OpenAI is rolling out a new banked usage reset for Codex accounts, giving users an additional opportunity to restore their coding usage limits when they need them. The update was announced on November 12, 2026, by Thibault Sottiaux, who leads Codex at OpenAI. He said the reset had been activated and should reach users’ accounts gradually. The announcement followed a series of Codex updates and signals another usage benefit for people building software with OpenAI’s coding tools.
Unlike a regular usage reset, which happens automatically according to a plan’s schedule, a banked reset is saved for later use. Users can choose when to redeem it rather than having it applied immediately. This makes the benefit particularly useful for developers who want to preserve additional usage capacity for a demanding coding session or a project deadline. However, the reset does not permanently increase a subscription’s usage allowance.
What Is the New Codex Banked Reset?
A banked reset is a one-time usage-limit refresh that OpenAI adds to an eligible account. Instead of immediately restoring the user’s available Codex allowance, the reset remains available until the user chooses to use it or it expires.
OpenAI’s announcement on November 12 indicated that the latest reset was being rolled out to accounts. The rollout may take some time, meaning users might not all see the benefit at the same moment.
The distinction between a banked reset and an automatic reset is important:
- Banked reset: Saved to the account and redeemed manually when needed.
- Automatic reset: Applied directly to eligible usage limits without requiring user action.
- Regular reset: Occurs automatically according to the usage schedule associated with the subscription.
The new benefit is not a cash balance, API credit or permanent increase in the number of requests available under a subscription.
How the Banked Codex Reset Works
When a user redeems a full banked reset, Codex restores the eligible usage allowances covered by the offer.
The allowances affected depend on the subscription plan. For example, Plus and Business Standard accounts have five-hour and weekly Codex usage limits, while Pro plans have a weekly allowance. The Go plan has a monthly allowance.
When a reset is applied, eligible allowances below 100% are restored to 100%. An allowance that is already at 100% is not restarted.
This means the reset can be useful even if only one of the user’s usage windows is close to its limit.
Codex usage limits covered by a full reset
| Subscription plan | Main allowance restored |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT Go | Monthly allowance |
| ChatGPT Plus | Five-hour and weekly allowances |
| Business Standard | Five-hour and weekly allowances |
| Pro 100 | Weekly allowance |
| Pro 200 | Weekly allowance |
| Pro 500 | Weekly allowance |
The exact limits and eligibility can depend on the offer associated with an account. Users should check their Usage settings before redeeming the reset.
How to Redeem the Banked Reset
Users can check whether the new benefit has reached their account through the Codex usage settings.
The process is straightforward:
- Open the ChatGPT desktop app and go to Settings → Usage & billing. On the web, open Usage settings.
- Look for a usage summary showing an available reset, such as “1 reset available” or “Full reset”.
- Select the reset option.
- Review the usage limits covered and the expiration date.
- Confirm the redemption.
Codex CLI users can also enter /usage and select the reset redemption option if it is supported by their installed version.
OpenAI’s instructions specify that a banked reset may only be redeemed when at least one covered allowance has less than 80% remaining. If all covered allowances have 80% or more remaining, the reset stays available.
Users should also distinguish between redeeming an available reset and purchasing an instant reset. The latter is a separate paid option offered to selected accounts.
Does the Reset Increase Codex Usage Permanently?
No. The banked reset is a temporary usage benefit rather than a change to the subscription’s standard limits.
Once the reset is used, the restored allowance follows a new usage schedule. This can also change the next refresh date, particularly for weekly limits.
For example, if a user’s weekly allowance is due to refresh on Friday but they redeem a reset on Tuesday, the new weekly period may begin from Tuesday. The next refresh date will then be calculated from the restarted period.
The five-hour and weekly allowances can also have different schedules. Redeeming a reset may restore one allowance while leaving another already-full allowance unchanged.
Users should therefore check the updated refresh information in their Usage settings after redeeming the benefit.
Why OpenAI Is Offering Another Codex Reset
Codex has become an important part of OpenAI’s developer ecosystem, allowing users to delegate coding tasks, work on software projects and interact with code through different development environments.
Usage limits can become particularly important for developers working on larger projects, where multiple coding requests, debugging sessions and code-generation tasks may consume available capacity.
A banked reset gives users more flexibility without permanently changing the usage limits attached to their subscriptions. Developers can save the benefit for a period when they expect to need additional capacity.
The announcement also follows other Codex updates and product improvements. OpenAI’s decision to make the reset available through a gradual rollout suggests that usage benefits remain an important part of the company’s effort to support users building with its coding tools.
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