Quick answer
By default, rewards arrive as service credit unless you choose cash. To get cash instead, open Referral Reward Types in your account, switch to cash, and register with SpaceX’s payment processor, including its ID check. After that, cash can be paid up to 30 days after the referral matures.
Credit or cash: which is right for you
| Service credit | Cash | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | Same value ($100 US example) | Same value |
| Setup | None. It’s the default. | Switch in Referral Reward Types, then register with the processor and pass its ID check |
| Where it goes | Your Starlink account, taken off your next bills | Your linked bank account |
| Can fall back | No | Yes, to credit, if ID checks or bank details fail |
| Bank fees | None | Any fee your bank charges is yours |
| Good fit if | You’ll keep paying a Starlink bill anyway and would rather not share ID or bank details | You want the money outside Starlink and don’t mind the processor’s checks |
US availability of cash comes from press reports (US referrers can choose $100 cash to a linked bank account (rolled out around the week of Aug 21, 2026)press report). Starlink’s own wording is conditional: your account's Referral Reward Types setting shows whether cash is offered to you. Treat that setting as the final word for your account.
How to switch to cash
Open Referrals in your account
On the web at starlink.com/account/referrals, or in the app. Where it is.
Choose cash under Referral Reward Types
The help center’s wording: switch to cash to a linked bank account under the Referrals tab; it applies to future referrals. If cash isn’t offered there, it isn’t available to your account yet.
Register with the payment processor
Under the terms, cash needs registration with SpaceX's chosen third-party payment processor, kept in good standing. The terms don’t name the processor, so follow the link from your account, not from an email you weren’t expecting.
Finish every identity step it asks for
This is the step people skip: if you don't finish the processor's identity checks, every reward is paid as credit.
Leave the setting on cash until the reward pays
The help center says the reward type selected when a reward pays out is the one used.
“Referrer acknowledges that failure to maintain good standing with Payment Processor, including by failing to submit all requested identification or other information, shall result in all Rewards being paid as service credits.”
When the reward arrives
Read the timeline as text
- Day 0: the new customer activates. You get an email when they order through your link.
- About day 30: their second bill carries the free month. Your referral is pending.
- About day 60: two full billing cycles are complete; the referral matures.
- From day 60: the reward can be issued. Credit appears on your account.
- Cash: paid up to 30 days after the referral matures, then your bank’s processing time.
Two rules set the clock. The referral matures once the new customer stays on a high-speed plan (not Standby) for two full monthly billing cycles. The help center says rewards are issued as soon as 60 days after the friend activates, and under the terms cash can be paid up to 30 days after the referral matures. Also, a pending referral is not guaranteed to pay; SpaceX can hold a reward while it checks eligibility.
When cash turns into credit
- The reward paid out while your setting was on credit.
- You didn’t finish the processor’s ID check, or fell out of good standing with it.
- Bank or detail problems: cash that bounces because of wrong details or bank problems can be re-issued as credit instead.
Also note that any fee your bank charges to receive the payment is yours to pay, and that SpaceX can end any referrer's participation, or their cash option, for convenience with 30 days' notice.
Taking cash means keeping records
The terms are plain: rewards come with no tax included or withheld, and the referrer alone decides whether tax is owed and files anything required. Before your first payout, read taxes on referral rewards.
Questions people ask
How long does a Starlink referral cash payout take?
The help center says rewards are issued as soon as 60 days after the new customer activates. The terms say cash may be issued up to 30 days after the referral matures, which happens after two full billing cycles. Then your bank’s own processing time applies.
Can I switch a reward I already got as credit into cash?
Nothing in the terms or help center describes converting credit already issued. The help center says the switch to cash applies to future referrals, and the reward type at payout time is the one used.
Who is the payment processor?
The terms don’t name it. They say it is an independent third party SpaceX selects, which may differ by country and may change.
Is cash worth more than credit?
No. Credit and cash are the same value. In the US that is $100 per successful referral, per Starlink’s own example.
Why did my cash reward arrive as credit?
Usually because cash wasn’t selected when the reward paid out, the processor’s ID check wasn’t finished, or the bank details failed. See the fix page for each case.