Why is the diamond or 'upgrade to premium' feature visible in my version of Planner?

The diamond or 'upgrade to premium' feature in Microsoft Planner may not be visible to you for a few reasons:

1. License Type: To access premium features in Planner, you need a specific license. Users with a Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 license typically have access to Planner, but to create premium plans, a Project Plan 1, Project Plan 3, or Project Plan 5 license is necessary. If you do not have one of these licenses, the premium options may not appear.
2. Availability of Features: The premium features, including the Timeline view, are only available to users who have the appropriate licenses. If your organization has not assigned you a premium subscription, you will not see the option to upgrade.
3. Trial Activation: If you are trying to activate a trial for premium features, ensure that you follow the correct prompts. Sometimes, the trial option may not be visible if your organization has restrictions or if the trial has already been activated by another user.

If you believe you should have access to these features, you may want to contact your Microsoft 365 administrator for assistance in checking your license and whether a trial can be activated for your account.

References:

• Understand Planner premium trials and license assignments
• Microsoft Planner for admins
• Learn about Planner subscriptions

Dear @Angela Hjorring,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

I understand how confusing this can be. The Diamond / “Upgrade to Premium” option in Planner only appears when your Microsoft 365 tenant is eligible for Planner Premium (Planner Plan 1 / Project for the web). If your tenant or user account doesn’t currently have access to a qualifying license or trial, Microsoft hides the Premium entry points entirely. For reference: Upgrade to premium

Therefore, to access Planner Premium features such as Timeline view, one of the following is required a Planner Plan 1/3/5 license and a tenant where self‑service trials for Project / Planner Premium are enabled

In this case, could you please confirm these questions below to help me diagnose the issue more effectively: 

• Are you using a work or school Microsoft 365 account, or a personal Microsoft account?

Do you know which Microsoft 365 license is currently assigned to your account?

• Are you able to see Project for the web or Planner Plan 1 listed in your subscription portal? https://portal.office.com/EditProfile15.aspx?ServiceID=LanguageItem

If you don’t see any trial or upgrade options, I recommend contacting your Microsoft 365 administrator to:

Step 1: Confirm whether self‑service trials are disabled

An IT admin can use the Microsoft 365 admin center to see self-service purchases and trials made by people in the organization. For more information and instruction, please kindly ask your IT admin to follow: Manage self-service purchases and trials (for admins)

Step 2: Assign a Planner Plan 1 (or Project) license again for testing purposes

Admin can assign or unassign licenses for users in the Microsoft 365 admin center on either the Active users page, or on the Licenses page. For more information and instruction, please kindly ask your IT admin to follow: Assign or unassign licenses for users in the Microsoft 365 admin center

Note: Please understand that as a forum moderator, my role is to provide general guidance and troubleshooting support. I don’t have access to internal systems or backend tools, and I appreciate your understanding of these limits.

I hope the information shared helps point you in the right direction. Please try the steps above and let me know if they work. If not, we can continue working together to narrow this down.

The first response may not always resolve the issue right away, but with your help and more details, we can work toward a solution.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. I'm looking forward for your reply.

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