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🎁 AWS Free Credits Automation - Earn $200 in AWS Credits

Automated CloudFormation template to earn $200 AWS credits for new Free Tier accounts.

Get $100 instantly at sign-up + earn $100 more by completing 5 simple activities. This template automates 4 out of 5 activities ($80). Complete the 5th (Bedrock) manually in 2 minutes for the final $20.

License: MIT

📑 Table of Contents

🎯 What You'll Get

Total: $200 in AWS credits

Instant Credits:

  • $100 USD - Automatically credited when you create your AWS account

Earned Credits (Complete 5 Activities):

Activity Credit Automated?
Set up AWS Budgets $20 ✅ Yes
Launch EC2 Instance $20 ✅ Yes
Create Lambda Web App $20 ✅ Yes
Create RDS Database $20 ✅ Yes
Use Bedrock AI Model $20 ⚠️ Manual (2 min)

Earned Credits Total: $100 USD

Grand Total: $200 in AWS credits

  • Free Plan: Valid for 6 months or until exhausted
  • Paid Plan: Valid for 12 months from account creation

📋 Prerequisites

✅ New AWS account (created after July 15, 2025)
✅ Free Plan or Paid Plan account type
✅ Email address for billing alerts
✅ 10-15 minutes of your time

That's it! No AWS CLI needed for console deployment.

🆕 AWS Free Tier - New Plan (Post July 15, 2025)

AWS introduced a new Free Tier model for accounts created after July 15, 2025, replacing the traditional 12-month free tier with a credit-based system.

Two Plans Available:

🎁 FREE PLAN (6 months)

  • $100 at sign-up + $100 by completing activities = $200 total credits
  • ✅ No charges unless you upgrade to Paid Plan
  • ✅ Access to 30+ always-free services
  • ✅ Expires after 6 months OR when credits exhausted (whichever comes first)
  • ✅ 90-day grace period to upgrade after expiration
  • ❌ Cannot scale beyond credit thresholds
  • ❌ Limited service access (some enterprise services unavailable)

💳 PAID PLAN (12 months)

  • Same $200 credits (valid for 12 months from account creation date)
  • ✅ Pay for usage beyond credits (standard on-demand pricing)
  • ✅ Access to all 150+ AWS services
  • ✅ Can scale beyond credit thresholds
  • ✅ Credits automatically applied to eligible services
  • ✅ No account expiration (unlike Free Plan's 6-month limit)

How to Earn the Full $200:

  1. $100 at sign-up - Instant upon account creation (automatic)
  2. $100 more - Complete 5 activities ($20 each):
    • ✅ Set up AWS Budgets
    • ✅ Launch EC2 instance
    • ✅ Create Lambda web app
    • ✅ Create RDS database
    • ✅ Use Amazon Bedrock AI model

This repository automates 4 out of 5 activities ($80)! You only need to complete Bedrock manually (2 minutes).

📖 Learn More: AWS Free Tier Official Announcement

🚀 Quick Start Guide

Step 1: Create AWS Account (if needed)

  1. Go to aws.amazon.com
  2. Click "Create an AWS Account"
  3. Choose Free Plan (6 months, no charges) or Paid Plan (full access)
  4. Complete signup

Step 2: Deploy CloudFormation Template

Option A: AWS Console (Recommended)

  1. Download aws-credits-activities.yaml
  2. Go to CloudFormation Console
  3. Click "Create stack" → "With new resources"
  4. Choose "Upload a template file"
  5. Upload aws-credits-activities.yaml
  6. Click "Next"

Configure Stack:

  • Stack name: aws-credits-stack
  • Email: your-email@example.com
  • Budget: 1 (USD)
  • Billing Alarm: 0.1 (USD)
  • Click "Next" → "Next"

Deploy:

  • Check ✅ "I acknowledge that AWS CloudFormation might create IAM resources"
  • Click "Submit"
  • Wait 10-15 minutes ☕

Option B: AWS CLI

Prerequisites:

  1. Install AWS CLI: Installation Guide
  2. Configure AWS CLI with your credentials:
# Configure AWS CLI
aws configure

# You'll be prompted for:
# AWS Access Key ID: [Your access key]
# AWS Secret Access Key: [Your secret key]
# Default region name: ap-south-1
# Default output format: json

Get AWS Credentials:

  1. Go to IAM Console
  2. Click "Users" → "Create user" (or use existing)
  3. Attach "AdministratorAccess" policy
  4. Go to "Security credentials" tab
  5. Click "Create access key"
  6. Choose "Command Line Interface (CLI)"
  7. Copy Access Key ID and Secret Access Key

Deploy:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/om-mapari/aws-free-tier-200-dollar-credits-cloudformation-template.git
cd aws-free-tier-200-dollar-credits-cloudformation-template

# Deploy the stack
aws cloudformation create-stack \
  --stack-name aws-credits-stack \
  --template-body file://aws-credits-activities.yaml \
  --parameters \
    ParameterKey=EmailAddress,ParameterValue=your-email@example.com \
    ParameterKey=BudgetAmount,ParameterValue=1 \
    ParameterKey=BillingAlarmThreshold,ParameterValue=0.1 \
  --capabilities CAPABILITY_NAMED_IAM \
  --region ap-south-1

# Monitor progress
aws cloudformation describe-stacks \
  --stack-name aws-credits-stack \
  --query 'Stacks[0].StackStatus'

Option C: Terraform

See the Terraform README for detailed instructions.

cd iac-terraform
terraform init
terraform apply

Step 3: Confirm Email Subscription

  1. Check your email inbox
  2. Look for "AWS Notification - Subscription Confirmation"
  3. Click "Confirm subscription"

Step 4: Verify Activities Completed

  1. Go to AWS Console Home
  2. Find "Explore AWS" widget
  3. Check activities marked as "Completed"

You should see:

  • ✅ Set up a cost budget using AWS Budgets
  • ✅ Launch an instance using EC2
  • ✅ Create a web app using AWS Lambda
  • ✅ Create an Aurora or RDS database
  • ⏳ Use a foundation model in Amazon Bedrock (pending)

Step 5: Complete Bedrock Activity (2 minutes)

This is the only manual step:

  1. Go to Amazon Bedrock Console
  2. Click "Playgrounds" in left menu
  3. Click "Chat" or "Text"
  4. Select any model:
    • Amazon Titan
    • Anthropic Claude
    • Meta Llama
    • AI21 Jurassic
  5. Type a prompt: "Hello, tell me about AWS"
  6. Click "Run" or "Generate"
  7. ✅ Done!

Cost: ~$0.01-0.05 (covered by your credits)

Step 6: Verify Credits Earned

  1. Go to AWS Console Home
  2. Check "Explore AWS" widget
  3. You should see: "Activities completed: 5 of 5"
  4. "Total credits earned: $100 of $100 USD"

Credits appear within 10 minutes after completing all activities.

Step 7: Delete Resources (Important!)

Once credits show up, DELETE the stack to avoid charges:

aws cloudformation delete-stack --stack-name aws-credits-stack --region ap-south-1

Or in AWS Console:

  1. Go to CloudFormation Console
  2. Select aws-credits-stack
  3. Click "Delete"
  4. Confirm deletion

This removes:

  • EC2 instance (~$7.50/month)
  • RDS database (~$12.24/month)
  • Lambda function
  • Security groups
  • Secrets Manager secret

Step 8: Keep Billing Protection (Recommended!)

Deploy the billing alarm template for ongoing protection:

aws cloudformation create-stack \
  --stack-name billing-protection \
  --template-body file://billing-alarm.yaml \
  --parameters \
    ParameterKey=EmailAddress,ParameterValue=your-email@example.com \
    ParameterKey=BudgetAmount,ParameterValue=10 \
    ParameterKey=BillingAlarmThreshold,ParameterValue=5 \
  --region ap-south-1

Or in AWS Console:

  1. Go to CloudFormation Console
  2. Click "Create stack"
  3. Upload billing-alarm.yaml
  4. Enter your email and budget settings
  5. Click "Submit"

This keeps:

  • ✅ Monthly budget alerts
  • ✅ Billing alarm (customizable threshold)
  • ✅ Email notifications
  • ✅ Cost: $0.00 (completely free!)

Protects your $100 credits from unexpected charges!

📁 Repository Files

aws-free-tier-200-dollar-credits-cloudformation-template/
├── aws-credits-activities.yaml    # CloudFormation template (all 4 activities)
├── billing-alarm.yaml             # Budget protection only
├── deploy.sh                      # CloudFormation deployment script
├── iac-terraform/                 # Terraform configuration
│   ├── main.tf                    # Main Terraform config
│   ├── variables.tf               # Input variables
│   ├── outputs.tf                 # Output values
│   ├── terraform.tfvars.example   # Example variables
│   └── README.md                  # Terraform guide
├── README.md                      # This file
├── CONTRIBUTING.md                # Contribution guidelines
└── LICENSE                        # MIT License

Choose your tool:

  • CloudFormation - Native AWS, no installation needed
  • Terraform - Infrastructure as Code, multi-cloud support

🔧 Troubleshooting

Stack creation fails

Issue: Template validation error
Solution: Ensure you're using a supported region (ap-south-1, us-east-1, etc.)

Issue: Instance type not available
Solution: Template uses t3.micro (Free Tier eligible in most regions)

Issue: MySQL version not found
Solution: Template uses MySQL 8.0.40 (widely available)

Activities not showing as complete

Issue: Activities still show "Not started"
Solution: Wait 10-15 minutes for AWS to process. Resources must be running and active.

Issue: Lambda not marked complete
Solution: Visit the Lambda Function URL (check CloudFormation Outputs)

Billing alarm not working

Issue: No email alerts
Solution:

  1. Confirm SNS subscription in email
  2. Check spam folder
  3. Verify billing alerts enabled: AWS Console → Billing → Billing Preferences

RDS creation takes long

Issue: Stack stuck on RDS creation
Solution: RDS typically takes 10-15 minutes. Check CloudFormation Events tab.

🎓 What You'll Learn

By using this template, you'll understand:

  • CloudFormation Infrastructure as Code
  • AWS Budgets and cost management
  • EC2 instance deployment
  • Lambda serverless functions
  • RDS database creation
  • Security groups and IAM roles
  • CloudWatch alarms and monitoring

⚠️ Important Notes

  • Free Plan credits expire: 6 months from account creation OR when exhausted
  • Paid Plan credits expire: 12 months from account creation (if you upgrade)
  • Free Plan account expires: 6 months from account creation
  • One account only: Credits available for one AWS account per person
  • Not for production: This is for learning and earning credits
  • Monitor costs: Always check your AWS billing dashboard
  • Delete resources: Remove stack after earning credits

🤝 Contributing

Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Ways to contribute:

  • Report bugs or issues
  • Suggest improvements
  • Add support for more regions
  • Improve documentation
  • Share your success story

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

💡 Pro Tips

  1. Deploy in your closest region for better performance
  2. Set billing alarm low ($0.10) to catch any unexpected charges
  3. Delete stack immediately after credits appear
  4. Keep budget template (billing-alarm.yaml) for ongoing protection
  5. Check credits regularly in AWS Billing → Credits
  6. Use credits wisely - Free Plan: 6 months, Paid Plan: 12 months
  7. Share this repo to help others earn credits too!

🙏 Acknowledgments

This project helps new AWS users quickly earn their $200 in credits without manual setup. Built with ❤️ for the AWS community.

Star ⭐ this repo if it helped you earn credits!

📞 Support

Ready to earn your $200? 🚀 Get Started

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Automated CloudFormation and Terraform setup to earn AWS Free Tier and activity-based AWS credits.

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