[Python] How to distinguish an OpenAI API "quota exceeded" 429 from a standard rate limit 429?

I'm integrating the OpenAI API into my application and keep encountering a 429 error with the message "You exceeded your current quota, please check your plan and billing details".

I understand this is a rate-limiting/quota issue, but I'm confused about the correct programmatic handling. The OpenAI documentation on error handling mentions retries with exponential backoff for 429 and 5xx errors, but this specific "quota exceeded" error seems like a permanent failure until the billing cycle resets or the account plan is upgraded. Retrying endlessly seems inappropriate.

What I've tried and researched:

I'm using the official Python library and have implemented a basic retry mechanism using the tenacity library for exponential backoff, but it keeps retrying this quota error.

I've checked my billing and usage in the OpenAI dashboard. My usage is within the hard limits, but I'm getting this error on the free tier, which has a lower RPM (requests per minute) limit.

I found a similar question from 6 months ago, but the answers focus on general 429 handling and don't address this specific quota message. The API and libraries have also been updated since then.

My question is: How can I programmatically identify this specific "quota exceeded" 429 error to break the retry loop? Does the OpenAI API provide a distinct error code or field (e.g., code: "insufficient_quota") for this scenario, or is inspecting the error message string for keywords the standard approach?

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