How to Claim TikTok Ad Credit

Receiving ad credit from TikTok is a great way to kickstart your advertising efforts or expand your budget without additional cost. We'll walk you through exactly where to find TikTok ad credits and the precise steps you need to take to claim and use them effectively.

What Are TikTok Ad Credits, Anyway?

Simply put, TikTok ad credits are promotional coupons provided by TikTok to be used for your advertising campaigns on the platform. Think of it as free money that can only be spent on running TikTok ads. This credit is applied directly to your TikTok Ads Manager account and automatically covers eligible ad costs until the balance runs out or expires.

These credits are an incentive from TikTok to encourage businesses — especially new advertisers — to get started and explore the potential of the platform. For marketers and business owners, they offer several clear advantages:

• Reduced Ad Spend: The most obvious benefit is that you get to run campaigns without spending your own money (or at least, spending less of it upfront). This lowers your customer acquisition cost (CAC) and can immediately improve your return on ad spend (ROAS).

• Risk-Free Experimentation: Unsure if your B2B service will resonate with the TikTok audience? Want to test a bold new video creative? Ad credits give you a risk-free budget to experiment with new audiences, ad formats, and messaging without putting your core marketing budget on the line.

• Extended Campaign Reach: Ad credits can act as a budget booster. If your daily budget is $50, a $100 ad credit effectively doubles your ad spend for two days, allowing you to reach more people, gather data faster, and achieve your campaign objectives sooner.

Where to Find TikTok Ad Credits

TikTok doesn't just hand out ad credits randomly, they are typically part of specific promotions and partnerships. Knowing where to look is the first step to securing them. Here are the most common places to find TikTok ad credit offers.

For New Advertisers and Sign-Ups

The most common and accessible source of ad credit is the new advertiser promotion. To entice new businesses onto the platform, TikTok frequently runs an introductory offer. It's usually a match-style promotion, such as:

• "Spend $50, Get $150 in Ad Credit"

• "Spend $300, Get $300 in Ad Credit"

The exact amounts can vary by country and the specific time of the promotion. To qualify, you must be a completely new advertiser with no prior spending history on your account. The offer is often automatically presented to you when you first set up your TikTok Ads Manager account and billing information. You don't usually need a code for this, you just have to meet the spending threshold within a specific timeframe (e.g., within 31 days of account creation).

Partnerships with Other Platforms

Check the dashboards of the other tools you use regularly. TikTok builds strategic partnerships with many SaaS companies, e-commerce platforms, and website builders. As part of these collaborations, they offer exclusive ad credits to those companies' user bases. Look for these offers in:

• E-commerce Platforms: If you run a store on Shopify, BigCommerce, or a similar platform, check their app store or partnership benefits page. Often, integrating their TikTok sales channel app unlocks an ad credit offer.

• Website Builders: Companies like Wix and Squarespace have been known to offer TikTok ad credits to users who are building and promoting their websites.

• Marketing Software: Email marketing services and CRM platforms sometimes team up with TikTok to provide co-marketing offers. Keep an eye on a platform's integrations or "perks" section.

Seasonal Campaigns and Events

During key marketing periods, TikTok often rolls out promotional ad credit opportunities to encourage more advertising on the platform. Keep an eye out for these campaigns during seasons like:

• Black Friday / Cyber Monday (BFCM)

• Holiday Season (December)

• Back to School

• Major national holidays or industry-specific events

These offers may be communicated via email newsletters from TikTok for Business or through pop-up notifications directly within your Ads Manager dashboard.

Official TikTok for Business Communications

One of the easiest ways to stay informed is to follow the source directly. Make sure you are subscribed to the TikTok for Business email newsletter and follow their official social media profiles (especially on LinkedIn). This is where they formally announce public-facing promotions and program updates that may include ad credit incentives.

How to Claim Your TikTok Ad Credit: A Step-by-Step Guide

Got an ad credit offer or a coupon code? Great! Now it's time to add it to your account. The process is straightforward, but it can vary slightly based on the type of offer (automatic new user credit vs. a physical coupon code a partner gave you).

For Coupon Codes:

If you have a specific promo code (a string of letters and numbers), you’ll need to apply it manually.

1. Log in to your TikTok Ads Manager account.

2. From the main dashboard, look for your avatar or business name in the very top right navigation bar. Click on it.

3. From the dropdown menu, select "Payment."

4. On the payment page, you’ll see your current balance and payment methods. At the top of the main screen, click on "Ad Credit" from the page navigation list.

5. You should see an option that says "Add an Ad Credit Coupon" with an "Add now" button. Click it.

6. A pop-up window will appear asking you to enter your coupon code. Carefully type or paste your code into the box.

7. Click "Apply," and if the code is valid and you're eligible, the credit will be added to your account balance.

For Automatic "Spend X, Get Y" Offers:

The new advertiser promotions are less about entering a code and more about meeting the requirements to unlock the credit.

1. Set up your TikTok Ads Manager account and complete all profile information.

2. Add a valid billing and payment method.

3. Launch one or more ad campaigns.

4. Spend the required amount of your own money (e.g., $50) on running these campaigns. (Note: The spend requirement is often net of taxes).

5. Once your accumulated ad spend hits the required threshold within the specified time, the promotional ad credit (e.g., $150) will be automatically applied to your account. You'll typically get an email notification when this happens.

You can always check your ad credit balance by navigating back to the Payment > Ad Credit section of your Ads Manager.

Don't Ignore the Fine Print: Key Things to Check

Free ad credit is fantastic, but it almost always comes with terms and conditions. Ignoring these can cause you to miss out on the offer or be unable to use the credits. Always check for:

• Expiration Date: Ad credits are not forever. They almost always come with an expiration date, which can range from 30 to 90 days. Make sure you use the full amount of credit before it disappears.

• Spend Requirement Window: For a "spend-and-get" offer, there is always a timeframe in which you must hit the spending target (e.g., you must spend $50 within your first 31 days).

• Geographic and Currency Limitations: Most coupon codes are tied to a specific country and currency. A code intended for advertisers in Brazil will not work for an account based in the United States.

• Account Type: Some credits are only valid for self-serve business accounts, not accounts managed via an agency. Check the eligibility requirements carefully.

• Usage Priority: Your account will typically draw from your expiring ad credits before charging your linked credit card or debit card. Once the ad credit is used up, it will transition to your default payment method without interrupting your campaign delivery.

Pro Tips: Making Every Ad Credit Dollar Count

The goal isn't just to spend your credit, it's to use it strategically to grow your business. Here are a few ways to get maximum value from your TikTok ads credits:

1. Run A/B Tests on Your Creative

Do you have a hunch that user-generated content (UGC) might outperform your polished studio ad? Use your ad credit to test that hypothesis. Create two identical ad groups targeting the same audience, but in ad group A, use the UGC creative, and in ad group B, use the polished one. The credit funds the experiment, and the data you gather on click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates will inform your ad strategy for months to come.

2. Test New Targeting and Audiences

Expanding into a new market? Want to see if a younger demographic is interested in your product? Your ad credit is the perfect way to test these waters. Clone your most successful campaign, but swap the audience for the new one you want to explore. This allows you to gather baseline performance data on new audiences without touching your core ad budget.

3. Drive Traffic to a High-Converting Landing Page

If you're confident in your funnel, use the credit to pour jet fuel on what's already working. Direct the ad credit-funded traffic straight to a specific landing page with a clear offer and call-to-action (CTA). This is a great way to generate leads, drive email sign-ups, or get direct sales with minimal upfront cost.

Final Thoughts

TikTok ad credits are a powerful tool for reducing your marketing costs and gathering valuable data risk-free. By finding active promotions, following the claim process carefully, and understanding the terms, you can effectively give your TikTok advertising strategy a major boost without increasing your budget.

Once your campaigns — both credit-funded and regular — are running, the challenge shifts to tracking what's actually working across TikTok and all your other sales and marketing channels. At Graphed , we created a way to simplify this process. We let you connect data from all your platforms and ask for instant dashboards in plain English. You can ask things like, "compare my TikTok cost per lead with my Facebook Ads cost per lead for last month," and get an immediate, real-time report, saving you the headache of manual spreadsheet analysis.