AWS Savings Plan recommendations

• To share an Reserved Instance or Savings Plans discount with an account, both accounts must have sharing activated. You can change your preference at any time. Each estimated bill is computed by using the last set of preferences. The final bill for the month is calculated based on the preferences set at 23:59:59 UTC time on the last day of the month.

• Document: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/ri-turn-off.html#ri-turn-on-process

This document- https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws-cloud-financial-management/launch-savings-plans-recommendations-for-member-linked-accounts/ can help you understanding better on choosing the plan.

Hi! Your comparison between the original and recommended savings plans presents some clear insights. The original plan offers a notably higher rate of savings at 13% in comparison to the 1% from the recommended plan. Furthermore, the utilization of your original plan stands commendably high at 96%. This indicates that you're efficiently utilizing most of the commitment you've previously made. Given the longer duration and higher savings rate of the original plan, it appears to be the superior choice based on the information you provided.

The AWS Savings Plan recommendations derive from your most recent usage, which typically spans the past 30 days. If there's been a fluctuation in your usage during this period that differs from your broader historical pattern, the recommendation might appear less fitting. This recent recommendation may also be highlighting more immediate fluctuations in your usage that haven't been considered in your broader evaluation. Moreover, this recommendation is targeting the payer account for a 1-year term. Such a term might offer greater flexibility and differ in its applicability compared to a 3-year term plan associated with a linked account.

Determining whether your current savings plan is dedicated to the payer's account or a linked account can be achieved via the AWS Cost Explorer in the AWS Management Console. Once there, by selecting "Savings Plans" on the sidebar, you'll be able to review your list of savings plans and the AWS account number associated with each. If the number matches that of the payer account, then the savings plan is explicitly for that. Otherwise, it's associated with one of the linked accounts. As a root user, or if you possess the necessary permissions on the payer account, you'll have visibility into all savings plans across all accounts within the AWS Organizations.

Your observation regarding the recommendation for the linked account raises a valid consideration. Essentially, the benefits of a Savings Plan apply primarily to the account in which it's purchased. However, it can extend its benefits to other linked accounts based on the specific type and settings of the Savings Plan. AWS starts by applying the benefit to the account that owns the Savings Plan. Should that account not exhaust the entire commitment, AWS will extend the benefit to the usage in other accounts. Therefore, if you decide to invest in the plan for the production account, its benefits will prioritize the production account's usage. Any remaining commitment can then be redistributed to the UAT and stage accounts.

In conclusion, based on the presented data, the original 3-year plan seems to be more cost-effective. However, before finalizing any decisions, it's pivotal to consider any imminent changes in your workload that could impact your AWS usage. The AWS Cost Explorer's usage forecasts can be invaluable in this regard, providing clearer insights into future requirements.