How the Earnest referral bonus works

By Sasha Bulatskaya | Published on October 21, 2025

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Refinancing your student loans is more than a financial transaction. It’s an investment in your future and it requires working with a company you trust¹. At Earnest, we believe in building relationships with our clients and thanking them for choosing to spread the word about their positive experiences with us. That’s why we offer a $200 student loan refinancing referral bonus when a current client refers a friend².

By inviting your friends to join us, not only will you be helping them make a smart financial decision, but you’ll also be rewarded for your support. Let’s explore the details of our referral bonus program and how you can benefit from it while spreading the word about Earnest’s commitment to helping students like you.

What is the Earnest referral bonus?

It’s a $200 bonus that both you and the person you refer will get once they sign their loan agreement. This bonus is for refinancing clients only, and we currently don’t offer it to our private student loans or personal loan clients.

Who’s eligible?

To refer someone to Earnest you must:

• Be a legal resident of the United States of America (excluding Massachusetts, Michigan, and Kentucky due to state laws)
• Be of the age of majority in your state
• Maintain an Earnest account

Your Earnest account must be in good standing, meaning you must have a history of paying your bill on time and in full.

If you’re being referred to Earnest 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
• Never had an Earnest loan in the past
• Complete the application process with the Referrer’s unique referral URL or referral code. If you complete the application using any other partner link or marketing code, the registration will not count and you (and the person who referred you) will not be able to claim the referral bonus
• Contract for a student loan refinance with the company and cannot cancel the loan within any applicable grace period

How do I refer someone?

You can refer someone using a unique referral link located in your Earnest account. Here’s how it works:

• 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 unique referral link to share

Once you share your link, the person you refer will click on it to set up their Earnest profile and loan application. 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.

What if you were referred after starting your application?

The good news is that you can still use the referral bonus, even if you started your application without a referral link, but only if you haven’t already signed your loan agreement. Once you sign the agreement, we can’t retroactively apply the bonus.

If you haven’t signed your loan agreement, here’s what you can do:

• 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.

Be sure to use your unique referral link so we can track your referrals and ensure that you and your friends receive the referral bonus promptly.

Our way Of saying “thank you”

Referrals are a win-win situation if you’re happy with Earnest and want to help friends who want to refinance their student loans. For more information about the Earnest Referral Bonus for Refinancing, you can visit the official FAQ page. If you have any additional questions about our referral program, reach out to our Client Happiness team to learn more about the bonus and its terms.

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About the Author

Sasha Bulatskaya

Sasha is the Senior Manager of Brand and Content at Earnest. She has been writing for ten years and has been focused on educational finance and financial aid for over three. Her passion for mission-driven companies brought her to Earnest in 2020, and she's been helping make student finance more accessible ever since. She strives to demystify personal finance and student loans to help borrowers make the best decisions for their financial situation.

Disclaimer

This blog post provides personal finance educational information, and it is not intended to provide legal, financial, or tax advice.

1 Please note that you may lose benefits associated with your underlying federal loans, such as federal Income-driven Repayment Plans (an example of which is the SAVE plan), Economic Hardship Deferment, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or other deferment and forbearance options, if you refinance into a private loan. If you file for bankruptcy, you may still be required to pay back this loan.

2 Terms and conditions apply. See https://www.earnest.com/referral-terms. Referral rewards amounts of $600 or greater in a single calendar year may be reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as miscellaneous income to the recipient on Form 1099-MISC in the year received as required by applicable law. Recipient is responsible for any applicable federal, state, or local taxes associated with receiving the reward offer; consult your tax advisor to determine applicable tax consequences.

Referral Bonuses cannot be issued to residents in KY, MA, or MI.