Signing up for Starlink: the $100 credit for new customers, and what is charged when

Before you order, open Starlink's site through the referral link

Open Starlink's site through an existing customer's referral link, and do it before anything else. Starlink's referral help page, checked November 2026, gives a new customer one line of instruction: "Sign up with the referral link on starlink.com, pay for the first month, and activate your kit." The link comes first because the same page says "A referral is only recorded when the new customer orders on starlink.com using your unique link." and "If they ordered without your link, used someone else's link, or bought from a retailer or marketplace store, the referral won't appear and can't be added later."

Starlink's US Referral Program Terms, in the version published October 2026, define that link in section 2.4 as "the personalized hyperlink or code generated for a Referrer through the SpaceX Customer Portal or other authorized channel for the purpose of tracking referrals under the Program", and section 3.1(b) adds "No other referral mechanism shall qualify". No Starlink page read in October 2026 describes a code for a new customer to type; the promo code page has that reading.

Starlink's checkout shows "Referral Code Applied" when the link carries the code (read November 2026); the promo code page has that alert and Starlink's warnings for a referral that can't be applied. This page enters no address, so it can't report what the order form displays.

My own referral link is in the promo after this page's answer and again at its end. When an order through it qualifies, Starlink gives me a reward too.

The order in seven steps, each from Starlink's help pages or terms

1. Open starlink.com through an existing customer's referral link. The referral is recorded only on an order placed that way (before you order).
2. Enter your service address and click "Order Now". Starlink's help page How much does Starlink cost? says this lets you "preview the price breakdown in your area for the Starlink Kit cost and the monthly service price".
3. Choose a plan and a kit. Starlink's US Terms of Service, in the version published August 2026, speak of "the Services selected in your Order", and the help page What is an 'Activation Charge'? of "the service plan you choose and/or the Starlink kit you select". For the credit, the plan has to be on the referral help page's list (which plans carry the credit).
4. Pay at checkout. How does the monthly service billing cycle work? says "When you buy on starlink.com, your payment method is charged at checkout for that order. That payment method is saved on your account for later charges." Starlink Payment Methods says "Starlink accepts most major credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal." and "The payment methods available to you are shown at checkout and in your account's Billing settings."
5. At an address that is at capacity, a deposit comes first. Starlink Kit Deposit Charge says "If ordering in a location that is at capacity, you can make a deposit. Upon completing your order, you will be charged a one-time deposit cost. This cost is later subtracted from the total due for the Starlink hardware cost." The sold-out page has what Starlink says about capacity.
6. Wait for the kit. It ships within the estimate on your order details page; after you order has tracking and Starlink's delivery times.
7. Activate the kit. The billing cycle page says "Your billing cycle begins on the day your Starlink kit is first activated." and "If you do not activate within 7 days after delivery, service is activated automatically." The first monthly fee follows (what is charged, and when).

Each help page in the list was checked November 2026. The list is built from those pages and the terms, not from the order form: this page enters no address and places no order, so it doesn't describe the form's own screens.

Starlink has a help page on ordering Roam: How do I order Starlink Roam?, checked November 2026, tells new customers to "Place an order at starlink.com/roam". Searches of Starlink's help pages in November 2026 found no consumer article that does the same for a Residential order. For the credit, a Roam order has to be placed through the link like any other.

What is charged, and when

The amounts for your address appear on the order page once you enter it, and this page enters none. The table gives the order of the charges, in Starlink's words.

Starlink's pages word the first month in two ways, and this page doesn't reconcile them. The referral help page tells a new customer to "pay for the first month". Starlink's account FAQ says "Please note, your first month's bill is not included in your initial hardware purchase. Instead, it is billed upon activation (or 7 days after your Starlink is delivered)." (Additional FAQs - Account, checked November 2026). The same FAQ describes the 30-day trial as "a trial of the Starlink hardware", not a month of service at no charge.

The pages this page cites give no amount for shipping, tax or the activation charge. Starlink's Roam label file, read in November 2026, gives shipping and handling as "Varies By Location". The activation fee page has each one-time charge with its source, and the plans and prices page sets the monthly prices and equipment costs in Starlink's US label files side by side.

Who counts as a new customer

The credit goes only to someone who has never been a Starlink customer. Section 3.1(a) of the Referral Program Terms reads "The Referred Subscriber is not, and has never been, a Starlink subscriber.", and the help page says "You must be a new Starlink customer. Existing or returning customers are not eligible." The terms also say "Referred Subscribers must be natural persons." (section 2.5), and require a kit and plan bought "directly from www.starlink.com" (3.1(d)). The offers and credits page has the rest of the conditions.

Which plans carry the credit

The referral help page, checked November 2026, lists the eligible plans: Residential Lite, Residential, Residential 100 Mbps, Residential 200 Mbps, Residential Max, Roam 100GB, Roam 300GB and Roam Unlimited. The terms add "Referred Subscribers may not be permitted to activate on all Starlink service plans." (section 4.1). The plans and prices page has what separates the plans and the prices in Starlink's label files.

When the $100 lands on your bill

The reward is a $100 credit on your second monthly bill. The help page gives the amount by example, saying it "depends on the country they signed up in and is shown in your account (for example, $100 in the US)", and gives its form: "Amounts default to service credit, applied to your account and deducted from your next invoice."

Starlink words the timing three ways, and this page sets them side by side without reconciling them:

• the terms, section 4.1: "Upon activation, the Referred Subscriber will receive the same Reward, applied on their second monthly subscription invoice."
• the help page: "You and the person you refer receive the same amount after they have subscribed for two months." Its list of key details adds "Amounts may vary for referrals outside your country."
• the help page again, on the referrer's amount, which "is issued as soon as 60 days after they activate, depending on your country, settings, and identity check."

On the bill itself, Starlink's help page Billing - Credits says "Credits are automatically applied to the next bill that appears in your account", and a second help page says credits "are only applied to monthly subscription charges" and works an example: "if your invoice is $120 USD when a $100 USD credit is applied to your account, the new balance due for the invoice will be $20 USD" (both checked October 2026). Neither page, as read then, says what happens to credit left over when a bill is smaller than the credit. The offers and credits page has more on how credits show.

What voids the credit

Each of these keeps the credit from arriving, by Starlink's own pages:

• an order placed without the link, through someone else's link, or at a retailer or marketplace store, after which the referral "won't appear and can't be added later" (the help page);
• a kit that didn't come from starlink.com: "Amounts are only issued for sign-ups on starlink.com. Kits from resellers, retailers, or account transfers are not eligible." (the help page);
• an earlier Starlink account, since "Existing or returning customers are not eligible";
• a plan that isn't on the help page's list.

Starlink also keeps the right to take a reward back. Under "Limitation, Cancellation, or Revocation of Rewards" (section 5.5, as the terms page numbers it), "SpaceX may limit, change, cancel, delay, or revoke a Reward (including after issuance) or cancel Eligible Referrals or Pending Referrals in the event of fraud or abuse of the Program or violation of these terms." Starlink can change the program or its reward, or end the program, "with 30 days prior notice" (sections 5.3 and 5.4, by the same numbering).

What a return does to the credit isn't stated. The terms apply the credit "on their second monthly subscription invoice", the Terms of Service charge each monthly fee after the first "on the anniversary of the Payment Due Date", and Billing - Credits says credits "are non-refundable, non-transferable, and will not be reimbursed if you discontinue service." No Starlink page read in October 2026 says what a return within the 30 days does to a referral credit; the 30-day trial page sets those sources side by side.

After you order: changes, a late kit and a return

Starlink's help page How do I cancel my shop order? says "An order can be cancelled or updated only while the status shows Pending." and "The status can change to Preparing Shipment within one to three hours after the order is placed." Shipping can't be put off either: Can I delay the shipment of my order? says "We are unable to delay shipping timelines."

If billing is about to start and the kit hasn't arrived, the billing cycle page says "If you have received a notice that your billing cycle will begin soon and your Starlink Kit has not yet been delivered, your 30-day trial period is extended by another 30 days, and a one-month service credit is applied to your account."

A return counts from the same date as the monthly fee: section 6.3 of the Terms of Service allows it "within 30 days of the Payment Due Date", and the terms' Shipping & Handling clause says "Shipping and handling charges will apply and are non-refundable." The 30-day trial page has the conditions.

For a tax-exempt buyer, Starlink's help page I am tax exempt based on belonging to a qualifying group, how do I apply? says "United States: Starlink will refund the appropriate taxes paid if the exemption request is submitted within 60 days of your Starlink order date."

A kit bought from a retailer takes a different path, and no referral credit: Starlink's help page How do I activate my Starlink? says "Already purchased Starlink from a retailer? Activate it now via starlink.com/activate.", and the referral help page says kits from retailers "are not eligible". Each help page in this section was checked November 2026.

Tracking, carriers and what to do if the kit is late are on the after-you-order page.

What this page doesn't cover

Orders outside the US. The offers and credits page has what Starlink says about the referral program in other countries.

Business accounts and the Priority plans.

Retailers' own order pages, prices and terms.

What Starlink's order form shows once an address is entered, including the amounts for shipping, tax and the activation charge.

One person's order as it happened. Every step here comes from Starlink's published pages, and no order was placed for this page.