Referral code vs promo code, side by side

A Starlink referral code is one existing customer’s personal code (it starts with RC-) that works inside their starlink.com link and gives a new US customer one free month of service on the eligible plan you choose, credited to the second bill. A promo code is a store-wide code you’d type into a checkout box. We found no public US Starlink promo code, and no box at checkout to type one into. So the practical difference is simple: one exists and travels in a link, the other doesn’t exist in any usable form.

What each word means

Promo code (also “promotional code”, “discount code”, “coupon code”) is retail shorthand for a code a store publishes so that anyone who types it at checkout gets a discount. It’s the same for everyone, it usually has an end date, and it needs a box at checkout to work.

Referral code means something different: a code tied to one existing customer, so that when a new customer uses it, the store knows who sent them. The new customer usually gets something, and so does the person who referred them.

Starlink’s US terms don’t use the words “promo code” at all for the referral. They define the “Unique Referral Link” 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. Personalized and generated for one person: that’s the opposite of a promo code.

Side by side

	Referral code	Promo code
What it is	One customer’s RC- code, inside their starlink.com link	A store-wide code
Who issues it	Starlink, to each existing customer, in their account	The store (Starlink would have to publish one)
How it’s applied	By opening the link; the code is read from the web address	By typing it into a box
Is there a box at US checkout?	Not needed	We found none
What a new US customer gets	one free month of service on the eligible plan you choose, credited to bill 2	Nothing: no public US promo code found
Who can use it	New customers ordering directly on starlink.com with a US service address	n/a
Where to get one	From someone you know who has Starlink	n/a

What exists in the US today

Here’s what Starlink actually publishes about saving money as a new US customer, as read on the dates in our sources.

The referral

The only code-shaped saving. A new customer who orders through an existing customer’s link gets one free month on the plan they choose. You pay the first month; the credit comes off the second bill. On the plans with prices in our data, that month is worth $55–$175, depending on the plan. For example, on Residential 100 Mbps (listed at $55/mo in select areas) the free month is worth $55/mo; on Roam Unlimited ($175/mo) it’s worth $175/mo.

Promotional service pricing (no code)

Starlink’s help center describes discounted monthly pricing for new customers in select areas, for a fixed period. Crucially, it says that if this pricing is available, you will see the discount service price offering at the time you place your order on starlink.com. No code is involved: your address decides. The same terms say changing plan, cancelling or being suspended ends promotional pricing.

Regional Savings (no code, not in the US)

Starlink’s Regional Savings article lists only one eligible area: Mexico. No US area is listed. Again, nothing to type.

What doesn’t exist

A public US promo code, coupon code or discount code that you type in. We found none in Starlink’s help center, and the help-center text on discounts never asks you to type one. Our promo code page keeps this answer up to date with dated sources.

For a fuller comparison of all four ideas (promo pricing, Regional Savings, referral and “discount code”), see discount options compared.

How each would be applied

This is where people get stuck, so it’s worth spelling out.

A promo code would need a box. You’d type SAVE20 or whatever, press Apply, and see the price drop. Starlink’s US order flow, as far as we found, has no such box. Our reading of Starlink’s own help text is that discounts either appear automatically for your address or come from a referral link.

A referral code doesn’t need a box. The customer copies their link from their account’s Referrals page. You open it. The address ends with ?referral=RC-…, starlink.com reads the code, and, according to a third-party walkthrough, the order page shows “Referral Code Applied” before you submit. Starlink’s terms say the order must be placed using that link and that No other referral mechanism shall qualify as an Eligible Referral.

So if someone hands you an RC- code and calls it a “promo code”, don’t go looking for a promo box. Ask for the link it came from. Here’s what to do with a bare code sent by text.

Why the words get mixed up

• Search habits. Far more people type “Starlink promo code” than “Starlink referral link”. Websites label referral links as promo codes to catch that traffic.
• Coupon sites. They list a “code” for almost every store, generated or scraped, whether or not the store uses codes. See why coupon sites list Starlink codes that do nothing.
• Other countries and old offers. Posts about offers elsewhere, or about the discontinued 12-month plan with a no-cost kit, get shared without dates and read as current US promo codes.
• The code looks like a code. RC- plus digits looks exactly like something you’d type into a box.

When to use which

Short version: there’s only one to use.

1. If you have an RC- code from someone you know, get their full link and open it. That’s the referral.
2. If you have a code that doesn’t start with RC- (like FREEMONTH, SAVE50, STARLINK100), it’s a store-style promo code. There’s nowhere to use it at Starlink’s US checkout, so set it aside. If it came with a request for money or card details, treat it as a scam: see how to spot a fake promo code.
3. If you want to know what price your address gets, enter your address on starlink.com. Any promotional pricing for your area shows there automatically.

Edge cases

You had Starlink before. A referral won’t help: Starlink says existing and returning customers aren’t eligible. Promotional pricing is Starlink’s offer for new customers in select areas; we don’t know how Starlink treats returning customers for it, so check what the order page shows for your address.

You’re buying the kit in a store. A referral doesn’t apply to store-bought kits, per Starlink’s terms. A promo code wouldn’t either, because there isn’t one. Whatever the store offers is the store’s price, which this site doesn’t cover.

The code is from another country. A referral needs your service address to be in the same country as the referrer’s, so a code from a customer in another country won’t fit a US order. Store-style “promo codes” from other countries’ posts have nowhere to go at the US checkout either.

Someone says their code is “better” than another. Every referral link gives a new customer the same thing: one free month on the eligible plan they choose. No referral code is worth more than another to you.

How to ask for the right thing

If you know someone with Starlink, the wording of your request matters more than you’d think. “Do you have a promo code?” often gets a blank look or a store-style code from a coupon site. Ask instead:

Could you send me your Starlink referral link? It’s under Referrals in your account. Please copy and paste the whole link.

That gets you the one thing that works, in the form that works.

What we don’t know

• How promotional pricing and a referral interact on the same order. Starlink doesn’t publish this, so we won’t guess.
• Whether Starlink will ever introduce typed promo codes in the US. If it does, we’ll update our promo code page and log it in the changes log.

What to do next

Get a referral link from someone you know who has Starlink, check it with our link and code checker, and open it in the browser you’ll pay in.