University of Illinois ChatGPT Education (Illinois Campus) – Purchasing Additional Usage Credits
When Additional Credits May Be Needed
You may need additional credits if you encounter messages such as:
- “You’ve hit your usage limit.”
- A notice indicating usage will reset at a later time
- Certain advanced models (e.g., Thinking and Pro) and features (e.g., Agent, Deep research, ImageGen, Voice) are unavailable
- Codex returns a usage limit message
This indicates that the included allocation for that feature has been used. Purchasing credits allows continued usage without waiting for the reset period.
(Note: Currently, there is no way to view the amount of remaining credits. We are in communication with the vendor about this feature.)
Instructions
Step 1: Estimate Credits Using the Rate Card
OpenAI provides a ChatGPT Rate Card and Codex Rate Card that indicate how many credits are consumed by different models or features. Note that credit usage may vary depending on the type of request and model used.
Step 2: Open the Illinois WebStore
- Navigate to the Illinois WebStore.
- Select Unit Purchases at the top of the page. In the Product Search field, enter “chatgpt.”
- Locate the available ChatGPT credit package(s).
Step 3: Select and Purchase a Credit Package
- Select the credit package that best fits your needs.
- Add the item to your cart.
- Complete the checkout process.
Purchases must be made using a valid CFOP.
Once the order is processed, the purchased credits will be added to the ChatGPT Education workspace credit pool and will be available for use.
Note: You can verify whether advanced models are available by navigating to your ChatGPT Edu workspace and expanding the “ChatGPT Auto” drop-down menu at the top of the page. If the Thinking or Pro options appear grayed out, it usually indicates that the available allocation for those models has been used. In this case, you may need to wait for the usage period to reset or purchase additional credits.
Important Notes
- Credits are used only when using models or features that require them.
- Core ChatGPT Edu functionality remains available even if credits are exhausted.
- Credit consumption varies depending on the model, feature, and task complexity.
- Some included features reset periodically (for example, daily limits for image generation and Deep Research).
- At this time, detailed credit tracking may not be visible to all users in the ChatGPT interface.
Support
If you need assistance with purchasing credits, determining the appropriate credit package, or accessing advanced ChatGPT features, contact the Gies IT Help Desk at helpdesk@business.illinois.edu.