Effective May 1, 2024, the availability of Azure compute reservation exchanges for Azure Virtual Machine (VM), Azure Dedicated Host, and Azure App Service offerings has been extended until further notice. An exchange refers to modifying an existing reservation by changing its attributes, such as instance series, region, or term. Exchanges are changing only for Azure Virtual Machine, Azure Dedicated Host and Azure App Service reservations. The policy change does not affect any other types of reservations.
Key Points
- Exchange Availability: The option to exchange Azure compute reservations will continue beyond the previously set deadline of July 1, 2024, until further notice.
- Grace Period Extension: Customers can exchange their compute reservations for different instance series and regions until further notice. Microsoft will notify affected customers of changes to this extension at least six months in advance.
- Post-Grace Period:
- After the extended grace period, one additional exchange is allowed for each compute reservation purchased during the grace period.
- Any Azure Virtual Machine, Azure Dedicated Host and Azure App Service reservation acquired after the grace period ends (either through a new reservation purchase or reservation exchange), will have a no-exchange policy.
Reservation exchange policy update
The Azure savings plan for compute, introduced in October 2022, offers savings on consistent expenditure across various compute services and regions. Following this plan, Azure has updated its reservation exchange policy to include:
- Instance Size Flexibility: After the grace period, you can still change the VM size within the same reservation, but exchanges of instance series or regions will cease.
- Savings Plan Option: Customers may convert their compute reservations to a savings plan or continue purchasing reservations for predictable and stable workloads.
Scenarios of applying the reservation exchange policy
Scenario A: Grace-Period Purchase
- Context: You purchase a one-year Azure compute reservation between October 2022 and the grace period’s end.
- Exchange During Grace Period: You can exchange it as many times as needed.
- Post-Grace Period: One more exchange is allowed until the reservation expires.
- Important Note: Exchanges after the grace period are treated as cancellations and new purchases.
- Alternative: You can always trade in the reservation for an Azure savings plan, without time limit.
Scenario B: Post-Grace Period Purchase
- Context: You acquire a one-year compute reservation after the grace period.
- Exchange Limit: It cannot be exchanged.
- Consider: Transitioning to a savings plan for ongoing flexibility.
Scenario C: Partial Exchange
- Context: You purchase a ten-unit three-year compute reservation before the grace period ends.
- Partial Exchange: You exchange two units post-grace period.
- Remaining Units: The eight leftover units remain exchangeable.
- Always Available: Trading in for a savings plan has no time limit.
More information
For the announcement and more info on the policy change, please visit: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/reservations/reservation-exchange-policy-changes.
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