Credits & Perks Inventory

Surface forgotten credits, discounts, and perks across startup programs, banking relationships, corporate cards, VC portfolios, and email offers.

State Files

This skill maintains two living documents:

Both live in ~/.claude/skills/credits-inventory/. Read them at skill start; update them as you discover new information.

Usage Tracking

The inventory tracks the full lifecycle of each perk:

Track for metered credits (API credits, cloud credits):

• Original value
• Remaining balance (when known)
• Burn rate (if trackable)

Track for time-limited perks (free subscriptions):

• Claim date
• Expiration date
• Auto-renewal status

Two Modes

Mode 1: Full Inventory ("What do I have?")

Comprehensive scan of all accounts to surface available credits and perks.

Mode 2: Specific Lookup ("Do I have a deal for X?")

User is signing up for a specific service - check if they have a discount.

Workflow

1. Load Context

Read: ~/.claude/skills/credits-inventory/my-context.md
Read: ~/.claude/skills/credits-inventory/my-inventory.md

If context file is empty or outdated, ask user to update their accounts.

2. For Full Inventory: Scan All Sources

For each account type in context:

A. Check known programs (see reference database below)

B. Search email via gscli

# Search for perks from known sources
gscli gmail search "from:[source] perks OR credits OR offer" -l 20

# Search for specific services
gscli gmail search "[service] free OR credits OR discount" -l 10

# Search for expiring offers
gscli gmail search "expires OR expiring credits OR offer" -l 15

C. Read promising emails

gscli gmail read [message-id]

Look for:

• Claim links/URLs
• Promo codes
• Expiration dates
• Specific values

3. For Specific Lookup: Check for Service

When user asks "do I have a deal for [SERVICE]?":

1. Check my-inventory.md for existing entries
2. Search email: gscli gmail search "[SERVICE] free OR credits OR discount OR offer" -l 15
3. Check if any of user's accounts (VCs, banking, subscriptions) offer it
4. Report findings with claim instructions

4. Update Inventory

After discovery, update my-inventory.md with findings organized by service.

Inventory organization:

• Group by SERVICE/TOOL name (alphabetical)
• Under each service, list all available offers
• Include: value, source, claimed date, expiration, remaining, status

5. Track Usage (When User Claims or Updates)

When user says "I claimed [perk]" or "update [perk] status":

1. Find the perk in my-inventory.md
2. Update the row:
   • Set Claimed to today's date
   • Set Expires if known (often 1 year from claim)
   • Set Status to Active or Claimed YYYY-MM-DD
3. Add to "Recently Claimed" section in Dashboard
4. Recalculate Dashboard totals

For balance updates ("I have $X left on [perk]"):

1. Update the Remaining column
2. If low or depleted, flag in Dashboard

6. Expiration Monitoring

When running inventory checks:

1. Scan all items with Expires dates
2. Flag anything expiring within 90 days
3. Update "Expiring Soon" section in Dashboard
4. Alert user to time-sensitive items

Expiration actions:

• 90 days out: Add to "Expiring Soon"
• 30 days out: Highlight as urgent
• Expired: Move status to Expired, keep in inventory for reference

Email Search Patterns

gscli Commands

# VC portfolio perks (replace with actual investor names from context)
gscli gmail search "from:usv perks OR credits OR offer" -l 20
gscli gmail search "from:getproven" -l 10

# Banking perks
gscli gmail search "from:brex perks OR credits" -l 15
gscli gmail search "from:mercury perks OR partner" -l 15

# Newsletter perks
gscli gmail search "from:lenny product pass OR perks" -l 10

# Service-specific (when doing lookups)
gscli gmail search "[servicename] free OR credits OR startup" -l 15

# Catch expiring offers
gscli gmail search "expires soon OR expiring credits" -l 20
gscli gmail search "activate your OR claim your" -l 15

Reading Emails

When you find a promising email:

gscli gmail read [message-id]

Extract:

• Claim URL - The link to activate the offer
• Promo code - If applicable
• Value - Dollar amount or description
• Expiration - When it expires
• Requirements - Any eligibility criteria

If you find a claim URL but can't access it directly, provide clear instructions:

**How to claim:**
1. Go to: [URL]
2. Log in with your [account type] credentials
3. Look for [specific button/section]
4. Apply code: [CODE] (if applicable)

Inventory File Format

my-inventory.md should be organized BY SERVICE with usage tracking:

# Credits & Perks Inventory

Last updated: YYYY-MM-DD

## Dashboard

| Metric                      | Value   |
| --------------------------- | ------- |
| Total available (unclaimed) | $X,XXX  |
| Total claimed (active)      | $X,XXX  |
| Total remaining balance     | $X,XXX  |
| Expiring within 90 days     | [count] |

### Expiring Soon

| Service     | Source | Expires    | Value            | Action      |
| ----------- | ------ | ---------- | ---------------- | ----------- |
| AWS credits | Brex   | 2026-03-15 | $2,340 remaining | Use or lose |

### Recently Claimed

| Service | Source  | Claimed    | Value   |
| ------- | ------- | ---------- | ------- |
| PostHog | Lenny's | 2026-01-15 | $16,500 |

---

## A

### Anthropic (Claude API)

| Source     | Value   | Claimed    | Expires    | Remaining | Status    |
| ---------- | ------- | ---------- | ---------- | --------- | --------- |
| Brex Perks | $500    | —          | —          | —         | Available |
| Your VC Perk | $X,XXX | YYYY-MM-DD | YYYY-MM-DD | $X,XXX | Active |

### AWS

| Source          | Value   | Claimed    | Expires    | Remaining | Status           |
| --------------- | ------- | ---------- | ---------- | --------- | ---------------- |
| Brex Perks      | $5,000  | 2025-06-01 | 2027-06-01 | $2,340    | Expiring 2027-06 |
| Pump.co savings | $7,870+ | Active     | —          | Ongoing   | Active           |

---

## P

### PostHog

| Source  | Value   | Claimed    | Expires    | Remaining | Status |
| ------- | ------- | ---------- | ---------- | --------- | ------ |
| Lenny's | $16,500 | 2026-01-15 | 2027-01-15 | Active    | Active |

---

[Continue alphabetically...]

Table Columns

Context File Format

references/your-context-template.md should list user's accounts:

# My Accounts & Relationships

Last updated: YYYY-MM-DD

## Investors & Accelerators

- [Your VC] - [perks platform URL]
- [Other investor]
- [Accelerator]



## Banking & Cards

- Mercury (business banking)
- Brex (corporate card)
- Chase Sapphire Reserve (personal)
- Delta Amex Gold (personal)

## Subscriptions

- Lenny's Newsletter (annual) - lennysproductpass.com
- LinkedIn Premium
- X Premium
- Costco Executive

## Equity & HR

- Carta

## Cloud & Hosting

- [Current providers]

## Notes

- [Any special relationships or programs]

Reference: Known Programs

VC Portfolio Platforms

Banking Perks

Newsletter/Subscription Perks

Direct Startup Programs

Conversation Flow

Starting a Session

"Let me check your credits inventory.

[Read context and inventory files]

Current status:

• Last updated: [date]
• Total available: ~$X value
• [N] items expiring soon

Want me to:

1. Do a fresh scan for new offers?
2. Look up a specific service?
3. Update your account list?"

After Discovery

"Found [N] new perks. Updating your inventory...

New additions:

• [Service]: $X via [Source]
• [Service]: $X via [Source]

Action items:

1. [Highest priority - include exact steps]
2. [Second priority]

Your inventory has been updated at ~/.claude/skills/credits-inventory/my-inventory.md"

For Specific Lookup

"Looking for deals on [SERVICE]...

Found:

• [Source 1]: [Value] - [How to claim]
• [Source 2]: [Value] - [How to claim]

Not found in:

• [Sources checked that didn't have it]

Want me to add this to your inventory watchlist?"

Tips for Claude

Discovery

• Always read state files first - Don't ask for info you already have
• Search email proactively - Many offers are buried in newsletters
• Try to follow links - If you can fetch a URL, do it to get specifics
• When links require auth - Give clear step-by-step instructions
• Think laterally - VC relationships unlock indirect perks

Inventory Management

• Update inventory after every discovery - Keep it current
• Be specific with claim instructions - URLs, steps, codes
• Prioritize by value - Lead with high-value items
• Flag expirations - Surface time-sensitive offers prominently

Usage Tracking

• Ask about claimed status - When showing perks, ask "have you claimed any of these?"
• Prompt for updates - "Let me know when you claim this so I can track it"
• Track remaining balances - For API credits, ask periodically about usage
• Monitor expirations - Start each session by checking what's expiring soon
• Keep Dashboard current - Update totals when status changes

Session Flow

1. Read inventory → Check expiring items → Alert user
2. Handle user request (discovery or lookup)
3. Update inventory with findings
4. Prompt user to report any claims
5. Update Dashboard if needed

The goal: Be the knowledgeable assistant who knows all the programs AND keeps a running tally of what's available, claimed, and expiring.