Many Copilot users have recently encountered the message:
“You have exceeded your premium request allowance.”
Although this looks like an error, it is in fact an intentional system behavior. This article provides an explanation based on various GitHub Community discussions (162585 / 165869 / 164846).
■ What This Message Actually Means
→ You have used up your monthly Premium Request quota.
Copilot internally distinguishes between:
- Premium Requests (requests to high-capacity models)
- Base Requests (standard autocompletion)
When you consume too many Premium Requests—especially with chat, agent features, or large-scale code refactoring—your monthly allowance is exhausted.
GitHub does not explicitly publish this limit, but the behavior is consistent across many users.
■ Evidence from Community Reports
① “This always happens near the end of the month.”
(Discussion #165869)**
Users who rely heavily on Copilot Chat hit the limit faster.
② “Educational benefits also have limits.”
(Discussion #164846)**
Even free academic accounts have a Premium quota.
③ “Copilot falls back to the base model.”
(Discussion #162585)
You can still use Copilot—just not the high-end models.
■ Why You Hit the Limit
- Frequent use of Copilot Chat
- Large-scale refactoring
- Long prompts
- Repeated agent calls
- Using the highest-tier model as default
- Extra billing budget set to 0, blocking additional usage
■ How to Fix or Manage This
1. Wait for the monthly reset
This is the most reliable solution.
2. Continue working with the base model
Copilot still works; only premium features are restricted.
3. Reduce Premium Request usage
- Use shorter prompts
- Avoid unnecessary high-tier model calls
- Let autocompletion handle simpler tasks
4. Enable extra billing budget (optional)
Several users report that setting a budget above 0 allows additional usage after exceeding the quota.
■ Summary
“You have exceeded your premium request allowance” =
You reached the monthly quota for high-capacity AI model usage.
- Not a bug
- Your access resets monthly
- Copilot remains usable via the base model
- Usage patterns strongly affect consumption
Understanding this helps you use Copilot more efficiently and avoid unnecessary interruptions.
1. Premium request problem — GitHub Community Discussion #162585
Explains what the “You have exceeded your premium request allowance” message means.
https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/162585
2. “You have exceeded your premium request allowance.” — Discussion #165869
User reports on premium quota exhaustion, fallback to base models, and usage patterns.
https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/165869
3. Issue with GitHub Copilot Premium Request Limit on Student Pack — Discussion #164846
Confirms that educational accounts still have premium request limits.
https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/164846
4. GitHub Official Docs — “Requests in GitHub Copilot”
Explains request types, billing, premium vs base requests, and resets.
https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/billing/copilot-requests
5. GitHub Blog (Official) — “Update to GitHub Copilot consumptive billing experience” (2025-06-18)
Official announcement introducing monthly premium request allowances for paid plans.
https://github.blog/changelog/2025-06-18-update-to-github-copilot-consumptive-billing-experience/
