What is it?
When you share your personal referral link or code with your friends and family, you'll each get $200 when they refinance their student loans with Earnest (currently we're not offering referral bonuses on our personal loans or private student loans). If you were referred to Earnest by a website, blog, podcast or employer; you'll want to check out this article instead.
Referral bonuses are generally paid within 30 days of the referral signing their loan agreement.
Who is eligible?
As a referrer, you must:
- Be a legal resident of the United States of America (excluding Massachusetts, Michigan, and Kentucky);
- Be of the age of majority in your state of residence
- Maintain an Earnest account
As a referral, you must:
- Be a legal resident of the United States of America (excluding Massachusetts, Michigan, and Kentucky);
- Be the age of majority in your state of residence;
- Never had an Earnest loan;
- Complete the application process with the Referrer’s unique referral URL or identifier code. If the application is complete using any other partner link or marketing method, the registration will not count as a qualified referral and the referrer and referral will not earn Reward(s);
- Contract for a student loan refinance with the company and cannot cancel the loan within any applicable grace period
Our clients in Massachusetts, Michigan, and Kentucky are unable to participate in this referral plan due to state limitations.
How do I refer someone?
You’ll want to share your unique referral link with whom you would like to refer. They’ll click the link to begin their Earnest profile and loan application. You can find your referral link using the directions below.
- Log into your Earnest account.
- Click “Referral” from the left-side navigation menu or at the top of the page
- From the referral page, you'll be able to copy your referral link to share.
Your referral will use your unique link to create an Earnest profile. If they are approved and sign their loan agreement, both you and your referral will receive $200. Bonuses are generally paid out within 30 days of your referral signing their loan agreement.
I forgot to use my referral’s unique link or I already started an Earnest profile before being referred. What are my options?
In the case that you already signed your loan agreement, we are unable to retroactively apply the referral bonus. Our apologies for the inconvenience.
If you haven’t signed your loan agreement yet, you can manually add the referral link to your profile using the directions below.
- Log into your Earnest account.
- Click “Referral” from the left-side navigation menu or at the top of the page
- Once on the referral page, drop the referral link in the “Being referred by a friend?” box and hit the “apply code” button.
Within 30 days of signing your loan agreement, you and your referral will receive $200.
How do I know if my link was used?
Once your referral uses your link and creates an Earnest account, you’ll see a “My Referrals” box populate in your referral dashboard. You can access your referral dashboard using the directions below.
- Log into your Earnest account.
- Click “Referral” from the left-side navigation menu or at the top of the page
- Your “My Referrals” box will look similar to this:
If you do not see a “My Referrals” box, you’ll want to check in with your referral to see if they have started an account with your link.
I forgot to use my referral’s unique link or I already started an Earnest profile before being referred. What are my options?
If you haven’t signed your loan agreement yet, you can manually add the referral link to your profile using the directions below.
- Log into your Earnest account.
- Click “Referral” from the left-side navigation menu or at the top of the page
- Once on the referral page, drop the referral link in the “Being referred by a friend?” box and hit the “apply code” button.
Within 30 days of signing your loan agreement, you and your referral will receive $200.
If you have already signed your loan agreement, we are unable to retroactively apply the referral bonus. Our apologies for the inconvenience.
Haven't received your referral bonus yet?
If it's been over 30 days since your referral signed their loan agreement, please have your referral contact our Client Happiness Team at hello@earnest.com. They'll need to provide us the following:
- The first and last name of who referred them
- The email address associated with their friend's Earnest account
- The unique referral link
- Example: https://www.earnest.com/invite/referrer'sfirstname.uniquenumber
Further information about our terms and conditions applicable to our referral program can be seen here.