Quick answer
The program has changed twice in substance. The Dec 2023 version gave both people a credit after 30 days. By Oct 2026 the new customer gets a free month on bill two and the sender gets a fixed reward (US example $100), with a cash option reported from around Aug 21, 2026. The terms were last republished Oct 3, 2026.
How to read the dates
Exact dates come from Starlink’s own document metadata. “Around” marks a date known only from press reports. Where we can’t see what changed on a day, the entry says so instead of guessing. Under the terms, SpaceX gives referrers 30 days’ notice of changes, and referrals already pending when a change is announced keep the old terms during the notice period.
Referral Program Terms republished
The US Referral Program Terms (document DOC-1882-84808-83) were republished. We have no earlier copy of this document to compare word by word, so the items below describe what the current text says, not a diff.
Date: Exact: the publish date in Starlink’s own legal-documents list. Status: Starlink’s own text.
6 items in this version
- RepublishedReferrers must answer any SpaceX information request within 24 hours, or the deadline it gives. (Starlink’s own text)
- RepublishedPaid ads that send traffic to a referral link, directly or indirectly, are banned, as is bidding on Starlink or SpaceX terms. (Starlink’s own text)
- RepublishedNo unsolicited contact of any kind, with consent records kept for five years. (Starlink’s own text)
- RepublishedThe new customer must not be someone experiencing financial hardship, domestic or family violence, or another vulnerability. (Starlink’s own text)
- RepublishedCash requires a third-party payment processor; failing its ID checks means every reward is paid as credit. (Starlink’s own text)
- RepublishedChanges take 30 days’ notice, and referrals already pending keep the old terms during that notice period. (Starlink’s own text)
Cash option for US referrers reported
News sites reported that US referrers can now take each reward as cash to a bank account instead of service credit. Credit stayed the default.
Date: Approximate: press reports say the change rolled out “around the week of August 21, 2026”. Starlink didn’t publish a date. Status: Press report.
2 items in this version
- NewReferrers can choose cash to a linked bank account; credit remains the default. (Press report)
- ChangedReported at the same time: the new customer’s minimum stay rose from one month to two. (Press report)
Help-center articles rewritten
Compared with the 2023 version, both referral help articles now describe a different program.
Date: Uncertain: Apr 9, 2026 is the last-edited date in Starlink’s own article metadata. The wording below is today’s, and it mentions cash, which press dates to August. Read this as “changed after Dec 9, 2025; current by Oct 5, 2026”. Status: Starlink’s own text.
7 items in this version
- ChangedThe sender no longer gets a free month. The reward is a credit or cash of the same value ($100 is Starlink’s US example). (Starlink’s own text)
- ChangedThe new customer’s credit moved from “30 days after activation” to the second monthly bill. (Starlink’s own text)
- ChangedRewards are issued after the new customer subscribes for two months, “as soon as 60 days” after activation. (Starlink’s own text)
- ChangedEligible plans grew from Residential and Roam Unlimited to every Residential tier and all three Roam plans. (Starlink’s own text)
- NewA cash option, where available, set under Referral Reward Types in the account. (Starlink’s own text)
- RemovedThe seven-country list. The program now runs “in most places where Starlink is available.” (Starlink’s own text)
- RemovedThe exclusion for waitlisted addresses is no longer mentioned. (Starlink’s earlier text, archived copy)
Earliest version we can source
The first help-center version on record. Both people got a credit, and everything happened within about a month.
Date: Exact: the creation date in Starlink’s own article metadata, read from an Internet Archive copy. The same wording was still live in a copy from Dec 9, 2025. Status: Starlink’s earlier text, archived copy.
6 items in this version
- NewBoth sides received a service credit; the app’s share button said “Free month for you and them.” (Starlink’s earlier text, archived copy)
- NewCredits landed 30 days after the new customer activated. (Starlink’s earlier text, archived copy)
- NewThe new customer had to stay a paid customer for at least one month. (Starlink’s earlier text, archived copy)
- NewSeven countries, including the United States. (Starlink’s earlier text, archived copy)
- NewCredits only on Residential and Roam Unlimited. (Starlink’s earlier text, archived copy)
- NewWaitlisted addresses were excluded. (Starlink’s earlier text, archived copy)
No change in this log carries the tags you picked. Tick another tag above to see entries again.
How this log is kept
Each week we re-read the Referral Program Terms and both referral help articles from the same data the starlink.com pages load, and compare them with the last copy. Older versions come from Internet Archive copies of those same pages. A new entry needs a dated source; anything we can only infer is labeled “our reading.” Spotted a change we missed? Tell us and it goes in the corrections log too.
Questions people ask
When did Starlink start paying referral rewards in cash?
Press reports put the US rollout around the week of Aug 21, 2026. Starlink hasn’t published a date; its help center now describes cash as an option where available.
What did the referral program look like before 2026?
The earliest help-center version we can source, written Dec 18, 2023, gave both people a service credit 30 days after the new customer activated, required one paid month, and listed seven countries.
Will I be told before the rules change?
Referrers get 30 days’ notice under the terms, and referrals already pending keep the old terms during that notice period. New customers are not promised notice.