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59API FAQ: refunds, invoices, cards and Claude Sonnet 5.5 API relay

What does 59API charge for, and when?

Developers usually get stuck on billing surprises: a subscription they forgot about, credits that quietly expire, or a bill that arrives after a project is already live. 59API removes that category of friction. It is an independent third-party AI API relay, and you work with a prepaid balance charged per request according to real token usage. There is no monthly fee, and your balance never expires. A quiet week costs nothing extra, and a busy week is billed on what you actually consumed.

One account and one API key give you one API host at https://api.59api.com across Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek and other models. You are not juggling separate subscriptions per vendor, and you are not committing to a fixed plan before you know your traffic. Billing is denominated in CNY, with USD figures displayed at ¥7.2 = $1, so you can read costs in whichever unit suits your team.

For example, Claude Sonnet 5.5 on 59API is $1.11 (¥8) per 1 million input tokens and $5.56 (¥40) per 1 million output tokens, with cache reads at $0.0972 (¥0.7). The official list price reference is $2 / $10. If you want the numbers before you commit, that is the whole model: pick a rate, top up, and pay only for the requests you send.

Which payment methods can I use to top up?

59API supports top-ups of ¥10, ¥50, ¥100, ¥200, ¥500 and ¥1000. Payment is handled with WeChat Pay or a bank card, so you can use whichever method your finance setup already supports. Because the balance is prepaid and charged per request, a small top-up is a low-commitment way to test the relay, and larger denominations are there when your usage becomes predictable.

Monthly and weekly cards are optional, so the wallet route stays available whether you want a small experiment or a steady stream of traffic. Nothing on the balance expires, which means an unused ¥50 is still there when the next project starts. Cards work differently, and we cover that separately below.

Invoices are available, which matters if you need a receipt for a client or for reimbursement. The practical sequence is simple: create your account, choose a top-up amount, pay by WeChat Pay or bank card, and the balance becomes usable against real token usage. There is no monthly fee riding on top of that top-up, and no separate charge for keeping the account open.

One practical note: this is a prepaid model, so decide how much you are comfortable holding on the platform before you top up, and keep an eye on your balance as you develop. 59API keeps the spend visible at request level rather than at renewal time.

Can I get a refund if I do not use my balance?

Yes, within a defined window. Unused balance can be refunded within 7 days of the top-up, minus what was used and payment-channel fees. In other words, a recent top-up that has not been spent is refundable; once requests have consumed part of it, the used portion and the channel fees come off the refund.

Requests go through the Contact page, and they are handled within 3 business days. That is the process: submit the request through Contact, and the team reviews the top-up, subtracts usage and payment-channel fees, and processes the remaining eligible amount.

The 7-day window is the detail to remember, especially if you are testing several models at once. If you add ¥500 while comparing Claude Sonnet 5.5 with GPT-6.1 Sol and then spend part of it on both, the unused portion stays within scope only while it is inside 7 days of the top-up.

If you are close to the deadline, submitting early through the Contact page is the sensible move. There is no need to guess about the channel fees; they are part of the calculation and are deducted rather than hidden behind a separate rule.

How do cards differ from wallet balance on 59API?

Cards are optional, and they behave differently from prepaid balance. A card has its own key, can call that family's models, and is paid only from the card. It never falls back to wallet balance, and a balance key never draws on a card. Unused quota does not roll over.

For example, the Claude Pro entry card (30 days) costs $83.19 (¥599), carries quota $1300 with a weekly cap $500, and drains at the card's metering price × 2.4. Its reference value at official list prices is about $361.11 (¥2600). A shorter option is the weekly Claude Pro $600 card (7 days) at $40.14 (¥289), with quota $600 and weekly cap $600.

The GPT side follows the same pattern: the GPT Pro entry card (30 days) is $83.19 (¥599) with quota $3250 and weekly cap $1250. Quota and caps are card metering units written in $, not official list-price dollars, so treat them as card mechanics rather than as a direct comparison to list prices.

In short: use balance for steady, flexible pay-as-you-go work, and consider a card when you want a defined window and a dedicated key for one model family.

What will a real workload cost, and how do I connect?

Rates are per 1 million tokens, so a worked example is the fastest way to judge a relay. For Claude Sonnet 5.5, 3M input + 0.5M output tokens without cache costs $6.11 (¥44) on 59API. At official list price, the same workload is $11 (about ¥79.2), so 59API is about 56% of list price.

GPT-6.1 Sol shows a different spread. 5M input + 1M output tokens without cache is $1.85 (¥13.32) on 59API, against official list price $20 (about ¥144), which is about 9% of list price. These are reference comparisons rather than a promise about every workload, but they show why checking the per-token rate matters.

Connecting Claude takes two settings. Set ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://api.59api.com and ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN=YOUR_59API_KEY. Claude models work only through the genuine Claude Code or Claude Desktop client, version 2.1.285 or newer, never through the OpenAI SDK, cURL or other clients. For GPT and other non-Claude, non-Gemini models, base_url is https://api.59api.com/v1 and the chat endpoint is https://api.59api.com/v1/chat/completions.

What should I know before I top up?

59API is an independent third-party AI API relay, not an official channel of any model vendor. Official list prices appear only as reference points for comparison. Billing is in CNY with USD shown at ¥7.2 = $1, and there is no monthly fee on top of your usage.

If you want to bring others in, the referral programme pays 15% commission on what people you invite pay for top-ups and cards, and 5% on what their invitees pay. Commission can be withdrawn to Alipay from ¥50 or moved to your API balance.

A quick checklist before you start: pick a top-up amount of ¥10, ¥50, ¥100, ¥200, ¥500 or ¥1000; pay by WeChat Pay or bank card; request an invoice if you need one; note the 7-day refund window for unused balance; and decide whether a balance key or a dedicated card key fits your workflow better.

Then connect the host https://api.59api.com and start with one request. Small, deliberate top-ups plus transparent per-token billing make it easy to see whether 59API fits the way you actually work.

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