diff --git a/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/App.tsx b/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/App.tsx
index 58b78d14..711c5c27 100644
--- a/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/App.tsx
+++ b/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/App.tsx
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button"
 import { Toaster } from "@/components/ui/sonner"
 import { UpdateCard } from "@/components/update-card"
 import { BillingErrorDialog } from "@/components/billing-error-dialog"
+import { BillingErrorNotice } from "@/components/billing-error-notice"
 import { CreditCelebration } from "@/components/credit-celebration"
 import { matchBillingError, type BillingErrorMatch } from "@/lib/billing-error"
 import { dispatchCreditExhausted, dispatchCreditReplenished } from "@/lib/credit-status"
@@ -954,30 +955,34 @@ function App() {
   const [conversation, setConversation] = useState<ConversationItem[]>([])
   const [billingErrorMatch, setBillingErrorMatch] = useState<BillingErrorMatch | null>(null)
   const [billingErrorOpen, setBillingErrorOpen] = useState(false)
-  const lastHandledBillingErrorIdRef = useRef<string | null>(null)
+  const handledBillingErrorIdsRef = useRef<Set<string>>(new Set())
   const [currentAssistantMessage, setCurrentAssistantMessage] = useState<string>('')
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    for (let i = conversation.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
-      const item = conversation[i]
-      if (!isErrorMessage(item)) continue
-      if (item.id === lastHandledBillingErrorIdRef.current) return
-      const match = matchBillingError(item.message)
-      if (match) {
-        lastHandledBillingErrorIdRef.current = item.id
-        setBillingErrorMatch(match)
-        setBillingErrorOpen(true)
-        if (match.kind === 'out_of_credits') dispatchCreditExhausted()
-      }
-      return
-    }
-  }, [conversation])
   const [, setModelUsage] = useState<UsageSummary | null>(null)
   const [runId, setRunId] = useState<string | null>(null)
   // New runtime: the active session's chat data + actions. All logic lives in
   // SessionChatStore (tested headlessly); the hook is a thin subscription.
   // runId IS the session id in the sessions runtime.
   const sessionChat = useSessionChat(runId)
+
+  // Watch the conversation that is actually rendered — the sessions-runtime
+  // one when loaded, the legacy state otherwise — so billing failures
+  // (out of credits, subscription lapsed) always pop the upgrade dialog.
+  const billingWatchedConversation = sessionChat.chatState?.conversation ?? conversation
+  useEffect(() => {
+    for (let i = billingWatchedConversation.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
+      const item = billingWatchedConversation[i]
+      if (!isErrorMessage(item)) continue
+      if (handledBillingErrorIdsRef.current.has(item.id)) return
+      const match = matchBillingError(item.message)
+      if (match) {
+        handledBillingErrorIdsRef.current.add(item.id)
+        setBillingErrorMatch(match)
+        setBillingErrorOpen(true)
+        if (match.kind === 'out_of_credits') dispatchCreditExhausted()
+      }
+      return
+    }
+  }, [billingWatchedConversation])
   const runIdRef = useRef<string | null>(null)
   const loadRunRequestIdRef = useRef(0)
   const [isProcessing, setIsProcessing] = useState(false)
@@ -6167,8 +6172,9 @@ function App() {
     }
 
     if (isErrorMessage(item)) {
-      if (matchBillingError(item.message)) {
-        return null
+      const billingMatch = matchBillingError(item.message)
+      if (billingMatch) {
+        return <BillingErrorNotice key={item.id} id={item.id} match={billingMatch} />
       }
       return (
         <Message key={item.id} from="assistant" data-message-id={item.id}>
diff --git a/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/components/billing-error-notice.tsx b/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/components/billing-error-notice.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..df871edb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/components/billing-error-notice.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+import { Message, MessageContent } from '@/components/ai-elements/message'
+import type { BillingErrorMatch } from '@/lib/billing-error'
+
+/**
+ * Inline transcript notice for billing failures (out of credits, subscription
+ * required/inactive). The BillingErrorDialog is the attention-grabber; this
+ * stays in the conversation so the turn never ends silently blank if the
+ * dialog is dismissed or missed.
+ */
+export function BillingErrorNotice({ id, match }: { id: string; match: BillingErrorMatch }) {
+  return (
+    <Message from="assistant" data-message-id={id}>
+      <MessageContent className="rounded-lg border border-amber-500/30 bg-amber-500/10 px-4 py-3">
+        <p className="text-sm font-medium text-foreground">{match.title}</p>
+        <p className="mt-1 text-xs text-muted-foreground">{match.subtitle}</p>
+      </MessageContent>
+    </Message>
+  )
+}
diff --git a/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/components/chat-sidebar.tsx b/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/components/chat-sidebar.tsx
index b3d5850c..0a7a327b 100644
--- a/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/components/chat-sidebar.tsx
+++ b/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/components/chat-sidebar.tsx
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ import {
   toToolState,
 } from '@/lib/chat-conversation'
 import { matchBillingError } from '@/lib/billing-error'
+import { BillingErrorNotice } from '@/components/billing-error-notice'
 import { TokenUsageMenu } from '@/components/token-usage-menu'
 
 const streamdownComponents = { pre: MarkdownPreOverride }
@@ -510,8 +511,9 @@ export function ChatSidebar({
     }
 
     if (isErrorMessage(item)) {
-      if (matchBillingError(item.message)) {
-        return null
+      const billingMatch = matchBillingError(item.message)
+      if (billingMatch) {
+        return <BillingErrorNotice key={item.id} id={item.id} match={billingMatch} />
       }
       return (
         <Message key={item.id} from="assistant" data-message-id={item.id}>