Cannot view Reservations tied to VM's

Question

Cannot view Reservations tied to VM's

pierre shiraziefard 165

How can I view which VM's are tied to which reservations.

I have struggled with view this type of information for years.

I am global administrator/owner of our Azure services.

I will post a separate request with similar issue in billing.

Thanks.

Lakshma Reddy Vattijonnala 1,660 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-04T13:32:18.8366667+00:00

Hi @pierre shiraziefard

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A. We are looking into the issue and we will get back to you shortly with an update
Manish Deshpande 8,215 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-12T13:30:06.2633333+00:00
Hello @pierre shiraziefard

Thanks for posting — this is a question that comes up more often than you'd think, and I completely understand the frustration of not having a clean "VM → Reservation" view out of the box.

Here's what's important to understand first: Azure Reservations don't have a strict 1-to-1 mapping with specific VMs. They are applied on an hourly, first-come-first-served basis to any VM that matches the SKU, region, and scope of the reservation. Because of this, the same VM could be billed against different reservations throughout the day, and Microsoft doesn't expose a direct property on the VM itself that says "tied to Reservation X."

Azure Portal → Reservations Blade (Quickest)

Sign in to the Azure portal.

Go to All Services → Reservations.

You'll see all reservations with a utilization (%) column.

Click the utilization % of any reservation → this opens the Utilization History & Details view, which shows which resources consumed that reservation.

As a Global Admin/Owner, you should have full visibility here. If not, ensure you have the Reservation Reader or Reservation Administrator role assigned.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/reservations/reservation-utilization

Cost Management + Billing (For EA/MCA Customers)

If you're on an Enterprise Agreement or Microsoft Customer Agreement:

Go to Cost Management + Billing → Reservations.

Select a reservation and click the utilization % to drill into usage details.

To see exactly which subscription, resource group, or resource received the discount, go to Cost Analysis → switch to Amortized Cost view, and filter by Reservation.

Amortized Cost data shows the prorated cost allocated to each resource, making it easy to trace reservation consumption back to specific VMs.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/reservations/understand-reserved-instance-usage-ea

Azure Resource Graph Explorer (Advanced – All Reservations at Once)

For a broader view across all reservations:

In the portal, search for Resource Graph Explorer.

Run a KQL query to list all reservations with their scope, type, and utilization.

Click any Reservation ID in the results to drill into details.

This is handy when you have many reservations and want an aggregated snapshot.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1185135/vms-included-in-all-reservations

Download Usage CSV (Most Granular)

For the most detailed data:

Go to Cost Management + Billing → Download Usage.

Select Amortized Cost and download the CSV.

In the file, filter the ReservationId or ReservationName columns to match your reservations.

The corresponding rows will show you the exact resources (VMs) that consumed each reservation discount.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/reservations/manage-reserved-vm-instance

Make sure the scope of your reservations is set correctly (Shared, Single Subscription, or Management Group). If a reservation is scoped too narrowly, it may not be matching eligible VMs at all, which can explain low utilization and make it harder to trace consumption.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/reservations/prepare-buy-reservation#scope-reservations

Thanks,
Manish.
pierre shiraziefard 165 Reputation points

2026-06-15T15:05:37.8866667+00:00

The problem is in March I Had 5 reservations with shared scope and created 4-6 vm's. after a few months I saw we were getting charged for the reservations, utilization was at zero and standard prices were applied to the vm's. I raised a ticket or several tickets at the time with no clear answer. so I was paying standard prices ($1500 or so per month jumping from average of $600 per month)for the vm and paying for reservations that had a 0% utilization. so paying for it twice.

And as a result of no response from billing, I deleted the reservations and I removed some of the vm's to control the pricing onto our billing account.

I am able to see the reservations and utilizations, I have reservations from 2023 that are still getting billed properly. My issue was for the new reservations and new vm's I stood up starting in March 2026.

Also, I am not able to see amortized cost in billing (which is what I have raised numerous times), I can see utilization across all my other reservations which I do not have an issue with since starting in 2023.

I have to control this cost overrun and some of my existing VM's I have to move or re-create on new reservations to control what we need in terms of cost for the next 3 years.
Manish Deshpande 8,215 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-22T14:49:16.92+00:00
Hello @pierre shiraziefard

Thanks for the detailed follow-up this gives a much clearer picture of what actually happened. Let me address each part of your situation directly.

Q: Why did my March 2026 reservations show 0% utilization while my 2023 reservations still apply correctly?

Since your older reservations are working fine, this is not a fundamental account or permissions issue. Something specific about the March 2026 reservations didn't match your VMs. The most likely cause is a VM SKU or generation mismatch.

Between 2023 and 2026, many VM series were updated (e.g., Dv4 → Dv5, Ev4 → Ev5). Even within the same family, newer generations sometimes fall into different Instance Size Flexibility (ISF) groups — meaning a reservation purchased for one generation will not automatically cover VMs running on a newer or different generation, even if they look similar.

To verify this, cross-check your VM sizes against the ISF ratio table:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/reserved-vm-instance-size-flexibility

Q: The reservations are now deleted. Can I still prove I was double-billed and potentially get a credit?

Yes — your billing history is retained even after reservations are deleted. Here's what to do:

Go to Cost Management + Billing → Download Usage

Download the Actual Cost CSV for the March–June 2026 period

Filter for your VM rows and look at the ReservationId column — if it's blank, it confirms the reservation discount was never applied to those VMs despite being active

This data, combined with your original support ticket numbers, gives you a solid case to escalate for a billing credit under Unexpected Charges. Raise a new ticket through the Azure Support portal under Billing → Unexpected Charges and reference your previous ticket IDs.

Q: Why can't I see Amortized Cost in my billing even after raising it multiple times?

This depends on your billing account type and role assignments. Here are the three most common reasons:

Enterprise Agreement (EA): The "DA View Charges" setting must be enabled at the enrollment level by your EA Billing Administrator. Without it, even Global Admins cannot see amortized or reservation-level data at the subscription level. This is controlled in the EA Portal, not the Azure Portal.

Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA): You need at least Cost Management Reader assigned at the billing profile level — subscription-level roles alone are not sufficient.

Pay-As-You-Go / CSP: Amortized Cost view is simply not available for these account types — this is a known platform limitation.

Q: Is there a way to confirm a reservation is applying correctly without waiting for a full billing cycle?

Yes — you don't need to wait for your invoice. Within 24–48 hours of purchasing a reservation:

Go to All Services → Reservations

Click on the reservation and open the Utilization tab

If VMs are matching correctly, you'll see utilization greater than 0% almost immediately

If utilization remains at 0% after 48 hours, check the Reservation's scope (Shared, Single Subscription, or Management Group) and confirm it covers the subscription where your VMs actually reside.

Thanks,
Manish.

Answer accepted by question author

AI answer

To see which Azure resources (such as VMs) are using a reservation, use the reservation cost and usage data and reservation usage APIs. These show, for each reservation, which subscription, resource group, or individual resource consumed the reserved hours.

Key options available:

Use EA reservation cost and usage data (for Enterprise Agreement customers)
- Enterprise Agreement customers can:
  - Get reservation purchase data.
  - See which subscription, resource group, or resource used a reservation.
  - Get reservation under-utilization data and calculate savings.
- This is done via the reservation costs and usage exports described in the EA reservation usage documentation.
Use reservation usage APIs
- For EA customers, use the consumption APIs described under “Get Enterprise Agreement reservation costs and usage” to see which resources consumed each reservation.
- For other subscription types, use:
  - Reservations Summaries - List By Reservation Order And Reservation to see how a reservation is being used over time.
Use the Azure portal to inspect reservation utilization
- In the Azure portal, go to All services → Reservations.
- Select a reservation to see its Utilization (%) and usage trend over time.
- While this view focuses on utilization rather than listing each VM directly, the detailed mapping of reservation → resource is available through the cost and usage data and APIs mentioned above.
Permissions required
- Reservation management permission is separate from subscription permission.
- By default, the person who bought the reservation, the account administrator of the billing subscription, and EA/MCA billing administrators can view and manage reservations.
- If additional users need to see reservation usage, grant them access to the reservation or reservation order via Access control (IAM).
Programmatic access and automation
- To programmatically list reservations and then query their usage:
  - Use Reservation Order - List to get reservations (for non-EA subscriptions).
  - Use the consumption APIs (for EA or other subscriptions as applicable) to retrieve which resources consumed each reservation.

These mechanisms together provide the mapping from reservations to the VMs and other resources that are consuming them.

References:

AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

1 additional answer

Your answer

Lakshma Reddy Vattijonnala 1,660 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-04T13:32:18.8366667+00:00

Hi @pierre shiraziefard

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A. We are looking into the issue and we will get back to you shortly with an update
pierre shiraziefard 165 Reputation points

2026-06-15T15:05:37.8866667+00:00

The problem is in March I Had 5 reservations with shared scope and created 4-6 vm's. after a few months I saw we were getting charged for the reservations, utilization was at zero and standard prices were applied to the vm's. I raised a ticket or several tickets at the time with no clear answer. so I was paying standard prices ($1500 or so per month jumping from average of $600 per month)for the vm and paying for reservations that had a 0% utilization. so paying for it twice.

And as a result of no response from billing, I deleted the reservations and I removed some of the vm's to control the pricing onto our billing account.

I am able to see the reservations and utilizations, I have reservations from 2023 that are still getting billed properly. My issue was for the new reservations and new vm's I stood up starting in March 2026.

Also, I am not able to see amortized cost in billing (which is what I have raised numerous times), I can see utilization across all my other reservations which I do not have an issue with since starting in 2023.

I have to control this cost overrun and some of my existing VM's I have to move or re-create on new reservations to control what we need in terms of cost for the next 3 years.

Answer 1

pierre shiraziefard 165

I only see reservation utilization %, I do not see reservation cost & usage data. I need to see which VM's are connected to which reservation and what the usage has been..

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