There are no benefits to being a MS Partner
The absolute absurdity of being a Microsoft Partner is beyond insanity. Some of us have built businesses around the Microsoft Ecosystem (STUPIDLY I MUST ADD). And for what? For Microsoft to block us from our accounts and give zero explanation of the issue? As I am sure others have seen since there are posts everywhere of other people having the same issues, its mind blowing that Microsoft does nothing to assist its partners who are the ones generating them the revenue. Supporting their crappy products over and over and over again being the ones on the front lines getting beat up by their customers because of constant outages, constant issues. Back in September my account was blocked. Not one bit of an explanation. Not one email telling me why. The only thing I got was a notice saying my visual studio enterprise license was removed. Upon checking I couldn't find anything. I open a support ticket. And so far, the only thing I have been told is my account has been blocked. Yet not one person can apparently tell me why? Not one person can tell me what I need to do to fix it? Not one person can even get on the phone to assist on this. Before I lost numerous customers because of this. I was selling 30k a month in licenses. And now because my account was blocked, I have lost access to a crap ton of my development, I have lost access to any and all of the benefits. I have lost access to basically everything even though when you look at my partner center account. Every single thing still shows active / approved. Etc. My suggestion, if you are considering becoming a Microsoft Partner. DONT. SIMPLE AS THAT. The fact they can block you from doing business, block access to products and services you have paid for. And give you zero ability to fix it so you lose numerous customers and don't even tell you what happened or what needs to be done to rectify the issue. Partnering with Microsoft is the single biggest mistake I have made as a business owner. The second biggest would be that I built my development side of the business fully integrated into the MS ecosystem. Which made it so they cost me countless amounts of money and ability to even do business with my customers.
Modernized Azure Credits Redemption Unavailable Despite Official Launch
Hello Microsoft Partner Community, I would like to raise a concern regarding the transparency and regional availability of Microsoft's modernized Azure Credits redemption experience. I am a Microsoft partner registered in China and purchased Solutions Partner designation (SPD) benefits for the first time. My order was placed on September 29, 2026, and payment was completed on October 8, 2026. However, after payment, I discovered that my Partner Center account still only supports the legacy "Assign user" Azure Credits redemption method. IMPORTANT: NO BENEFITS HAVE BEEN REDEEMED OR USED. I want to emphasize the following facts: I have NOT redeemed a single benefit. I have NOT activated or used any benefit. I have NOT opened, revealed, or viewed ANY license key or product key. I have NOT assigned any Azure Credits to a user. I have NOT activated any Azure sponsorship subscription. ALL purchased benefits remain completely untouched. I intentionally stopped all redemption activities after discovering that the modernized experience was unavailable. WHY IS THIS CONCERNING? On August 3, 2026, Microsoft officially announced that the updated benefits redemption process was live, identifying "All partners" as the affected audience. Furthermore, on September 21, 2026, Microsoft Community Manager JillArmourMicrosoft stated in the Partner Benefits Forum: "Microsoft recently modernized the Azure benefits redemption experience." Both announcements were published BEFORE I purchased my SPD benefits. However, Microsoft's documentation also states that modernized Azure Credits redemption is only available in countries and regions where the rollout has been completed. Unfortunately, Microsoft has not published a clear list of supported countries or regions. As a result, partners cannot reliably determine whether the modernized experience will actually be available before making a purchase. WHY DOES THE REDEMPTION METHOD MATTER? I already operate production workloads on existing Azure subscriptions that have approved service quotas. These quotas are essential to my production environment and cannot currently be requested or obtained on newly created standard Azure subscriptions. The modernized redemption experience would allow eligible Azure Credits to be applied to an existing MCA billing profile, enabling me to use the credits with my established subscriptions. However, the legacy redemption method requires creating a separate Azure subscription that does not have access to these approved quotas. Therefore, the legacy redemption method is not a practical alternative for my existing production environment. MY QUESTIONS FOR MICROSOFT Regional availability: Which countries and regions currently support modernized Azure Credits redemption? Has the modernized redemption experience launched for partners registered in China? If not, when is it expected to become available? Official announcements: Why did Microsoft announce that the updated redemption experience was live while regional restrictions remained in place? Why is there no clear regional availability warning before purchasing SPD benefits? Existing purchase: Since I purchased my benefits after Microsoft's official announcements, can my existing purchase be converted to the modernized redemption experience? Refund and repurchase: If migration is not possible, can Microsoft approve a full refund? Again, I have NOT redeemed any benefits, activated anything, or viewed a single product key. If a refund is approved, will I be able to purchase the same SPD benefits again after modernized redemption becomes available in China, provided I still meet the qualification requirements? Will the refunded order affect any purchase frequency restrictions or future eligibility? Refund deadline: Given the limited refund request window, can Microsoft confirm how my eligibility will be handled while this issue is being investigated? MY REQUEST I understand that global feature rollouts may take place in phases. However, the availability of a paid benefit's redemption method should be clearly disclosed before purchase. I am not requesting additional benefits. I am requesting accurate information and a fair resolution. I have already contacted Microsoft Support, but I believe this issue deserves public clarification because other partners may face the same situation. Most importantly, 100% of my purchased benefits remain unused and unredeemed, and NO product or license keys have ever been viewed. I would greatly appreciate a response from a Microsoft Community Manager or Partner Center product team representative. Thank you.
Question about Silver and Gold Legacy Benefits Renewal
Hello, During Inspire's session https://inspire.microsoft.com/en-US/sessions/8c3d53b4-6968-4f49-8d68-56fccabb9b29?source=sessions, the question was asked - Are Silver and Gold Benefits packages going away? The response was "They are NOT." So how will that work for a partner who decide to still go with the legacy benefits for one more year? - What are the Pros and Cons of keeping Legacy Benefits? - How will it work in FY24 and how will the partner be notified? - What is the most at lost to a Partner staying with Legacy? - Will the partner still be able to renew its Specialization - or is a Designation absolutely necessary to do so? - Can a partner who purchased Legacy benefits last year and who is now currently ENROLLED to the new Designation program renew at anniversary if the required score is no longer at 70? Can there be an exception? I am lalso ooking for documentation about Renewing Legacy Benefits, but so far I haven't found anything. Thanking you in advance for your help.
