Microsoft for Startups: "You're not eligible for an Azure free account" when activating starter credits (MS-AZR-0036P) – need eligibility review

Hello,

I joined Microsoft for Startups today (4 November 2026) using a personal

Microsoft account (Outlook.com), without an investor referral code. The

"Build your startup" dashboard in the Azure portal showed "Unlock $200 in

Azure credits", so I selected "Sign up".

I completed the profile and address steps, but on the payment step, right

after selecting my card, the sign-up stopped with:

"You're not eligible for an Azure free account"

and only offered pay-as-you-go sign-up, which I did not choose.

Details:

• This Microsoft account has no Azure subscriptions (Subscriptions list is empty).
• Possible cause: my name/phone/card may already be linked to another Azure account (an older pay-as-you-go subscription under my company's domain).
• Because I have no subscription, I can't open a support ticket in the portal, and "Get program support" isn't available on the preview dashboard.
• [I have also submitted the Microsoft for Startups support request form.]

Could a moderator please route this to the Microsoft for Startups Program

Operations team for an eligibility review, and contact me via private

message? I can share the Session ID, timestamp, account email, company

details and screenshots privately.

Thank you!