💳 Understanding and Managing Auto Top-Up Charges

Camilo Aponte

Camilo Aponte

Last updated on Sep 30, 2026

🔍 What Is the Auto Top-Up Feature?

Auto top-up is a billing feature that automatically purchases additional credits when your account balance falls below a set threshold. This ensures your campaigns and tools keep running without interruption — no manual topping up required.

When you first enable auto top-up, the setting is saved to your account and will trigger every time your credit balance drops below the defined limit, not just once. Each trigger creates a separate one-time charge, not a recurring subscription charge.

⚙️ How to Check Your Auto Top-Up Settings

  1. Log in to your Search Atlas account.
  2. Click your profile icon in the top-right corner.
  3. Navigate to the Billing dashboard.
  4. Locate the Automatic top-up card to view your current threshold and top-up amount.

🛑 How to Disable Auto Top-Up

If you no longer want automatic credit purchases, you can turn off this feature at any time by following these steps:

  1. Go to the Billing dashboard in your account settings (account admin access required).
  2. Find the Automatic top-up card.
  3. Switch the toggle to Off.
  4. Confirm your selection when prompted.

Once disabled, no further automatic credit purchases will be made. Your remaining credits will still be available for use.

💡 Why You May Have Been Charged More Than Once

Customers sometimes expect auto top-up to be a single charge. Here are the most common reasons multiple charges appear:

  • High credit usage: If your tools consume credits quickly, your balance may drop below the threshold multiple times in a short period, triggering repeated top-ups.
  • Low threshold setting: A threshold set too high relative to your usage means top-ups fire more frequently.
  • Feature left enabled: If the toggle remained on after an initial purchase, the setting continued to operate as designed.

To prevent unexpected charges going forward, we recommend reviewing your threshold and top-up amount to make sure they reflect your actual usage needs — or simply disabling the feature if you prefer to manage credits manually.

💰 How to Request a Refund

If you were charged for auto top-ups you did not intend and believe a refund is warranted, our team is ready to review your case. Refund eligibility is assessed on an individual basis, and our support team will work with you to reach a fair resolution.

To submit a refund request, please have the following information ready:

  • The date(s) of the charge(s) in question.
  • The amount(s) charged.
  • A brief explanation of why you believe the charge was unintended.

If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

✅ Tips to Avoid Unexpected Top-Up Charges

  • Review your Billing & Subscription settings regularly, especially after onboarding or plan changes.
  • Set your top-up threshold lower if you want fewer, larger top-ups — or disable it entirely for full manual control.
  • Enable billing notifications in your account settings so you receive an email alert each time a top-up is triggered.
  • Monitor your credit usage dashboard to anticipate when your balance may be running low.