I spent 150 RMB to have someone top up my ChatGPT Plus on August 10, 2026. That was the beginning of everything. I think most people have had similar experiences—just trying to save trouble, but not realizing how many opportunities they missed, nor how FOMO the market actually was.
Looking back now, from Plus to 5X to 20X, I have paid nearly a thousand RMB extra. Dropped subscriptions with no after-sales service have become common. So this is a pitfall avoidance guide, and also the starting point for anyone who wants to do the GPT account topping business.
I pay people to top up my ChatGPT not because it's cheap, but because I don't want to hassle with it.
Hi, I'm A Hang. This is my complete story. I will give you an actionable method at the end, along with a 300 RMB benefit, so please make sure to watch until the end. If you don't have time right now, I suggest a one-click four-step action: like, retweet, favorite, and follow. Avoid missing this article. I don't know how long it can exist because it probably touches the bottom line of some people doing this black/grey industry.
I did buy ChatGPT topping services before, spending 150 RMB. At that time, the official ChatGPT Plus subscription was $20 per month, which converted to about 136 RMB at an exchange rate of 6.8.
In other words, I spent an extra 14 RMB, which wasn't too outrageous.
If someone solves the payment, region, and billing issues for me, it's normal to charge a service fee. I was willing to pay that 14 RMB back then because I didn't want to research overseas cards, figure out which card could pay, and just wanted to transfer the money and have Plus appear in my account.
Many people buy topping services with this exact mindset—not to get a rock-bottom price, but to save trouble.
If you want to see the guide directly, just scroll to Chapter 4.
1. The real problem isn't the price, it's that you don't know how the membership came about
I thought about it later. What made me most uncomfortable about that topping service wasn't the extra 14 RMB, but that I had no idea how the other party paid for it.
Did they use a normal overseas card, a gift card, or some other payment method?
Was the payment initiated from my official account?
If the subscription drops the next day, is it an issue with the account, the payment channel, or the merchant?
And which devices has my account been logged into?
I couldn't answer a single one of these questions.
I thought I was buying convenience, but later I found out I bought a black box.
The biggest trouble with a black box isn't whether it works today, but that when a problem occurs, you don't even know which layer it happened at.
This is the most easily overlooked part of many topping services. There is nothing wrong with merchants charging service fees, and proxy payment itself isn't inherently problematic. What really needs to be clarified is: who owns the account, where the payment is initiated from, what permissions the merchant needs, and how to handle dropped subscriptions.
If these four things cannot be explained clearly, a little trouble you wanted to save will eventually turn into three invisible risks: account security, payment source, and after-sales service.
2. Even though they are all called 'ChatGPT Membership', they might be completely different products
I later studied the products on the market and found that under the words "ChatGPT Membership", there are at least several completely different delivery methods hidden.
Some are proxy payments on your own account, where the merchant is only responsible for completing the official payment; some are activated through gift cards or app store balances; some are shared accounts used by multiple people; and some directly deliver ready-made accounts, team seats, or third-party API relays.
These products cannot be judged simply by "whether they work or not."
Proxy payment on your own account depends on whether the merchant is transparent, whether they ask for your password, and whether the payment is completed on the official page. Now it's common for them to ask you to give your key directly to them. To be honest, this risk is just too high.
Shared accounts are cheap because many people share the same account, but the usage quota, history, and login rights must also be shared.
Ready-made accounts look the most convenient—just log in and use. However, the registration email and the initial recovery rights are not in your hands, so the account can be taken back by the original owner at any time.
Team seats are essentially permissions attached to someone else's workspace. Once the admin stops renewing or removes members, your right to use it ends.
API relays are not selling ChatGPT memberships at all, but third-party model invocation services. It has its own value, but whether your prompts are recorded, which model it actually is, and what happens to your balance after the platform closes all depend on the service provider.
So I won't say all topping merchants have problems just because I bought it once, nor will I accuse others of using stolen cards or card fraud without evidence.
But users should at least know what they are buying, and they should also be clear about what the merchant wants from you—I think it's more than just money.
3. I looked for a new payment solution not for a magical low price, but for safety, stability, preventing account theft, and keeping my data from being sold
So I messed around for a long time with various cards—ZA Bank, Mercury Bank, HSBC, my own Apple Pay, Google Pay—and found that none of them could go through. Moreover, sometimes transaction fees were required, and the barrier to opening them was extremely high, perhaps requiring an overseas SIM card or something.
The original process was that I handed money or even my account over to someone else, and then waited for them to tell me it was done.
The current process is that I use my own account, my own payment tools, enter the official ChatGPT page myself to check the price, check the bill myself, and finally decide whether to pay myself, and it's also low cost.
So I followed the recommendation of some bloggers and used Starryblu. Then I found out this thing really has something to it, and it's very convenient to operate on both mobile and PC. What Starryblu solves here is the payment tool, not turning ChatGPT into an exaggeratedly low-priced product.
Starryblu can support scenarios like Chinese domestic consumption, public transit, cross-border travel, and AI product subscriptions, including WeChat, Taobao, Meituan, JD, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Cursor, and so on.
4. I went through it on an iPhone to show you how to run it from 0 to 1. Even beginners can learn it
This time I used an iPhone for the whole process.
Step 1: Download and register Starryblu.
First, search for Starryblu in the App Store, or the Google Play Store if you are an Android user.
Then click the registration link below to get a gift: https://sg.starryblu.com/x/1nsYRaCT
Referral code is: MPPK024 (By using my referral code, you will get one 10 SGD voucher and one 50 SGD voucher, totaling 60 SGD, which is about 300 RMB).
Step 2: Complete identity verification according to the page prompts.
After registration, you need to complete verification using your real personal information according to the page requirements. You only need a selfie and an ID card, which takes about half an hour. If the waiting time is too long, you can directly fill out the Feishu link, and I will help you connect with their channel to speed up approval.
After completing registration with the referral code, you can check your consumption vouchers and account status on the homepage.
Step 3: Go to the bank card page and choose a card opening plan that suits you.
After entering the bank card page, you will see "Starry Card Free Version" and "Starry PLUS $9.9/month".
Clicking the free version will not directly lead to the virtual card application process. The page shows "Debit card and membership services will be open soon", and currently you can only choose "I want to reserve".
Before being whitelisted, you can only see the reservation entry in the App, and no cards can be processed directly. After the normal whitelist takes effect, you can directly apply for the $9.9 paid physical membership card.
After completing registration and opening an account, you can get a Singapore OCBC account under your own name, which means you have the ability to store and pay in foreign currencies. Remittances, currency exchange, and storing foreign currencies are all supported.
However, if you need to top up and pay on SaaS platforms like AI tools or spend on overseas shopping platforms, you will need a virtual card or a physical card (the key lies in the CVV code). Currently, the free card requires queuing for reservation. If you are in a hurry, you can spend a little money to get things done—paying a one-time fee ($9.9) to apply for a membership card can immediately open the whitelist for AI topping up.
Partners who need the card urgently can first submit their Starryblu ID through the form in the comments section, and I will uniformly hand them over to the official Starryblu team to apply for the whitelist. After the whitelist takes effect, the application entry for the paid physical membership card will appear in the App.
Step 4: Deposit funds into the Starryblu account. There are many deposit channels, both domestic and overseas accounts can transfer in, and some regions (Mainland China) require Swift deposit. Here I will use a Hong Kong card as a demonstration.
I am using ZA Bank.
Note one thing: remember to include the remarks prompted on Starryblu when transferring money.
After completing the transfer and confirming receipt, you can enter the official ChatGPT page to subscribe.
How to use Starryblu to top up ChatGPT
Step 5: Enter the upgrade package page in ChatGPT
Select the Pro monthly plan.
Select Pro and check the monthly price displayed on the page.
If you need an address, you can use this generator: https://www.randaddress.com/zh/genaddress/tax-free-address/
Fill in the name, billing address, zip code, card number, expiration date, and security code according to the official page.
Then you can activate it~ The operation method is exactly the same if you want to subscribe to platforms like Claude (it is recommended to have an overseas cloud host), Cursor, Grok, X, etc.
Registration link:
https://sg.starryblu.com/x/1nsYRaCT
Referral code: MPPK024
For those who have already completed registration and real-name verification through my link or referral code and need to open the entry for processing the paid physical membership card, you can first go to the comments section to fill out the form and submit your Starryblu ID. I will uniformly hand them over to the brand side to apply for the normal whitelist.
If you don't want to process the paid physical membership card, please do not submit for the normal whitelist first. Send me a private message first to confirm other application or purchase methods.
The form only requires filling in the Starryblu ID. Do not submit phone numbers, passwords, verification codes, IDs, card numbers, or security codes.
Campaign benefits may be adjusted, and the final display on the page during registration and the latest rules of the brand side shall prevail.
I'm not here to persuade everyone to stop looking for topping services.
If someone is willing to solve the payment for you and charges a service fee with clear pricing, as long as the delivery method is transparent, it is certainly a normal business.
I just want to remind you of one thing: next time you see "topping service", "shared account", "ready-made account", or "low-priced membership", don't rush to ask how much cheaper it is.
First ask yourself what exactly you are buying, who owns the account, where the payment comes from, and whether you can find the specific reason if a problem occurs.
True convenience is not that someone lights up the membership for you today, but that if a problem occurs tomorrow, the account, money, and decision-making power are still in your own hands.
This is also why I recommend Starryblu.
It's not to find a more hidden topping path, but to take back the step that was previously handed over to others and complete it yourself, hoping all brothers can use the most awesome AI.
Fill out the form: https://mcnrwhmnjtez.feishu.cn/share/base/form/shrcnWQ9ttoD6pyX3SlAtL1XV0f
