New AWS accounts get up to $200 in credits — $100 on signup plus up to $100 more for completing activities — usable on Amazon Bedrock. AWS now says most new customers can sign up without a card, but may ask for one.
Up to $200: $100 on signup plus up to $100 for activities; card requirements are conditional and published expiry rules conflict.
Credit card required
Card: conditional
Most new customers can sign up without a payment method; AWS may request one to verify identity.
Availability
Open
Available subject to the provider eligibility and usage conditions.
Application deadline
No deadline stated
Credit validity
AWS FAQ conflicts: General Q6 and Advanced Features Q2 say 6 months after account creation; Free Plan Q8 and activity-credit Q5 say 12 months. Check the expiry shown in your AWS account.
Eligibility
New AWS customers, on the Free or Paid plan. AWS says a payment method "isn't required to sign up for most new customers" on its new sign-up flow, but may request one to verify identity; you are not charged while you stay on the Free plan.
Current conditions
The $200 is a maximum: $100 at signup plus up to $100 for qualifying activities.
The Free plan lasts up to six months or until credits run out; credit-expiry wording separately conflicts between six and twelve months.
AWS does not confirm that these Free Tier credits cover Claude on Bedrock; Activate has separate explicit terms.
Up to $200 in AWS credits: "$100 in credits immediately" on signup, plus "up to $100 more as you explore foundational AWS services". AWS's Free Tier catalogue lists Amazon Bedrock as "Available on both plans" ("Use credits to access Amazon Bedrock features in both Free and Paid plans"); Amazon Bedrock AgentCore is "Paid plan exclusive". CLAUDE: AWS does not say whether these credits pay for Anthropic's Claude on Bedrock. Claude on Bedrock is "offered and billed through AWS Marketplace", and AWS's promotional-credit terms say that "Unless authorized by us, Promotional Credit will not be applied to any fees or charges for … AWS Marketplace" — so do not plan on Free Tier credits covering Claude. AWS Activate credits are the documented route (see that offer). CARD: Most new customers can sign up without a payment method, but AWS may request one for identity verification. CREDIT VALIDITY: the same FAQ currently gives both six and twelve months after account creation in different sections. Check the expiry attached to your credits in the AWS account; do not assume that the Free plan duration and the credit validity are the same.
How to claim it
Create a new AWS account and stay on the Free plan
Add a payment method if AWS asks — most new customers on the new sign-up are not asked
Use the $100 signup credit (and earn up to $100 more through activities) across eligible AWS services, including Amazon Bedrock
Verification history and earlier terms
This dated editorial record includes superseded conditions. Use the current facts
above for eligibility and access.
The free plan (launched July 2025) still requires a payment method — it is not a no-card offer. The free plan closes 6 months after opening or when credits run out, whichever comes first; Free Tier credits themselves expire 12 months from account creation. Re-verified 2026-07-03 and 2026-08-15: the credit structure, the 6-month plan expiry, the 12-month credit expiry and the payment-method requirement are confirmed verbatim and unchanged. V28 RESOLVED 2026-09-13: the Bedrock catalogue listing is readable again and confirms the pre-August position. In August the Free Tier offers catalogue on aws.amazon.com/free appeared to our fetcher as an empty client-side widget, so we stopped asserting the listing (ADR-0024) without treating the silence as a change. That was the right call: the catalogue entry is in fact present in the page's embedded JSON payload (itemTitle 'Amazon Bedrock', itemMetaPrice 'Available on both plans', expanded body 'Use credits to access Amazon Bedrock features in both Free and Paid plans'), and it is unchanged. The assertion has been restored to the copy. Note for future sweeps: a markdown-converting fetch drops this catalogue, but curl + reading the JSON payload in the HTML does not. Re-verified 2026-10-10 and ADVERSARIALLY RE-VERIFIED the same day. UNCHANGED figures: "New customers receive up to $200 in AWS credits, $100 upon sign-up and up to $100 more as you explore foundational AWS services." (aws.amazon.com/free/free-tier-faqs/); "If you are new to AWS, you receive USD $100 in credits after you create an account regardless of your account plan." (docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/free-tier-plans.html); Bedrock catalogue entry still in the page's embedded JSON ('Available on both plans'), rendered by the same card component that visibly renders the label on other cards. CARD (conflict, kept true — ADR-0023 stricter reading): the English FAQ now says "No. A payment method isn't required to sign up for most new customers. In some cases, we may request additional information, such as a payment method, to verify your identity.", echoed on aws.amazon.com/resources/create-account/ and the 2026-09 What's New post ('For most new customers, no credit card is required'). But the new flow is documented as releasing 'to a limited number of customers', the 'advanced' sign-up says 'You can't proceed with the sign-up process until you add a valid payment method', and the ru/id/tr/vi/th editions of the same FAQ still say a payment method is required 'whether you choose a free plan or a paid plan'. Copy states AWS's 'most new customers' wording rather than 'no card'. EXPIRY (conflict): the English FAQ says 6 months (General Q6, Advanced Features Q2) and 12 months (Free Plan Q8; activity credits Q5); the Terms (Last Updated July 9, 2025) say twelve. Only the 6-month free-plan limit is published. CLAUDE — CORRECTION TO OUR OWN ADVICE: since 2026-08-15 this site called Bedrock, funded by these credits, 'the documented cloud route to Claude'. AWS documents no such thing. Claude model cards (e.g. docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/model-card-anthropic-claude-sonnet-5-5.html) say 'This model is a third-party model offered and billed through AWS Marketplace'; aws.amazon.com/awscredits/ (Last Updated September 24, 2026) says 'Unless authorized by us, Promotional Credit will not be applied to any fees or charges for … AWS Marketplace'; aws.amazon.com/free/terms/ makes Free Tier credits subject to those terms. No AWS page says Free Tier credits cover Claude; the refuter found new-flow docs that place some Marketplace use inside the Free Tier, so the honest wording is 'unstated', not 'excluded'. AWS Activate's terms do authorize credits for third-party Bedrock models. The 'startups' tag was dropped (this is not a startup offer). Re-verified 2026-10-21 in the audit-remediation source sweep: current primary offer page and the material eligibility, validity, unit and payment evidence recorded in SOURCE-VERIFICATION.csv. Historical notes above are retained as history, not current terms. No account was created and no claim was submitted.
Eligible startups can get up to $200,000 in AWS Activate credits — usable across eligible AWS services, including third-party models such as Anthropic's on Amazon Bedrock. You apply with an AWS account on a paid plan, which AWS says you reach by entering a payment method.
Free value
Up to $200,000
Card required
Card required
Application deadline
No deadline stated
Credit validity
Usually 1–2 years depending on the package; use the expiry assigned in the AWS console.
Who
Pre-Series B startups founded within the last 10 years with an AWS account on a paid plan, new to Activate credits (or requesting more). The Portfolio tier requires an Organization ID from an AWS Activate Provider (accelerator, incubator or VC).
Available subject to the provider eligibility and usage conditions.