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59API FAQ: refunds, invoices and GPT-5.6 Sol setup

What exactly does 59API charge me, and how does the balance work?

Developers rarely struggle with AI APIs because the models are hard to find. They struggle with the billing wrapped around them: unclear top-up options, a subscription you did not want, invoices that arrive late, and a balance you cannot get back. If you are evaluating 59API, here is the short version before we get into top-ups, invoices and refunds.

59API is an independent third-party AI API relay. One account gives you one API key and one API host, https://api.59api.com, covering Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek and other models. You fund the account with a prepaid balance, and every request is charged according to the real token usage it consumes. There is no monthly fee, and your balance never expires.

That last point matters more than it sounds. A prepaid balance removes the commitment question. You are not committing to a recurring plan you might cancel too late, and funds you have not spent stay on your account. Monthly and weekly cards are available if you want a fixed allowance instead, but they are entirely optional; the wallet balance alone is a complete way to pay.

Prices are quoted per 1 million tokens. Billing is handled in CNY, and USD figures are displayed at a reference rate of ¥7.2 = $1. The rest of this FAQ answers the three questions that come up first: how to top up, how to get an invoice, and what happens if you want unused money back.

How do I top up, which payment methods work, and can I get an invoice?

Top-ups are deliberately simple. The available amounts are ¥10, ¥50, ¥100, ¥200, ¥500 and ¥1000, and you can pay by WeChat Pay or bank card. Pick the amount that matches your testing or production rhythm, fund the account, and start sending requests against your prepaid balance. Because there is no monthly fee, your spend tracks your actual usage rather than a plan you selected in advance.

Invoices are available. If you are paying from a company account or need documentation for expense reporting, you can request an invoice for your top-up through the same account flow. The practical benefit of the prepaid model is that the billing record is simple to reconcile: the amount you paid in is the balance you spend down by request.

One more payment-related detail is worth knowing. The 59API referral programme pays 15% commission on what the people you invite pay for top-ups and cards, and 5% on what their invitees pay. Commission can be moved into your API balance, or withdrawn to Alipay from ¥50. That makes referrals a practical way to extend your runway rather than a side note.

So: small or large top-ups, two familiar payment channels, invoices on request, and a referral programme that can feed straight back into your API balance.

Can I get a refund on unused balance?

Yes, with a clear window and a clear formula. Unused balance can be refunded within 7 days of the top-up. The amount returned is the balance you have not spent, minus what was used and minus payment-channel fees. In other words, a refund covers the money still sitting on your 59API account; the portion already converted into API usage and the cost of the payment channel are not part of it.

The process runs through the Contact page. You submit the request there, and it is handled within 3 business days. Keeping the request in one place is useful because it means the refund follows the same account, the same top-up and the same balance that you are asking about, rather than a separate support workflow with different rules.

The 7-day window is the part to plan around. If you are evaluating 59API, keep your initial top-up sized to the work you actually intend to run during your first week. That keeps the refundable portion meaningful and removes the guesswork. The balance itself never expires, so there is no pressure to rush through it; the refund window is about reversing a top-up, not about consuming the balance quickly.

For a developer who wants a clear answer: request the refund through the Contact page within 7 days of the top-up, expect unused funds minus usage minus channel fees, and allow up to 3 business days for handling.

How does the GPT-5.6 Sol setup work on 59API?

Once the balance is funded, the connection is a few settings. For Codex, OpenAI SDKs, cURL and OpenAI-compatible clients such as Cursor, Cherry Studio, Cline and OpenCode, use base_url https://api.59api.com/v1 and the chat endpoint https://api.59api.com/v1/chat/completions. Put your key in the client as YOUR_59API_KEY. One key and one host cover the whole setup.

There are two protocol boundaries worth respecting. Claude models work only through the genuine Claude Code or Claude Desktop client, version 2.1.285 or newer, configured with ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://api.59api.com and ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN=YOUR_59API_KEY; they do not work through the OpenAI SDK, cURL or other clients. Gemini models use Google's native protocol only, through Gemini CLI with GOOGLE_GEMINI_BASE_URL=https://api.59api.com and GEMINI_API_KEY=YOUR_59API_KEY, and are not available on /v1/chat/completions.

Now the numbers for GPT-5.6 Sol, model id gpt-5.6-sol. Per 1 million tokens: input $0.3472 (¥2.5), output $1.94 (¥14), cache read $0.0278 (¥0.2). The official list price reference is $4 / $20, with OpenAI promotional pricing at least through 2026-11-21.

One worked example, no cache involved: 2M input plus 0.5M output tokens costs $1.67 (¥12) on 59API, against about $18 (about ¥129.6) at the official list price, so roughly 9% of list price. That is the practical payoff of routing through one prepaid 59API balance.

Should I use an optional card instead of wallet balance?

Cards sit alongside the prepaid balance rather than replacing it. Each card has its own key, can call only that card's model family, and is paid only from the card itself. A card never falls back to wallet balance, and a balance key never draws on a card. Unused card quota does not roll over. Quota and caps are card metering units written in $, not official list-price dollars, so they should not be converted into official prices.

For example, the C-PRO Starter Edition for Claude over 30 days is $83.19 (¥599), with quota $1300 and a weekly cap of $500. It drains at the card's metering price × 2.4, and its reference value at official list prices is about $361.11 (¥2600). The G-PRO Starter Edition for GPT over 30 days is also $83.19 (¥599), with quota $3250 and a weekly cap of $1250, draining at the card's metering price × 2.4, with a reference value at official list prices of about $902.78 (¥6500).

If you prefer a shorter commitment, the weekly C-PRO $600 card for Claude, valid for 7 days, is $40.14 (¥289), with quota $600 and a weekly cap of $600, also draining at the card's metering price × 2.4.

Here is the decision in brief. Use the prepaid balance when you want flexible, non-expiring funds, clear top-up amounts from ¥10 to ¥1000, invoices and a 7-day refund window on unused balance. Use a card when you want a fixed, time-boxed allowance for one model family with its own key. Either way, 59API bills by real token usage, and you stay in control of the spend.

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