Which Starlink $100 is this? The referral credit, store deals and old promos, sorted

The referral credit, in one paragraph

It’s the only “$100” here that comes through someone’s link, and it works one way: you’re new to Starlink, you open an existing customer’s referral link for a US address, and the kit and subscription are bought directly on starlink.com, not from a store, an unauthorized reseller or a private seller^[2]. Starlink then adds $100^[1]: account credit unless you choose otherwise, taken off your next Starlink invoice^[1]. Where your account offers cash, you can take it that way instead: cash to a linked bank account where your account offers it, switched on under Referrals in your Starlink account^[1]. It’s a one-time reward, paid once per eligible referral^[2], and nothing comes off at checkout. Which bill: Starlink’s terms say it’s credited to your second monthly subscription invoice^[2]; its help center says it comes once you’ve had service for two months^[1], 60 days after activation at the earliest, subject to your account settings and an identity check^[1]. No order under the current terms reaches day 60 before Dec 6, 2026, so neither reading has been seen in practice yet. How to get it, step by step.

Saw “$100 off” at a store?

That’s the store’s own offer: money off the kit, on the store’s receipt (the table dates the one we found). It isn’t the referral reward, and a store kit can’t earn that reward too, because Starlink says only sign-ups made at starlink.com earn a reward; a kit from a retailer, a reseller or an account transfer is excluded^[1]. So it’s one or the other: the store’s price cut, or starlink.com through a referral link. Which costs less over a year depends on the store’s price and your monthly price; where to order so the $100 counts sets the channels side by side.

Deal sites have also listed a Mini “bundle” with a “$100 service credit”. The one we traced was Starlink’s own 2025 Mini offer, not a store’s, and it has ended (dated below).

The Mini’s “typically” price

On Oct 30, 2026, the order page showed the Mini as “$149 (typically $249)” with a 12-month installment option^[5]. Starlink doesn’t say what that gap is. Our reading: it’s the Activation Benefit, which Starlink describes this way: a new Mini kit bought on starlink.com in the US comes with an Activation Benefit at checkout, which Starlink can charge back if the kit isn’t activated within 7 days of delivery^[7]. The Mini Activation Benefit needs a new Starlink account and activation; transferred kits don't qualify^[7].

Either way it’s a lower kit price at checkout, not the referral reward, and the referral can’t pay for a kit, because credits can be spent only on monthly service charges^[4]. When we read Starlink’s US price list, the Mini kit was $149^[6].

Text in this screenshot

Mini Kit for $149 (typically $249) or $12.41/mo for 12 months.
30-day trial. Delivers within 2-3 weeks.
Order Starlink and ship it to
Country	United States
Installments [selected tab]	$12.41/mo for 12 months
One-Time Payment	$149

“$100s” that ended

Most posts that say “$100 credit” from 2024 and 2025 are about Starlink promotions, not the referral: a service credit for new customers, a “Regional Savings” credit in some areas, a Mini offer with a service credit for activating a Roam plan, and a vending-machine kit that came with one. Each has ended, but old threads and AI answers still repeat them. Today Starlink’s list of areas with one-time “Regional Savings” names only Mexico (separate from the US area discounts on the monthly price)^[8]. Each one’s row in the table above has its date and the public reports behind it.

A “$100” that was a charge

In 2024, new Residential customers in some busy areas paid a one-time “congestion charge”, reported at $100. Today’s version is the demand surcharge. Busy areas can carry a one-time demand surcharge at purchase or activation, set by the address and plan^[9]. Starlink’s invoice glossary puts it at up to about $1,500^[10] per residential service line. The referral reward can’t pay it, because credits can be spent only on monthly service charges^[4].

Other countries’ amounts

Posts from Canada, Australia and Europe quote their own referral amounts in their own currencies, but a US order earns $100^[1], and Starlink’s US terms require that your service address and the referrer’s are in the same country (for this site, the US)^[2]. The details, US territories and links from abroad included: the same-country rule in Starlink’s terms.

Other credits on your account

A Starlink account can carry credits that have nothing to do with a referral: Starlink credits come in three types: generic, service or hardware^[12]. A late kit, for example, can bring one: if billing is about to start and the kit still hasn't arrived 30 days after shipping, the trial is extended 30 days and a one-month service credit is added^[13]. None of them is the referral reward. To see which credits you have: your credits are listed at starlink.com/account/billing, in a credit table under the invoices, with the available balance and the total amount^[12].

Can two of them combine?

A store’s money off and the referral: not on the same kit (above). The referral and Starlink’s own offers on starlink.com: Starlink hasn’t said whether the $100 referral credit combines with an area discount, area promotional pricing, the Mini Activation Benefit or the Residential Max Mini offer unverified^[2]. Before you count on both, check your order summary at checkout and your invoice preview later.

And a “Starlink gift card” worth $100? Starlink’s help center, legal documents and US order pages mention no Starlink gift card^[14]. Anyone selling one is selling something Starlink doesn’t list.