What changed
Referrers can choose to receive each reward as cash to a linked bank account instead of as service credit. Starlink’s help center confirms the option “where cash is available”, set under the Referrals tab, and gives $100 as the US reward example. The rollout date comes only from press reports.
When
Around the week of Aug 21, 2026, per a retailer blog dated Aug 26, 2026; a large review site covered it on Aug 25, 2026. Starlink hasn’t published a date.
Who is affected
Existing US customers on an active Residential or Roam plan who refer others. The new customer’s free month is unaffected; they get it even if the referrer takes cash.
What it means for you
Cash makes the reward easier to use but brings two new steps: registering with the payment processor and passing its ID checks. If either isn’t done when a reward is issued, it arrives as credit. Our fix page walks through why a reward can land as credit and how to get the next one as cash.
Cash also raises tax questions that credit didn’t. The terms say rewards come with no tax withheld and leave the decision to the referrer; our taxes page lists what the terms and IRS pages say, without guessing at what forms will be issued.
What to do now
If you want cash, open Referral Reward Types in your account, switch to cash, and complete the payment processor’s registration and ID checks before your next reward pays out. Otherwise the reward arrives as credit.
What stays the same
Credit stays the default, the reward amount is the one shown in your account, and the referral still needs two full billing cycles to mature.
What we don’t know yet
The exact rollout date, whether every US account received the option at the same time, how long the processor’s checks take, and which tax form, if any, is issued for cash rewards.
How to check it yourself
Sign in at starlink.com or open the Starlink app, go to the Referrals section of your account and look for Referral Reward Types. If you see a cash option, that is the setting that controls how your next reward is paid. Starlink’s help article “How do I refer people to Starlink?” describes the option “where cash is available”. Two independent press reports from Aug 25 and Aug 26, 2026 date the rollout; Starlink itself hasn’t. If your account doesn’t show the option, note the date and check again later rather than assuming it has been withdrawn.