As part of a holiday season promotion, OpenAI and Anthropic have temporarily surged usage limits for select users of AI coding assistants, Codex and Claude.
OpenAI reset and ended Codex limits to twice the usual level until January 1, 2026, while Anthropic provided double usage limits for Claude Pro and Max subscribers from December 25- 31 across mobile, desktop, and web platforms.
Anthropic’s promotion applies to individual subscribers only; Team and Enterprise plans are excluded. Both existing and new users during the promotion period qualify for the temporary increase.
These significant announcements were made via social media, framed the boosts as festive thank-yous. OpenAI launched a holiday version, Santa Codex, performing GPT-5.2-Codex with a seasonal personality twist.
The holiday boosts underscore a deeper issue: Serious users frequently hit usage limits on standard plans.
Claude Pro users are allowed to send 200 messages every eight hours before hitting limits, while Max plans are still considered expensive for hobbyists.
Furthermore, OpenAI’s Codex faces limitations during active development.
Developers welcomed the temporary relief; however, users highlighted the need for permanent mid-tier plans that balance capacity and cost.
Both companies appear to be experimenting with the limits their infrastructure can handle.
While these promotions bring short-term relief, they highlight the intensified tension between AI pricing, infrastructure costs, and user demands for predictable, scalable access.
