Auto-reload so tests do not die
Save a card in billing, set a balance threshold and a reload amount, and the account tops up when available prepaid funds drop below the threshold. Consecutive payment failures turn the policy off.
Published 2026-09-09 · Search job: auto reload ad budget
Auto-reload keeps a prepaid test alive by charging a saved card when available balance drops below the threshold you set. Without it, campaigns pause when the wallet empties.
This page describes the feature. It does not publish wallet balances or account ids. /dashboard/billing is where you turn it on.
What you set
Open billing and start Stripe setup to save a card. That is a setup session, not a media charge. After the card is on file, set:
- Enabled or not.
- A threshold. The product requires at least $5.
- A reload amount. The product allows $5 through $5,000.
When available balance drops below the threshold, the runner creates a funding intent and charges the saved card for the reload amount. Triggers are the balance threshold and a catch-up pass. A daily-cap pause is different: the campaign spent its daily number and waits for UTC midnight. That can happen with a healthy wallet. Do not diagnose a daily-cap pause as "auto-reload failed."
Prepaid runway vs a paused portfolio is the Lab version of that split. Runway without reading account_auto_reload_policies.enabled is a countdown you may be inventing. A short runway with auto-reload on is a non-event. The same runway with auto-reload off is how a weekend test dies.
What turns it off
Consecutive payment failures disable the policy and record a reason. Prepaid balance then stops topping up. Active campaigns pause when the wallet empties. That is an account-level stop, not a targeting problem.
You can remove the saved card from billing. That also turns automatic top-up off. Agents do not collect a new card in chat. If the policy needs a new card, the human opens the setup link again.
The policy also carries per-day reload caps and a cooldown so a tight threshold cannot charge in a loop. Those limits live on the policy object. This guide will not invent typical values beyond the $5 minimums above.
When to use it
Use it when a first test is supposed to run while you are not watching billing. Founders who set a $20/day cell and then travel are the usual case. Do not use it as a way to raise spend without looking at the report. The daily cap is still the daily cap. Auto-reload only refills the prepaid wallet that the cap draws from.
Refunds and payment-data rules stay on the legal pages linked from Pricing. Card entry stays on Stripe.
If you have not funded the first test yet, start at First paid test with a prepaid wallet. If you have not opened the account, start at Buy ads without an agency.