Short answer: a Pink Card that runs out of money is not closed immediately. When the balance reaches $0 we send an email titled "Your Pink Card balance has run out — top up to keep using it", and a 7-day grace period starts from that email. One day before the end you get a second reminder with the expected closing time. Top up at any point in those 7 days and the warning is cancelled; the card number, expiry and CVV do not change, so ChatGPT, Claude and every other subscription keep billing the same card. If the balance is still $0 when the 7 days are up, the card is closed. Nothing is lost, because the balance is already zero, but a closed card cannot be topped up again; you would need a new card and to add it to each service.
Written by the Pink Card team (pinkcard.cc). The rules are the live settings on 2026-10-20. The data comes from our own orders and charges from 2026-08-20, when top-ups opened and closing changed to warn-first, to 2026-10-20. Pink Card is not affiliated with any of the services mentioned.
What happens, step by step
- Balance getting low: if the balance will not cover the next bill, we email a low-balance alert with the last four digits of the card.
- Balance reaches $0: the next subscription charge is declined, and each declined charge costs $1 (at most 3 declined charges per card per month). You get the "balance has run out" email, and the 7-day grace period starts.
- During the grace period: the card is still open and can be topped up at any time. Once the top-up lands and the balance is above $0, the warning is cleared; if it runs out again later, a new 7 days starts.
- Last day: a second reminder with the expected closing time.
- After 7 days at $0: the card is closed. It cannot be topped up, and subscriptions that still try to charge it are declined.
What we see on our own cards
- From August 20 to October 20, 51 cards were eventually closed after the "balance has run out" email. Only 6 of them had ever been topped up.
- 8 of those 51 cards were still being retried by subscriptions during the 7-day grace period: 50 attempts, all declined. The most frequent were PikPak (billed through Google Play), ChatGPT, Google and YouTube Premium.
- On October 20, 9 cards were inside their grace period.
- Of the 88 top-ups in the same period, 25 came within 7 days after the same card had a declined charge. Many people only top up after a renewal fails; topping up a few days before the billing date avoids that.
Fees while the balance is $0
- The $2.50 monthly fee is recorded on the 1st of each month (Beijing time, UTC+8). If the grace period crosses the 1st, that month is recorded.
- Each declined subscription charge is recorded at $1, at most 3 per card per month.
- At $0 these amounts are carried, not shown as a negative balance. When you top up, they are taken from the top-up first and the rest becomes your available balance.
- Once the card is closed, nothing more is recorded.
Example: the balance runs out, a subscription retries twice in the grace period (both declined), and the 1st of the month passes. You then top up $30: $2 for the two declines and $2.50 for the monthly fee come off first, leaving $25.50 available. The cheapest habit is to top up before the balance reaches zero, or to cancel subscriptions you no longer use.
Top up with USDT or USDC
- Open pinkcard.cc/en, click "Balance & Top Up" at the top, and enter the 16-digit card number and the 3-digit lookup code.
- Choose an amount (minimum $30) and pick USDT or USDC. Send exactly the amount shown, on exactly the network you picked: USDT on BEP-20 (BSC) or ERC-20, USDC on ERC-20.
- Wait until the page shows the top-up has arrived on the card, usually within about 30 minutes. We also email you.
- Then retry the declined charge once from the service’s billing page, or let the next renewal go through. Do not retry repeatedly before the top-up arrives.
What a top-up costs
- Each top-up: $5 plus 5% of (top-up amount + $5).
- Top up $30: $5 + ($30 + $5) × 5% = $6.75, $36.75 in total.
- Top up $100: $5 + ($100 + $5) × 5% = $10.25, $110.25 in total.
- One $20 subscription (ChatGPT Plus or Claude Pro) needs $20 + $1 per-transaction fee + $2.50 monthly fee = $23.50 a month, more if tax is added; a $30 top-up covers one month.
- The $5 is charged per top-up, so one larger top-up is cheaper than several small ones: two $50 top-ups cost $115.50, one $100 top-up costs $110.25.
- Topping up beats buying a new card: adding $110 by top-up costs $120.75, while a new $110 card costs ($110 + $10) × 1.03 = $123.60, and with a new card you must add it to every service again.
Done with the card?
- Cancel each subscription in the service’s own settings first. Closing the card does not cancel subscriptions; they keep trying and keep being declined.
- You do not need to do anything with the card: after 7 days at $0 it closes automatically.
- If a little balance is left, you can spend it on a charge of about that size (leave $1 for the per-transaction fee).
Pink Card fees (as of 2026-10-20)
- Card issuance: $10 one-time, plus a 3% service fee on (card amount + $10). Presets start at $110; custom amounts from $100.
- From the card balance after activation: $1 per transaction and $2.50 per month.
- Failed authorizations are charged $1 too (at most 3 failed charges per card per month).
- Top-up of the same card: $5 plus 5% of (top-up amount + $5), minimum top-up $30, usually on the card within about 30 minutes; the card number does not change. Full fee table: pinkcard.cc/en/fees.
- Pay for a new card or a top-up with USDT (BEP-20 or ERC-20) or USDC (ERC-20).
Several subscriptions on one card? How much balance to keep: One virtual card for multiple AI subscriptions
A ChatGPT Plus renewal already failed? See: ChatGPT Plus renewal failed
A Claude Pro or Max renewal failed? See: Claude Pro renewal payment failed
Chinese version (中文版，付款方式按中文站): 虚拟卡余额用完了会怎样