What changed
The minimum stay for a referred customer doubled. Basenor reported on Aug 26, 2026 that “the referred customer now needs to stay subscribed for two months before the reward is issued, up from the previous one-month requirement.” Starlink’s own text now matches: the US Referral Program Terms require the new customer to stay on a high-speed plan, not Standby, for two full monthly billing cycles, and the help center says the sender’s reward is issued after two months, as soon as 60 days after activation.
The earlier help-center version, first written in 2023 and still live in an archive copy from Dec 9, 2025, required at least one month as a paying customer.
When
Around the week of Aug 21, 2026, the same rollout as the US cash option, per Basenor. Starlink hasn’t published a date. The terms were republished on Oct 3, 2026 with the two-cycle rule.
Who is affected
Both sides. Referrers wait longer for their reward. New customers must stay two full billing cycles on a high-speed plan for the referral to count.
What it means for you
A friend who cancels, or moves to Standby, during their second month now breaks the referral, where under the old rule they might not have. That second month is also the month their free credit lands, so in practice they pay for month one, get month two free, and the sender is paid after that.
For referrers, expect roughly two months between a friend activating and your reward appearing. Referrals that were pending before the change aren’t covered by any published transition rule we can find for this edit; the terms’ 30-day notice clause protects pending referrals only for changes announced under it.
What to do now
Tell friends about the two-month stay before they order, plainly, so nobody is surprised. Don’t chase them to stay; the terms also require a genuine customer who intends to keep the service.
What stays the same
The $100 US example reward, credit as the default, the free month on bill two, the same-country rule and the link-only rule.
What we don’t know yet
The exact date the stay changed, and how Starlink treated referrals that were already pending under the one-month rule.
How to check it yourself
Search the US Referral Program Terms on starlink.com for “billing cycles” to read the minimum-stay rule, and read Starlink’s help article “How do I refer people to Starlink?” for the 60-day timing. Referrers can see each referral’s status in the Referrals section of their account. A friend can see their billing dates on the billing page, which tells you when the two cycles end.