After you order Starlink: delivery, activation and the first bills

When does Starlink start billing after you order?

Starlink’s US terms of service, as read Nov 3, 2026, set the date in these words: “The first charge for the Services selected in your Order will be on the earlier of (i) the date you activate the Starlink Kit; (ii) 7 days after Starlink delivers your Starlink Kit, or (iii) if no delivery date is available, 30 days from the date your Starlink Kit was shipped (“Payment Due Date”).”[ToS] Your Starlink account shows that Payment Due Date. The kit and one-time charges were paid at checkout, so this first invoice covers the first month of service in full.

Enter the date below to see the invoices that follow.

Invoice by invoice: what to look for

• First invoice: the first month in full, with nothing taken off for the referral.
• Second monthly invoice: Starlink’s terms say the $100 is placed on the second monthly invoice for your subscription[T]. Look for a credit line on it, or in your account’s credits.
• Around day 60: the help center calls the reward possible from day 60 after activation at the earliest, subject to account settings and an identity check[H], so it can also turn up on the next invoice after that point.
• Later invoices with nothing: see “Credit not showing on your invoices?” below.

How the credit is spent: credit can only go toward monthly subscription charges, up to the size of the charge: against a $120 invoice, $100 of credit leaves $20 due[H].

Keeping the referral eligible

• The terms ask for this: “The Referred Subscriber must maintain continuously subscribed and in good standing for two full monthly billing cycles in order for a Pending Referral to mature to an Eligible Referral.”[T] Months in Standby Mode don’t count toward the two.
• Pay each invoice: a failed payment can hold the reward back (our reading of “in good standing”).
• Update your card only inside your Starlink account, never through a link in a message.
• Starlink wants referred customers to use the service and plan to keep it, and it checks how long they stay against the national norm[T].

Credit or cash

The $100 arrives as service credit on your Starlink account unless you pick otherwise[T]. The other option is a bank payout through Stripe where Starlink offers cash, switched on in the Referrals tab of your starlink.com account[H]. Whichever option is selected when the reward pays out is final[H], so switch to cash before then if you want it. Starlink issues rewards without tax included; ask a tax professional whether you owe any[T].

How does the Starlink 30-day return window work?

Going by Starlink’s US terms of service as read Nov 3, 2026, starlink.com purchases get 30 days from the Payment Due Date to send back an undamaged kit for a full refund, while renters get only the activation price back[ToS]. The 30 days run from the Payment Due Date, not from the day you ordered. A return also ends the subscription, so an order you send back earns no referral reward for either side.

Credit not showing on your invoices?

1. Confirm two complete billing cycles have passed, and check the first invoice after day 60.
2. Sign in on starlink.com and look at your credits and the Referrals tab.
3. Still nothing on a later invoice: contact Starlink support from inside your account, with your order date and, if you kept one, your “Referral Code Applied” screenshot.

Bear in mind: SpaceX has the final say on whether a referral qualifies and may withhold, delay or take back a reward[T], and a referral missing at the time of the order can’t be attached later[H].