AWS Is Handing Out $100 – But It’s a Trap (Kind of)

SRZ · July 13, 2025, 5:45pm

New AWS Accounts = Free $100? Yup. But read on.

If you make a brand-new AWS account AFTER July 15, 2025, you get:

$100 credit right away (no code, no begging)
Another $100 if you do a few tasks they call “quests” (yes, it’s a side quest now)
Enough cloud power to feel like a hacker… until the bill shows up

Lazy fcks…
New AWS account → Boom: $100 credit → Do silly tasks → More credit → Use carefully → Don’t cry later

Before	Now (Post-15 July 2025)
12-month Free Tier with limits	$100 credit as default, no guessing
All accounts same	Now: Free Plan or Paid Plan
You begged for credits	Now they just hand you some, like candy with a warning label

AWS got tired of explaining the Free Tier. Now they just throw money at you and hope you trip over their services.

Use:
- A fresh email (never used with AWS)
- A phone that gets texts
- A card (they do a $1 “we’re just checking” charge)
Go to: Free Cloud Computing Services - AWS Free Tier → Click Create Free Account
Fill in your info, confirm email
Choose account type (Personal or Business)
Add your card → Enter SMS code
Choose:
- Free Plan (limited, auto-shuts down in 6 months)
- Paid Plan (unlocks more services, but danger lurks)
Done! Go to Billing → Credits
See your $100 waiting for you like a nervous gift card

Want another $100? Just do these basic tasks:

Task	Credit	How to Trigger
Start + stop an EC2 instance	$15	Use “Explore AWS” in dashboard
Try Bedrock Playground	$15	Same place
Set up a Budget Alert	$10	Also there
Make a “Hello World” Lambda	$10	You guessed it
Launch a baby-size RDS database	$20	Yep, again there
Do any AWS Skill Builder lab	$30	Separate learning portal

Credits take about a day to appear. All credits vanish after 12 months.

Use “Always Free” stuff: S3, Lambda, DynamoDB, etc. → won’t touch your credits
Use SageMaker Studio Free Tier: 250 hours of free ML lab time (without spending your credits)
PartyRock = Free Bedrock-like playground: No card, no charge, and no stress
Set a $0.01 Budget Alert: So AWS emails you before it ruins your day
STOP your EC2s when not using them: Otherwise it’s like leaving the oven on
Spot/Burstable Instances: Use them to stretch your credits like leftover pizza
Delete leftovers: Volumes, Elastic IPs—anything not attached keeps billing like a haunted fridge

Free Plan still gives you $100 → but has limits (blocks certain services)
Paid Plan gives you everything → and you still get the $100 (but now you have real risk)
Use SageMaker JumpStart: One-click AI demos (Llama, Mixtral, Falcon) that run inside free tier
Stack even more credits later:
- Apply for AWS Activate (startups)
- Or AWS Educate (students)
Billing → Credits page = your scoreboard
It shows how much you’ve used and when your credits will go poof

Mistake	What Happens	What You Should’ve Done
Forgetting to delete RDS	Surprise bill from nowhere	Set auto-delete or don’t use RDS at all
Free Plan hits 6 months	Account vanishes like a bad date	Upgrade before 6 months is up
Using blocked services	Some won’t let you use credits	Read the fine print like a lawyer on espresso

Here’s the shortcut:

No billing, no alerts, no anxiety attacks. Just play.

AWS is like a rich friend who lends you $100 and says, “Don’t worry, it’s on me.”
Then adds: “But if you use it wrong, I’ll repossess your dreams.”

Use it. Don’t abuse it. And for the love of uptime, set that budget alert.

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SaM · July 14, 2025, 4:16am

Thank you so much for sharing, very informative and useful content