent. Should be in Tier 2, but alas I am stuck in FREE.
I understand your frustration. Your best option remains to reach out directly to support via the chat. You need to interact with the support bot such that you can provide an actual description of the issue which can then be reviewed by a member of the support staff. You will then get a response back via email. One way to achieve this is as follows:
I have the same issue. Paid account, work normally last month (I have used $1), but be limited by 3 RPM since 1 Sept. I checked the limits page, it shows I am a Free account.
A question to anyone still stuck on Free Tier even though they have funded their account with $5+. When you created your account, did you get some message about your phone number already having been used so you will not get free credits?
Same here;
I added $10 to my account, wrote a script to force usage to match the $5 criteria. My balance is now at $4.79 but I’m still on the “Free tier”.