Paid 2 upgrade stuck and production paused at Tier 1 cap

Gemini API
1

Production Gemini API service has been paused because AI Studio still shows Paid 1 and the Tier 1 billing-account cap, even though the linked billing account meets the documented Paid 2 criteria: more than US$100 paid and more than three days since the first successful payment. The first successful payment was July 1, 2026.

August Gemini usage is A$764.23, the credit balance is positive, and auto-reload is enabled. The project monthly spend cap was raised to A$1,000, but the separate billing-account tier cap remains. API requests return 429 stating that the billing account has exceeded its monthly spending cap. This is affecting a live service with paying users.

Google’s documentation says subsequent tier upgrades normally take effect within 10 minutes. Cloud Billing Support confirmed they cannot access or change AI Studio tier status. I have submitted the official Gemini API Quota and Billing Cap Increase Request and opened an unresolved billing support case.

Could the AI Studio team please refresh the stuck tier eligibility or correct the account to Paid 2 urgently? I can provide the billing account ID and project number privately to Google staff.

2

Hello @D_G2 ,

DM’ed you for details.

3

hey, same issue. can you dm me too

4

Hi, we are in exactly the same situation as D_G2. I have filled in the form regarding sudden downgrades to from Tier 3 to Tier 1, but the reality is we were supposed to be in Tier 2 and the upgrade never happened - as far as I know us having Tier 3 access is a bug? Can you DM me please?

5

Hi Pooja,

I’d like some assistance too. Our tier has been downgraded from Tier 3 to Tier 1 twice already in a span of 24 hours. This is causing production incidents affecting our core functionality of the system and paying customers are affected

6

Sincere apologies for this issue. Please use this form to report sudden tier downgrades, our team will check it out: Gemini API Tier Downgrade Report Form