The Cloud Credit Trap

Thanks for sharing! You're 100% right that cloud providers aren't exactly incentivized to make it as easy as possible for you to use those credits. If credits were super easy to use and could be applied automatically where you need them, then I think a lot of people would just sign up for free trials with the intention of using up the credits and then cancel before they start accruing any charges. Cloud providers don't want to encourage that kind of behavior, so I think they're hesitant to make it too easy to use credits.

The same applies to cloud costs more broadly, across providers. With Reserved Instances, for example, AWS dramatically cuts the cost of running an instance if you commit to using it for a one- or three-year term. But signing up for a Reserved Instance requires a lock-in commitment, so many people don't bother because they're worried about being stuck with an unnecessary cost if their usage changes. My company, Usage.AI, created a solution: We cut EC2 costs by up to 57% using Reserved Instances, but without any lock-in. If an RI is no longer needed, it's just sold on the open market. No hassle, no risk.