---
title: AWS CUR 2.0 and Athena: FinOps Queries That Replace Spreadsheet Exports (2026)
description: CUR 2.0 (generally available 2024, default for new exports in 2025) adds line-item resource IDs and Savings Plan attribution columns Athena needs for serious chargeback. A standard FinOps query pack answers top-10 services, untagged spend, and SP coverage in under 60 seconds.
url: https://www.factualminds.com/blog/aws-cur-2-athena-finops-queries-2026/
datePublished: 2026-06-17T00:00:00.000Z
dateModified: 2026-06-17T00:00:00.000Z
author: palaniappan-p
category: Cost Optimization & FinOps
tags: cur, athena, finops, cost-explorer, chargeback
---

# AWS CUR 2.0 and Athena: FinOps Queries That Replace Spreadsheet Exports (2026)

> CUR 2.0 (generally available 2024, default for new exports in 2025) adds line-item resource IDs and Savings Plan attribution columns Athena needs for serious chargeback. A standard FinOps query pack answers top-10 services, untagged spend, and SP coverage in under 60 seconds.

**June 2026:** Most enterprise AWS accounts we audit have CUR 2.0 enabled to S3 with **Athena integration** — but engineers still screenshot Cost Explorer because nobody owns the SQL. CUR 2.0 is the only first-party source that ties **resource IDs**, **tags**, and **commitment attribution** on the same row for ad-hoc FinOps.

## Engagement shape

**Healthcare platform**, 14 linked accounts, ~$190k/mo, chargeback to internal LOBs. Before CUR SQL: finance exported CE CSVs weekly (**~6 hours** analyst time). After CUR 2.0 + Athena views: automated **daily** LOB rollups, untagged spend alert when >8% of daily total. Analyst time dropped to **~45 min/week** for exceptions only.

## Setup checklist (Monday morning)

1. Billing console → **Data exports** → create CUR 2.0 → Parquet → S3 bucket with lifecycle to Glacier after 13 months.
2. Enable **Athena integration** (creates crawler + table).
3. Create database `aws_cur` and view `cur_daily` normalizing `line_item_usage_start_date`.
4. Partition by `year`, `month` — mandatory for query cost control.
5. Grant FinOps role `Athena` + `Glue` read on bucket; deny public ACLs on CUR bucket.

## Three queries we run on every new account

**Top 10 services (last 30 days):**

```sql
SELECT line_item_product_code AS service,
       ROUND(SUM(line_item_unblended_cost), 2) AS cost_usd
FROM cur_daily
WHERE line_item_usage_start_date >= date_add('day', -30, current_date)
GROUP BY 1
ORDER BY 2 DESC
LIMIT 10;
```

**Untagged spend (% of total):**

```sql
SELECT ROUND(100.0 * SUM(CASE WHEN resource_tags_user_cost_center = '' THEN line_item_unblended_cost ELSE 0 END)
       / SUM(line_item_unblended_cost), 2) AS untagged_pct
FROM cur_daily
WHERE line_item_usage_start_date >= date_add('day', -7, current_date);
```

**Savings Plan coverage gap (simplified):**

```sql
SELECT DATE(line_item_usage_start_date) AS day,
       ROUND(SUM(savings_plan_total_commitment_to_date), 2) AS sp_commit,
       ROUND(SUM(line_item_unblended_cost), 2) AS on_demand_equiv
FROM cur_daily
WHERE line_item_usage_start_date >= date_add('day', -30, current_date)
GROUP BY 1
ORDER BY 1;
```

(Column names vary slightly by export version — validate against your table DDL in Glue.)

## Honest gaps

- CUR lags **8–24 hours** — not for real-time throttling.
- **Marketplace** line items need separate joins.
- **Bedrock** token-level attribution may need service-specific dashboards in addition to CUR.

## Next steps

- Pillar: [FinOps on AWS complete guide](/blog/finops-on-aws-complete-guide-cloud-cost-governance/)
- Model commitment gaps: [Savings Plans calculator](/tools/aws-savings-plans-calculator/)
- [Cost optimization hub](/resources/aws-cost-optimization/)

## If you only do one thing this week

Run the **top 10 services** query and compare to Cost Explorer's service view for the same window. If totals diverge >2%, fix partition filters before building chargeback on bad data.

## FAQ

### What changed in CUR 2.0?
Parquet-first delivery, updated column names, resource-level IDs on more line types, and improved Savings Plan and Reservation attribution fields. Legacy CUR 1.0 exports sunset on a per-account schedule — verify in the Billing console.

### Do I still need Cost Explorer if I have CUR + Athena?
Yes. Cost Explorer for fast filters, anomaly hooks, and SP recommendations; CUR + Athena for chargeback, custom allocation rules, and joins with your CMDB that CE cannot do.

---

*Source: https://www.factualminds.com/blog/aws-cur-2-athena-finops-queries-2026/*