PPC consultant David Melamed reported on September 11 that Google Ads is invalidating promotional credits after advertisers have already spent the qualifying amount. He encountered the issue twice in a short period. In one documented case, an account spent $3,200 to qualify for a $3,200 promotional credit — and found it marked "Invalidated" more than a month later, with no explanation, no reason code, and no path to appeal inside the platform.
The Google Ads Liaison acknowledged the reports the same day. As of this writing, the cause is unclear.
This is not an abstract policy concern. If your account is sitting on a promotional credit you've worked to qualify for, and you haven't checked its status this week, keep reading.
How promotional credits work — and why they matter
Google runs promotional credit programs through multiple channels: new account credits for first-time advertisers, credits tied to agency partnerships, third-party codes distributed through Google's marketing partners, and direct credits applied when you meet qualifying spend thresholds. The structure varies, but the premise is the same — spend a certain amount, receive a credit that offsets future spend.
For agencies managing multiple accounts, these credits are real budget items. A $3,200 credit at a qualifying spend threshold isn't a rounding error — it's part of how you price client relationships, structure trials, and model campaign ROI. For smaller advertisers using a promo code to test the platform, the credit often represents a meaningful percentage of the campaign budget.
The implicit contract is: you spend to qualify, Google delivers the credit. The issue Melamed documented breaks that contract — post-qualification, after the spend is already gone.
What "Invalidated" actually means
The status label is "Invalidated." It appears in the promotions section of the account. There's no attached reason code. No recommendation. No next step. No appeal button.
Melamed's report, and the comments that followed in Search Engine Land, describe the same experience: the spend was made, the qualifying threshold was crossed, and at some point later — in at least one case, more than a month after qualification — the credit disappeared with this status.
Google's Liaison confirmed the reports are real and said the cause is being investigated. That's meaningful for trust, but it doesn't recover a $3,200 credit that's already been pulled from an account that spent to earn it.
The absence of an appeal path is the structural problem. Not the invalidation itself — legitimate promotional credit fraud exists, and Google has every reason to police it. The problem is that there's no mechanism to say "I qualified legitimately, here's the account history to prove it," and have that reviewed by a human before the credit is removed.
This is not an isolated edge case
Melamed flagged two separate occurrences. The Search Engine Land comments section following his report included additional advertisers describing the same pattern. That's not a statistically rigorous sample, but it's enough to confirm this isn't a one-off billing glitch.
The accounts most likely to be affected share a profile: prior spend history that crossed a qualifying threshold, promotional codes applied through agency relationships or third-party partnerships, and credits that weren't monitored closely between application and expected arrival.
The timing is also notable. Q3 is when many promotional credit programs issued earlier in the year reach maturity. An account that received a credit tied to H1 spend might expect to see it reflected in the billing section by August or September — which is exactly when "Invalidated" is showing up.
Who's most exposed
Agency accounts managing promotional credits across multiple clients are carrying the most exposure. A single invalidated credit becomes a conversation about who absorbs the cost. If the credit was factored into a client's campaign budget, the agency is now short.
New advertiser accounts that received promotional codes from Google partners — resellers, hosting providers, domain registrars — are also in scope. These credits are often the reason someone starts advertising on Google in the first place. Invalidation of an unspent credit before the threshold is hit is a different issue; invalidation after qualification changes the decision the advertiser already made.
Accounts with a billing history that includes chargebacks, disputes, or third-party payment methods are at higher risk. Google's anti-fraud systems likely weight these signals when reviewing promotional credit eligibility, and they can flag legitimate accounts incorrectly.
What to do before the window closes
Open your Google Ads billing section and find the promotions tab. Take a screenshot of every credit listed — its status, its value, and the qualifying spend total Google is showing. Do this today, before any status changes.
If you have a credit that shows a qualifying spend total you've already exceeded, open a support ticket now. Document the date of the ticket and keep a record of the spend evidence — campaign performance data, invoice history, billing statements. You cannot appeal an invalidation retroactively without a paper trail. A live ticket creates one.
If a credit is already marked "Invalidated" and you believe you qualified legitimately, escalate through support and frame it as a billing discrepancy, not a policy question. Ask for the specific reason code that triggered the invalidation and the date it was applied. Google's Liaison has confirmed awareness of the issue — reference that acknowledgment if you're pushed to a tier-one rep who doesn't know the context.
Don't budget future campaigns against promotional credits until the status is confirmed active. A credit that hasn't shown "Active" in the last 48 hours shouldn't be treated as available spend.
Promotional credits represent real money tied to real spend decisions. A post-qualification invalidation with no appeal path isn't a billing edge case — it's a structural accountability gap. The Liaison acknowledgment is the first step; the fix needs to include a review mechanism.
If you want a clear picture of your Google Ads account health before Q4, run a free audit at Gromerce — it surfaces billing gaps and campaign issues in about three minutes.
Sources: Search Engine Land, September 2026
