SpaceX has opened up a new referral system for Starlink, and is now paying cash for successful referrals across the world. The referrals give $100 ($140 CAD) each, and the friend who signs up gets a free month of service.
The New Referral Program
The new referral program allows customers in the US to earn cash, rather than referral credits or free service for each person they refer successfully. Each referral will earn them $100, and the referred friend also receives a free month of Residential or Roam service.
The new referral page offers a selection between Cash or Service Credit, with a default to Service Credit. Just like previously, it also tracks your lifetime earnings and total number of people referred, and provides an easy way to either refer by link or refer by email.
The referred individual will need to purchase their Starlink dish from SpaceX’s website during the referral flow as usual – those who buy dishes at physical retailers cannot take advantage of a referral at this time.
Rewards are only issued when the referee is a new customer who signs up on Starlink.com. Kits from resellers, retailers, or account transfer are not eligible
Those wishing to earn cash via Starlink referrals will be required to connect or create a Stripe Express Account. If you haven’t already made an account, you’ll be guided through a flow for direct-deposit with your banking institution.
For US and Canadian residents, you will also be required to submit either a W-8 (US) or W-9 (CA) tax form.
You can also go through the same referral setup flow on the Starlink App on both iOS and Android. You must have at least one Starlink dish, active, in Standby, or inactive, in your account to setup your referral account.
For those looking to cash out with their referrals, or looking to setup their referrals, it is important to note that you must setup the cash rewards fully, otherwise any incoming referrals will be provided as service credit.
Referral Rewards Continue
SpaceX also confirmed that some customers have already achieved some absolutely sky-high rewards from Starlink referrals, with a few individuals hitting the $10,000 mark in referrals already.
For many of those who have hit those marks, they have hit them as referral credits, not referral cash. Previous balances of referral credits cannot be converted to cash at this time, but can continue to be used for service. For those with enormous balances, that’s equivalent to having years of Residential Max and Roam Max plans at your fingertips.
SpaceX has also updated its referral terms to match that of Elon Musk’s other company with referrals – Tesla. The updated terms indicate that SpaceX “will review Referred Subscriber retention patterns for deviations from the applicable country Starlink subscriber average to identify violations of this condition.” In addition, users “may only contact people who have consented to hear from you. Unsolicited marketing is not allowed and may result in removal from the program.”
