Blog · long-form guides
Referral guides, one question at a time
Each guide answers one real question about the US Starlink referral program, for the person ordering or the customer who refers. Every rule is quoted from Starlink’s own terms or help pages, with the date we read it, and anything Starlink doesn’t state is marked as not stated.
How the program works
Who qualifies, what each side gets, and what the rules mean in practice. The overview page: How it works.
The eight plans that qualify for a Starlink referralStarlink lists exactly eight plans that can carry a referral credit. Here's the list, what the free month is worth on each, what happens if you switch plans, and the plans that never qualify.
The never-subscribed rule: who counts as a new Starlink customerThe referral program is for people who have never had Starlink at all. Here's exactly what that rule says, how it applies to returns, moves, second dishes and households, and what Starlink leaves unsaid.
What “two full monthly billing cycles” means for a Starlink referralThe referral only counts once the new customer has stayed two full billing cycles. Here's how to find your exact end date, why the free month arrives before it, and the moves that reset nothing but still cost the reward.
What a Starlink referral link does, from click to creditA step-by-step walk through the whole path, from the moment you tap someone's link to the day each side's reward actually lands, with the dates that matter.
Referrer earnings and payouts
For current customers: pending referrals, credit or cash, and what cancels a reward. The overview page: For owners.
Failed the payment processor's ID check? Why every Starlink reward becomes creditCash isn't just a setting. To be paid in money you must register with SpaceX's payment processor and finish its identity checks, and until you do, the terms say every reward is paid as service credit. Here's how that works, and how to get it right before the next reward.
Friend cancelled in month two: what happens to your Starlink referral rewardYour friend ordered through your link, got their free month, and then cancelled. Here's what the terms say happens to your reward, why the timing of their exit is everything, and how to handle it without making things awkward.
How much can you realistically earn from Starlink referrals?The reward is real and there's no published cap, but the terms also say participation is 'voluntary and occasional' and ban almost every way of finding strangers to refer. Here's the arithmetic, the limits, and what a realistic year looks like.
Pausing or cancelling your own Starlink plan cancels pending referralsOwners lose rewards this way more than any other: they pause for the winter while friends' referrals are still pending. Here's the exact rule, what survives it, how to time a pause, and a checklist to run first.
Starlink referral cash not in your bank yet: counting the 30-day windowThe referral matured, you picked cash, and your bank account still shows nothing. Before you write to support, count the days the way the terms do, rule out the three things that turn cash into credit, and check where the money could already be.
Starlink referral stuck pending past the expected date: what to checkMost 'stuck' referrals aren't stuck: the clock started later than you think, or the reward already arrived as credit. Here's how to count, six checks in order, and a support message that gets a useful answer when something really is wrong.
What “good standing” means for a Starlink referrer“Good standing” appears four times in the referral terms and is never defined. In practice it covers four separate things: your Starlink account, your high-speed plan, the payment processor and the program rules. Here's what each one protects and what quietly breaks it.
What a “pending” Starlink referral meansYour friend ordered, your dashboard says pending, and nothing has arrived. Here's what that status means under the terms, how long it normally lasts, what cancels it on either side, and what protects it.
After-ordering situations
Returns, reorders and changes on either side after an order is placed. The overview page: Already ordered.
Bought a Starlink kit at a store, then found a referral linkYou bought the kit at a big-box store, got home, and a friend offered you their referral link. Can you still use it? Here's why a store kit can't carry a referral, the one situation where a fresh start on starlink.com might still work, and why it's usually not worth the trouble.
Cancel and reorder Starlink to use a referral link? The risks firstYou ordered without a link and someone has just offered you theirs. Cancelling and starting again looks like a way to get the free month back. Here's what the rules say at each stage of an order, what you'd actually risk, and when it's simply not worth it.
Returned the Starlink kit during the trial: what happens to the referralStarlink lets you return a kit bought on starlink.com within 30 days for a full hardware refund. If you ordered through a referral link, that return ends the referral on both sides. Here's how, what you get back, and what it means if you ever want Starlink again.
Your referrer paused or cancelled Starlink after you orderedYou ordered through a friend's link, and now they've cancelled, moved, or paused their service. Their side of the referral is spelled out in the terms. Yours isn't, quite. Here's what's stated, what's our reading, and what to check on your second bill.
Terms and allowed sharing
Sharing your link without putting your rewards or account at risk. The overview page: Sharing rules.
A three-sentence Starlink referral explanation that stays accurateSomeone asked for your link. Here's a three-sentence message that tells them everything that matters, why each line is there, versions for text and email, and the phrases that quietly break the rules.
Offering to split your $100 Starlink referral reward: what the terms sayOffering half your reward feels generous and harmless. The terms never mention it, but they do ban negotiating with prospects, workarounds and unsolicited pitches, and they let SpaceX cancel rewards it sees as abuse. Here's how those rules fit together, and what to do instead.
Paid ads and boosted posts with a Starlink referral link: bannedBoosting a post, buying a search ad, or paying for traffic to a page that holds your link all look like small marketing moves. The referral terms ban every one of them, including the indirect versions. Here's the clause, what it covers, where people misread it, and what breaking it can cost.
The 24-hour information request rule for Starlink referrersOne sentence in the referral terms gives SpaceX the right to question you about a referral, and gives you 24 hours to answer. Most owners will never get such a request. Here's what the clause says, what a request could plausibly ask, and the small habits that make a same-day answer easy.
What counts as consent for sharing a Starlink referral linkThe rule is short: no unsolicited contact, and keep a record of consent. The terms don't define consent, so here's the plain reading, eight real situations sorted from fine to not, and a record you can keep in a minute.
Taxes and records (cited)
What the terms and IRS pages say, and the records worth keeping. Not tax advice. The overview page: Taxes.
Credit vs cash for tax: what's known about Starlink referral rewardsMany owners assume credit on a bill is tax-free and cash isn't. Neither Starlink nor any IRS page we found says that. Here's what is stated, the IRS concepts people reach for and why none of them settles it, and what to bring to a tax preparer.
Records to keep for each Starlink referral (with a copyable log)The referral terms quietly expect you to keep records: consent for five years, and answers to SpaceX within 24 hours. Add cash rewards and tax questions, and a ten-line log starts to pay for itself. Here's what to record, a template, and what never to write down.
Will you get a 1099 for Starlink referral cash?You've had a few $100 referral payments land in your bank, and tax season is coming. Will a 1099 show up? Nobody has said. Here's what the terms and the IRS do say, the two forms in play, how the thresholds work at $100 a referral, and how to handle either outcome.
Program history and changes
Old rules still floating around online, and what changed when. The overview page: Changelog.
If the Starlink referral program ended: what happens to pending referralsNobody has announced the end of the program. But the terms spell out what happens if SpaceX ends it, changes it, or removes one referrer, and the answers differ more than you'd expect. Here are the four scenarios, the clauses behind each one, and the questions the text leaves open.
The $100 Starlink referral cash option: what was reported vs what's confirmedIn late August 2026, news sites reported that US Starlink customers could take referral rewards as $100 cash. Here's the source ladder, from press report to your own account: what each source says, which details are confirmed by Starlink's own text, and which still rest on press reports.
Why old posts still say “free month for you and them” about Starlink referralsSearch for how Starlink referrals work and you'll find two different programs described as if both were current. Here's the 2023 version, today's version, why the old wording survives (including on one of Starlink's own help pages), and five quick signs a page is out of date.