What’s Astra credit?
It’ll be a vague idea to talk about Astra credits without talking about Astra DB.
Astra DB is a Cassandra Database-as-a-Service built by Datastax. Its multi-cloud model lets you deploy on multiple cloud platforms and, with its serverless nature, you can never go wrong with paying for only what you use.
You need a good grasp of Apache Cassandra to build modern data applications with Astra DB. If you’re new to Cassandra or looking for resources to learn from, good news: Datastax Academy provides everything you need to become a certified Apache Cassandra developer.
Astra credit
Astra credit is a virtual currency that covers the cost of running Cassandra in the cloud with Astra DB or using Astra DB services. Cloud costs can also be paid for with debit or credit cards, but with up to $3,000 in Astra credit, you can save costs till the credit is exhausted. It’s like a type of giveaway or discount.
Why do you need it?
Perhaps you are in the process of building a startup, or you have built one and you're ready to launch. Well, with up to $3,000 in Astra credits, you can save the cloud costs associated with developing and testing your application before launch. This way, you can focus more on building your application and forget about funding and cloud costs during the development phase and maybe after launch (early stage).
Self-funded startups would greatly benefit from Astra credit. When building a startup independently, you don’t want to go through the hassle of searching for cloud platforms with very limited free trials.
In another post, I’ll talk more about why you should use Astra DB as the database for your application. For now, let’s go get those credits.
How to claim it
It's no new thing that when you need a service, you need to sign up or create an account. Thanks to Datastax UX engineers for making this process fast and seamless. To get started, all you need is an active email account. You can also sign up on Astra DB if you have a Google or GitHub account.
1. Go to the Astra DB website:
Click on the "Sign Up" text button to create a new account.
2. Input your details or sign up with Google or GitHub:
Like I said earlier, a valid email would do, but if you prefer to use your Google or GitHub account, click on each button, respectively.
After signing up, complete the necessary verification and on-boarding procedures.
3. Go to your dashboard
Astra does this step for you. You should be redirected to your dashboard after verification and on-boarding. On the dashboard, click the request button on the "Claim up to $3,000 in free credits for your qualified Startup!" UI bar. This pops up the chat system with a default message.
4. Click on the send button
After sending the default message, a Datastax engineer will respond with the information required to commence and complete your application.
Now you can sit tight and hope for the best.
Note: This offer is only open to funded start-ups with high growth applications. As at the time of writing this article, claiming up to $3,000 in Astra credits is available on Datastax's Astra DB and might not be available in the future.