Promotions in NCE

Introduction

This article explains how Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) promotions work in the New Commerce Experience (NCE). It covers supported promotion types, eligibility rules, seat constraints, redemption limits, geography restrictions, and how promotions interact with Subscription terms and renewals. This article is intended for Sellers and Distributors transacting through Microsoft Partner Center.

In this article:

• Supported promotion types
• Seat (quantity) constraints
• Customer eligibility
• Add-on subscriptions
• Promotion term and renewals
• Redemption limits
• Promotions based on existing products
• Geography restrictions
• Purchase event restrictions
• Discovering and verifying promotions

Supported promotion types

Microsoft supports promotions in Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider NCE for Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform products. Promotions have varying discount amounts and durations.

Percent-off a subscription

• Promotions are implemented as a percentage off a given Subscription (Monthly Billing, Annual Billing, or multi-year).
• Example: a price reduction by percentage off on a given monthly or annual Subscription price.

Seat (quantity) constraints

Promotions can specify minimum or maximum Seat allowances. The following rules apply:

• Minimum: a promotion can be applied to purchases of a defined number of Seats or more.
• Maximum: a promotion can be applied up to a maximum Quantity of Seats. Seats beyond the allowed maximum are billed at the regular Price.
• If a purchase exceeds the maximum, the transaction is deemed ineligible and the promotional Discount is not applied.
• Seat increases also enforce maximum constraints. Sellers who acquired a Subscription under a promotion with a maximum constraint can only add Seats up to that limit.

Customer eligibility

• Current NCE promotions support confirming whether a Customer already has an active Subscription to a given product.
• Some promotions are available only for new-to-offer Customers. The eligibility check validates whether the Customer tenant has any provisioned Seats for the Product — including from a different Seller or via webDirect — in the past year.

Add-on subscriptions

• Promotions are individually applied to both primary Offers and Add-on Subscriptions.
• A Customer must meet any prerequisite Product ownership requirements before an add-on promotion is applied.

Promotion term and renewals

• A promotion acquired at purchase is valid for the full duration of the purchased Commitment Period. For example, an annual Subscription receives the promotional Price for the entire Term Duration.
• Seat increases during the Term respect the promotional Price for the remainder of that Term.
• At Renewal, the promotional Discount is reapplied if the promotion is still active on the Renewal date. If the promotion has expired, the Subscription reverts to the standard Price.

Redemption limits

• Some promotions have a redemption limit, allowing the promotion to be applied only a certain number of times per Customer, regardless of how many Sellers that Customer works with.
• The verifyPromotionEligibility API returns a RedemptionLimit error when the limit is exceeded.

Promotions based on existing products

• Some promotions are available only if the Customer already owns a specific Product.
• If the Customer has the required Products defined in the eligibility rules, the promotion is applied automatically at purchase.

Geography restrictions

• Geographic restrictions are based on the Customer's country. This information is included in the promotion details available from the Global Promo Readiness Guide and the getPromotions API.

Purchase event restrictions

• Current NCE promotions support only new Subscriptions and Renewal events — mid-term applications are not supported outside of these events.

Discovering and verifying promotions

NCE promotions are applied automatically when a Customer is eligible. Sellers have two key resources to discover available promotions:

• The Global Promo Readiness Guide — editorially maintained and updated monthly.
• The getPromotions API — returns active promotions for a given market and segment, including Discount percentages, eligible Products, and eligibility rules.
• Microsoft Partner Center > Pricing workspace > Benefits (Beta) — download a promotion list by market and segment (available from March 2026).

Promotions are described in terms of Discount percentages, not final Price amounts. Sellers are expected to pass the Discount amounts through to their Customers. The wholesale Markup is not affected by applicable promotions. Incentives are earned based on wholesale pricing net of discounts. See the Partner incentives program page for further details.

Summary

Microsoft NCE promotions allow Sellers to offer Customers percentage-based Discounts on Subscriptions for Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform products. Promotions are applied automatically when eligibility criteria — including Seat counts, Customer history, product ownership prerequisites, geographic restrictions, and redemption limits — are satisfied. The promotional Price is locked for the full purchased Term and may be renewed if the promotion remains active. Sellers should always verify eligibility via the verifyPromotionEligibility API or Microsoft Partner Center before submitting a transaction.

Related content

• New commerce promotions — Microsoft Partner Center documentation
• Global Promo Readiness Guide
• Partner incentives program
• Verify promotion eligibility API