Description of the bug:
Summary
After linking a GCP billing account that contains free credits to an existing project that was under Tier 3, the project unexpectedly appears to be operating under Tier 1 / restricted quotas, despite billing being active. There is no clear indication in the UI that the account has been downgraded or that credits are affecting service tiering.
Steps to Reproduce
Create or use an existing GCP project
Link a billing account that has free credits (e.g., promotional / trial credits)
Enable required APIs (e.g., Generative Language API or others)
Generate API keys / credentials
Start making API calls or using services
Observe quota limits and service restrictions
Expected Behavior
Linking a billing account (even with free credits) should:
Maintain or upgrade the project to standard paid quotas
Not downgrade service tier or restrict usage unexpectedly
If credits impose limitations, this should be clearly communicated in the UI
Actual Behavior
Project appears to be operating under Tier 1 / restricted quotas
API usage is limited far below expected paid-tier limits that existed prior
Quota dashboards show reduced limits, but:
No warning or explanation is provided
Billing section still shows account as active and linked
No indication that free credits triggered a downgrade or limitation
Impact
Significant confusion and debugging time spent assuming misconfiguration
Unexpected throttling/blocking of API usage in production workflows
No visibility into whether:
This is expected behavior
A temporary restriction
Or a misconfigured billing state
Additional Context
Billing account is active and correctly linked
Credits are valid and unused / partially used
Issue started immediately after linking billing with free credits
No manual quota changes were made
Request (URGENT)
Clarification on whether free credits enforce Tier 1 restrictions
Guidance on how to restore, I am okay to give up on my free credits if I can get my tier back
UI improvements to clearly indicate:
When a project is under restricted tier due to credits
Any required steps to unlock full billing-based usage
Actual vs expected behavior:
No response
Any other information you'd like to share?
No response
Description of the bug:
Summary
After linking a GCP billing account that contains free credits to an existing project that was under Tier 3, the project unexpectedly appears to be operating under Tier 1 / restricted quotas, despite billing being active. There is no clear indication in the UI that the account has been downgraded or that credits are affecting service tiering.
Steps to Reproduce
Create or use an existing GCP project
Link a billing account that has free credits (e.g., promotional / trial credits)
Enable required APIs (e.g., Generative Language API or others)
Generate API keys / credentials
Start making API calls or using services
Observe quota limits and service restrictions
Expected Behavior
Linking a billing account (even with free credits) should:
Maintain or upgrade the project to standard paid quotas
Not downgrade service tier or restrict usage unexpectedly
If credits impose limitations, this should be clearly communicated in the UI
Actual Behavior
Project appears to be operating under Tier 1 / restricted quotas
API usage is limited far below expected paid-tier limits that existed prior
Quota dashboards show reduced limits, but:
No warning or explanation is provided
Billing section still shows account as active and linked
No indication that free credits triggered a downgrade or limitation
Impact
Significant confusion and debugging time spent assuming misconfiguration
Unexpected throttling/blocking of API usage in production workflows
No visibility into whether:
This is expected behavior
A temporary restriction
Or a misconfigured billing state
Additional Context
Billing account is active and correctly linked
Credits are valid and unused / partially used
Issue started immediately after linking billing with free credits
No manual quota changes were made
Request (URGENT)
Clarification on whether free credits enforce Tier 1 restrictions
Guidance on how to restore, I am okay to give up on my free credits if I can get my tier back
UI improvements to clearly indicate:
When a project is under restricted tier due to credits
Any required steps to unlock full billing-based usage
Actual vs expected behavior:
No response
Any other information you'd like to share?
No response