Product Hunt's Marketplace Pro AWS Credit Redemption

Hey all, I was wondering if anyone could advise me on something real quick: For the Product Hunt "Marketplace Pro" offer from AWS Activate for $5,000 in AWS Credits, * is it mandatory that you complete the entire AWS Activate application / approval etc in order to redeem those $5k AWS Credits or could they be redeemed prior to finishing and being accepted into the AWS Activate Program? Thank you for your help in advance!