diff --git a/.github/workflows/canary.yml b/.github/workflows/canary.yml
index 48b6907..017f724 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/canary.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/canary.yml
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@
 #
 #   scraping-browser  the path measured to work, and the one that reads real
 #                     rows: a Scraping Browser profile with an Indian exit,
-#                     on the same schedule. It FAILS, with an error naming
+#                     weekly (Mondays) and on dispatch, since every run
+#                     bills a session. It FAILS, with an error naming
 #                     the secret, when MAKEMYTRIP_CDP_ENDPOINT is not set,
 #                     and it fails on a refusal, on "never obtained" (a 401
 #                     is a refused endpoint: set a fresh secret) and on too
@@ -39,6 +40,9 @@ on:
   schedule:
     # 05:50 UTC. Not on the hour: every scheduled workflow fires at :00.
     - cron: "50 5 * * *"
+    # Mondays only: the paid job (scraping-browser) runs on this
+    # schedule (each run bills); the free jobs keep the daily one above.
+    - cron: "50 5 * * 1"
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 permissions:
@@ -97,6 +101,8 @@ jobs:
           if-no-files-found: ignore
 
   scraping-browser:
+    # Paid path: weekly schedule or a manual dispatch only.
+    if: github.event_name != 'schedule' || github.event.schedule == '50 5 * * 1'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     timeout-minutes: 20
     env:
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e252ae1..f99160f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -9,6 +9,11 @@ said so at the top of its release notes.
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Changed
+
+- CI only: the canary's paid `scraping-browser` job now runs weekly (Mondays
+  05:50 UTC) and on a manual dispatch; the free `datacentre` job still runs daily.
+
 ## [0.2.0] — 2026-10-15
 
 > **Behaviour changes.**
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6622f13..518222c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -263,8 +263,8 @@ no city.
 The [canary](.github/workflows/canary.yml) runs twice over. Daily, with no
 secrets, from a GitHub runner: a datacentre, so it asserts the refusal is
 REPORTED as one (exit 3, never a crash or an "empty listing"); that job
-tests the refusal path, not extraction. On the same schedule, through a
-Scraping Browser profile: a real 3-page Goa scrape, checked for prices,
+tests the refusal path, not extraction. Weekly (Mondays), because each run
+bills a session, through a Scraping Browser profile: a real 3-page Goa scrape, checked for prices,
 currency, duplicates and zero ratings. That job fails when its secret is
 missing or refused, so the badge is green only when real rows were read.
 
diff --git a/smoke_test.py b/smoke_test.py
index 2342126..1f07bb8 100644
--- a/smoke_test.py
+++ b/smoke_test.py
@@ -368,8 +368,10 @@ def check_build_query():
     _, why = _build(url="https://www.makemytrip.com/hotels/hotel-listing/?checkin=10152026"
                         "&checkout=10162026&city=CTGOI", city="Goa")
     check("--url and --city together are refused", why and "--city" in why, why or "")
-    q, why = _build(url="https://www.makemytrip.com/hotels/hotel-listing/?checkin=10152026"
-                        "&checkout=10162026&city=CTGOI", sort="price-asc")
+    # A stay far in the future: a fixed date that has passed is refused
+    # before --sort is looked at.
+    q, why = _build(url="https://www.makemytrip.com/hotels/hotel-listing/?checkin=12012030"
+                        "&checkout=12022030&city=CTGOI", sort="price-asc")
     check("--sort applies to a --url (the address carries no ordering)",
           q is not None and q.sort == "price-asc", why or "")
     _, why = _build()