# Report: Claude Code Cloud-Session Credits ($100 Pro, $250 Max) Must Be Spent by 4 November

BleepingComputer reports that Anthropic gave individual Pro subscribers $100 and Max subscribers $250 in credits that apply only to Claude Code cloud sessions. The claim window closed on 7 October and any claimed balance expires on 4 November. We found no Anthropic page stating the offer.

By Neomanex. Updated 2026-10-09.

If you claimed a [Claude Code](/directory/claude-code) cloud-session credit, spend it on real work before 4 November, because unused balance is lost. If you did not claim it, the window closed on 7 October, per BleepingComputer. Either way, this promotion does not change our verdict: Claude Code stays **Conditional** in our directory.

## What happened

BleepingComputer reported on 25 September 2026 that Anthropic is handing out promotional credits for Claude Code cloud sessions:

- **Amounts.** $100 for Pro, $250 for Max.
- **Scope.** The credits apply only to cloud sessions, which run on Anthropic-hosted infrastructure.
- **Eligibility.** Individual Pro and Max subscribers with an active subscription when the promotion began on 23 September.
- **Deadlines.** Claim by 7 October 2026. The balance expires on 4 November 2026.
- **Afterwards.** "Once the promotional balance is exhausted, cloud sessions go back to counting against your normal plan limits."
- **Access.** Cloud sessions, previously open to some users via research preview, are now officially available to eligible subscribers.

## What Anthropic's own pages confirm

When we drafted this on 26 September, we checked the Claude Code changelog through 2.1.285 (25 September), the cloud-sessions docs and the Claude blog. None of them mentioned the credits, so the amounts and dates above rest on BleepingComputer alone.

The cloud-sessions docs do confirm the rest of the setup:

- **Plans.** "Cloud sessions are available on Pro, Max, and Team plans, and for Enterprise users with premium seats or Chat + Claude Code seats."
- **Where to start one.** claude.ai/code, the Code tab in the Claude app, the desktop app (select Cloud instead of Local), `claude --cloud` in the terminal, or routines.
- **Limits.** Cloud sessions "share rate limits with all other Claude and Claude Code usage within your account", and "there's no separate charge for the cloud VM."

## Why it matters

Cloud sessions run on Anthropic's machines and keep going after you close your laptop. A credit that covers cloud usage is a cheap way to find out whether that workflow suits you before it starts drawing on the same limits as your local Claude Code work. The catch is the clock: the credit is worth nothing after 4 November.

## What changes for you

- **You claimed the credit.** Point it at long or parallel tasks you would otherwise run locally, for example several `claude --cloud` tasks at once. Each runs as its own session.
- **You did not claim it.** Per BleepingComputer, the claim window closed on 7 October. Nothing changes for you: cloud sessions still count against your normal plan limits.
- **Team or Enterprise.** The reported offer covers individual Pro and Max subscribers only.
- **Planning budgets.** Do not count on a repeat. No Anthropic page we found states these terms.

Canonical: https://neomanex.com/news/claude-code-cloud-sessions-promo-credits-pro-max