Cant get CHATGPT 1 MONTH FREE TRIAL with my own credit card

Discussion & Solutions
1

Hello friends
I wanted to try the ChatGPT Plus 1 month free trial i put my own credit card but its getting declined with message “Payment was not approved”
Iam using “RedotPay card Bank”
tried the same thing using “Google Pay” linked to the same bank card “RedotPay card Bank”
declined too . (i do have found in my credit card 2.9 USD)

tried to contact support but its an AI chat :slight_smile:
what should I do ?

2

ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ One look at the RedotPay transactions page tells you whose fault the decline is

— card side: $25 and four switches · OpenAI side: their own admitted trial bug, one email

You get the trial with the card you already hold. Ten seconds in the app shows the reason, one fix per reason, and the same four switches unlock every other site that says no to this card.

RedotPay app → Transactions → the declined charge
        │
        ├─ "insufficient funds"      → top up $25, the auth holds $1–2
        ├─ "do not honor"            → 3-D Secure off, then retry once
        ├─ "card not supported"      → prepaid BIN refused, see below
        └─ "incorrect details"       → name and ZIP exactly as the KYC

:puzzle_piece: The four switches

  • 3-D Secure / OTP — turn it on in RedotPay. OpenAI’s processor wants the challenge, and a card that cannot answer gets a silent no
  • International payments — on, obviously
  • Online / e-commerce — on, separate switch on most crypto cards
  • Card frozen — the one everybody forgets after a failed attempt

:bullseye: The card-side answer, in this board’s language

A US-BIN card, a US IP, and a billing ZIP that matches the card’s address. Those three agree and the charge passes.

:nerd_face: First time using a BIN? → :skull: Working BIN Masterclass

:door: The OpenAI-side answer

The “1 month free” was never on their checkout page. In September it lived in partner apps:

  • :star: Revolut’s OpenAI bundle — 3 months of ChatGPT Go free on Standard, up to 12 on higher plans, claimed inside Revolut
  • :red_apple: App-store billing — OpenAI’s own page: a subscription bought in the iOS or Android app is charged by Apple or Google, in local currency, and app-store billing accepts card families the web checkout refuses
  • :credit_card: A bank debit card on the web, VPN off, country matching

Two sides, one fix each. Start with the transaction line. :receipt:

4

Thank you for opening a discussion about this topic. I’m experiencing the same issue and I can’t make a payment with my RedotPay card.

I contacted support regarding my ChatGPT payment being declined, and they asked me to provide the card-issuing country, card type, and the exact decline message.

If anyone has found a way to fix this issue or has any suggestions, I would really appreciate your help.

6

Your card is not the problem. Stripe Radar is. OpenAI never sees the card — its payment processor scores it before any charge is attempted. :receipt:

:brain: Why this card gets a silent no

OpenAI does not approve or reject cards. Stripe does, through Radar, and it scores three things at once:

  • the issuer country in your BIN — some are hard-blocked for subscriptions
  • the IP you check out from — a VPN raises the risk score instead of lowering it
  • the address check (AVS) — the postal code you type against what the bank holds

A crypto-funded prepaid card answers “offshore, prepaid, no bank” to all three, and OpenAI’s own declined-payment page only tells you to check the number, the funds and your bank. This 2026 test write-up names the same three layers, and adds the part nobody likes: a Visa logo on a card page means nothing. OpenAI publishes no approved-card list. :bullseye:

:door: Four routes that are confirmed in 2026, cheapest first

1 · :red_apple: Subscribe inside the app. OpenAI’s billing page says it plainly: a subscription bought in the iOS or Android app is charged by Apple or Google, in your local currency. Different processor, different rules, about ten minutes. Plus only, not Pro.

2 · :india: Use your country’s local rail. The same OpenAI page lists them: UPI for India on Go and Plus · GoPay for Indonesia · Kakao Pay and Naver Pay for Korea. A local wallet skips the card question completely.

3 · :credit_card: A bank-issued virtual card. Wise issues one in a few days and it behaves like a bank card rather than a prepaid one.

4 · :chains: A card with a compliant BIN and working 3-D Secure. This is the corner of the market the board already covers: tested cards for ChatGPT Plus, October 2026 — with the honest line that “supports ChatGPT” on a vendor’s page is marketing, not a test.

:nerd_face: First time using a BIN? → :skull: Working BIN Masterclass

:wrapped_gift: And the free month

In September the free month was a partner perk, not an OpenAI checkout page: the Revolut × OpenAI bundle launched 30 July 2026 and gives 3 months of ChatGPT Go free on Standard, up to 12 months on higher plans, claimed inside Revolut. The announcement.

The 3-layer test, in the order to try it
  1. Funds — a subscription authorization holds $1–2 first. Below that, it fails before any risk check
  2. 3-D Secure — if the card cannot answer a challenge, the processor gets a silent no. Turn OTP on in the card app and retry once
  3. Country agreement — card country, billing country, and IP. All three the same, or the third one lies about the first two
  4. Then the app-store route, which replaces the whole chain with Apple’s or Google’s processor