diff --git a/agent/error_classifier.py b/agent/error_classifier.py
index 0f1450113..1f6b48a09 100644
--- a/agent/error_classifier.py
+++ b/agent/error_classifier.py
@@ -677,6 +677,27 @@ def _classify_by_message(
             should_compress=True,
         )
 
+    # Usage-limit patterns need the same disambiguation as 402: some providers
+    # surface "usage limit" errors without an HTTP status code.  A transient
+    # signal ("try again", "resets at", …) means it's a periodic quota, not
+    # billing exhaustion.
+    has_usage_limit = any(p in error_msg for p in _USAGE_LIMIT_PATTERNS)
+    if has_usage_limit:
+        has_transient_signal = any(p in error_msg for p in _USAGE_LIMIT_TRANSIENT_SIGNALS)
+        if has_transient_signal:
+            return result_fn(
+                FailoverReason.rate_limit,
+                retryable=True,
+                should_rotate_credential=True,
+                should_fallback=True,
+            )
+        return result_fn(
+            FailoverReason.billing,
+            retryable=False,
+            should_rotate_credential=True,
+            should_fallback=True,
+        )
+
     # Billing patterns
     if any(p in error_msg for p in _BILLING_PATTERNS):
         return result_fn(
diff --git a/tests/agent/test_error_classifier.py b/tests/agent/test_error_classifier.py
index c59735589..44e891f0c 100644
--- a/tests/agent/test_error_classifier.py
+++ b/tests/agent/test_error_classifier.py
@@ -480,6 +480,39 @@ class TestClassifyApiError:
         result = classify_api_error(e)
         assert result.reason == FailoverReason.context_overflow
 
+    # ── Message-only usage limit disambiguation (no status code) ──
+
+    def test_message_usage_limit_transient_is_rate_limit(self):
+        """'usage limit' + 'try again' with no status code → rate_limit, not billing."""
+        e = Exception("usage limit exceeded, try again in 5 minutes")
+        result = classify_api_error(e)
+        assert result.reason == FailoverReason.rate_limit
+        assert result.retryable is True
+        assert result.should_rotate_credential is True
+        assert result.should_fallback is True
+
+    def test_message_usage_limit_no_retry_signal_is_billing(self):
+        """'usage limit' with no transient signal and no status code → billing."""
+        e = Exception("usage limit reached")
+        result = classify_api_error(e)
+        assert result.reason == FailoverReason.billing
+        assert result.retryable is False
+        assert result.should_rotate_credential is True
+
+    def test_message_quota_with_reset_window_is_rate_limit(self):
+        """'quota' + 'resets at' with no status code → rate_limit."""
+        e = Exception("quota exceeded, resets at midnight UTC")
+        result = classify_api_error(e)
+        assert result.reason == FailoverReason.rate_limit
+        assert result.retryable is True
+
+    def test_message_limit_exceeded_with_wait_is_rate_limit(self):
+        """'limit exceeded' + 'wait' with no status code → rate_limit."""
+        e = Exception("key limit exceeded, please wait before retrying")
+        result = classify_api_error(e)
+        assert result.reason == FailoverReason.rate_limit
+        assert result.retryable is True
+
     # ── Unknown / fallback ──
 
     def test_generic_exception_is_unknown(self):