How the credit works
The $100 is real, but it arrives after month two
This trips people up constantly, so here's the actual sequence — straight from Starlink's own support documentation, not my interpretation of it.
STEP 01
You order through the link
The referral has to be attached at purchase, on starlink.com. A kit bought from a retailer or reseller can't be credited afterward.
STEP 02
You pay for month one
Activate the kit and get billed normally. The $100 is only issued once you have been subscribed for two months.
STEP 03
After two months, the $100 is issued
Starlink issues $100 to you and $100 to me, as soon as 60 days after activation. By default it is service credit deducted from your next invoice; you can choose cash instead.
Eligibility
Who actually qualifies
The restrictions are narrower than most people assume, and they're the reason plenty of referral credits never show up. Worth two minutes before you order.
- YES New Starlink customers The credit only issues to first-time customers. Existing and returning customers are not eligible — if you've had an account before, this won't apply to you.
- YES Residential and Roam plans Residential Lite, Residential, Residential 100 Mbps, Residential 200 Mbps and Residential Max. On the Roam side: Roam 100GB, Roam 300GB and Roam Unlimited.
- YES Ordered on starlink.com Sign up directly on Starlink's site with the referral link open. Kits from resellers, retailers, or an account transfer aren't eligible.
- YES Subscribed at least two months You need to activate the kit and stay on service for two months. The $100 isn't issued until then.
- NO Priority plans, Business and Enterprise accounts These don't earn referral rewards. The program covers the Residential and Roam plans listed above.
Verified on 1 November 2026 against Starlink's support page Does Starlink have a referral program?. Starlink can change these terms at any time; the linked page is always the authority, not this one.
The problem
Why rural internet stays broken
Nobody is withholding broadband from the countryside out of spite. The economics simply don't work: wired internet is priced per mile of cable and paid back per household on that mile. In a subdivision, one mile of fiber might serve two hundred homes. On a county road, the same mile might serve six. The cost is identical. The return is not.
So the wire stops. And where it stops, you get offered whatever can be delivered through the air or over copper that was buried for telephone calls — each with its own ceiling you cannot buy your way past.
What changed with low-Earth-orbit satellite isn't that someone finally cared about rural customers. It's that the cost of reaching one more remote household stopped scaling with distance. That's the whole story, and it's why this worked when nothing else did.
Field notes
Start here
Start here
What happens when you use a Starlink referral link
A green $100 banner on Starlink's page, then the $100 after two months. Here's the real timeline, and the one mistake that quietly costs you the $100.
Read →Answer
Is there a Starlink promo code?
No — and the sites that say otherwise are inventing them. Here's the only real offer, and who actually qualifies.
Read →New offer
Starlink's referral is now $100 each
The free month is gone. You and the person who referred you each get $100, cash or service credit. What changed and what it's worth on each plan.
Read →Prices
How much does Starlink cost?
From $55 a month for Residential 100 Mbps, checked on starlink.com. What each plan includes, what varies by address, and where the $100 referral fits.
Read →Comparison
Starlink vs T-Mobile Home Internet
Prices from both companies' own sites, what each includes, and why the signal at your address matters more than the monthly price.
Read →Weather
Starlink in storms, snow and ice
Mine has stayed up through Chesapeake Bay storms. What Starlink claims about snow, what I haven't tested, and why power is the real risk.
Read →Fix
Starlink obstructed? How to find and fix it
Starlink's own check-and-fix steps, why an alert can appear out of nowhere, and what to try before calling it a lost cause.
Read →Comparison
Starlink vs HughesNet vs Viasat
First-year promo prices from each company's own site, what happens after month 12, and the orbit physics behind latency.
Read →Fix
Starlink down? What to check, in order
Starlink's own troubleshooting order: app alerts, a 10-second power cycle, the router light, cables, then the sky view. Plus the power catch.
Read →Boating
Starlink on a boat on the Chesapeake
Why the home plan can't go underway, which Roam plan fits the Bay, the 12-nautical-mile line, and which dishes are rated for motion.
Read →Town guide
Internet in North Beach, MD
What the FCC map shows for North Beach: wired 100 Mbps reported at every home, gigabit at 58.7%, and which providers report serving the town.
Read →Town guide
Internet in Dunkirk, MD
What the FCC map shows for Dunkirk: wired 100 Mbps reported at 99% of homes, gigabit at 62.6%, and which providers report serving it.
Read →Troubleshooting
Referral credit not showing? What to check
The $100 is issued after two months, not on your first bill. Where to look, and the things that quietly cost people the referral.
Read →Honest take
Don't buy Starlink if…
Seven reasons it's the wrong buy, from a customer who likes it: fiber at your address, a blocked sky, a connection that already works, and more.
Read →Background
Why rural internet is so hard to get
The last-mile math, why DSL degrades with distance, and why the subsidy programs keep stalling before they reach your road.
Read →Setup
Installing Starlink: what actually happens
Out of the box to online, the obstruction check nobody takes seriously enough, and the mounting decision that causes most regret.
Read →Local
Rural internet in Calvert County, MD
What's actually available on this peninsula, the tree problem, and why availability here is decided address by address.
Read →Comparison
Starlink vs. every other rural option
Fixed wireless, cellular home internet, and why geostationary satellite latency is a physics problem no provider can engineer around.
Read →Common questions
What people ask me
Is there a Starlink promo code or discount?
There is no Starlink coupon code — Starlink does not issue them, and any site advertising one is guessing. The only standing discount is the referral program: order through someone's referral link and you and the person who referred you each get $100 in the US, as cash or service credit. There is no code to type at checkout; the link does it, and Starlink shows a green banner confirming the $100 when the page opens. Mine is https://starlink.com?referral=RC-586189-74623-26 — the price is identical either way. You pay your first month as normal, and the $100 is issued once you have been subscribed for two months.
Does the referral link cost me anything?
No. The price you pay is the same either way. The link tells Starlink who sent you, which is what triggers $100 for you and $100 for me. If you'd rather not use it, you can order directly from Starlink at the same price — you'd just be leaving your own $100 on the table.
When exactly does the $100 show up?
After you have been subscribed for two months, as soon as 60 days after activation. You pay month one normally. By default the $100 is service credit deducted from your next invoice; in the US you can choose cash instead, set up under Referrals in your Starlink account on the web.
I already had Starlink years ago. Can I still get the credit?
No. The referral credit is limited to new customers — returning customers aren't eligible. This is the single most common reason a credit doesn't appear.
Are you affiliated with Starlink or SpaceX?
No. I'm a paying Starlink customer who writes about rural internet. This site is independent and isn't endorsed by, affiliated with, or reviewed by SpaceX. Starlink is their trademark, not mine — I use the name because it's the product I'm writing about.
Will you tell me if Starlink is the wrong choice for me?
Yes, and it sometimes is. If you have fiber available, take the fiber. If you have a heavily wooded lot with no clear northern sky and no way to get a mast above the treeline, you will be frustrated. The comparison piece covers where the other options genuinely win.