The Claude referral programme lets eligible paying Claude subscribers share a personal link (Anthropic calls the invitations “guest passes”) that gives someone new to paid Claude a free seven-day trial of the Pro plan. If that person goes on to become a paying subscriber, the referrer may receive Claude usage credit, which has no cash value. It is a small perk for people who genuinely recommend the tool, not an income stream.

This guide includes a few product links near the end. As an Amazon Associate, Freyja Publishing earns from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

This guide explains how the programme works according to Anthropic’s own help pages, who can share and receive passes, what the reward actually is, how to disclose a referral link properly wherever you live, and how authors can mention Claude honestly without damaging reader trust.

Disclosure: this article contains a referral link to Claude. If you sign up through it, Freyja Publishing may receive Claude usage credit, at no extra cost to you. It does not change what we recommend. See our affiliate disclosure.

At a glance

• Who can share: eligible Pro and Max subscribers, who get a limited number of guest passes. Free-plan users cannot share them.
• What your reader gets: seven days of Claude Pro at no cost, but only if they have never had a paid Claude subscription. A payment method is required and the trial rolls into a paid plan unless cancelled.
• What you may get: usage credit, issued only when the person you referred becomes a paying subscriber. No cash, not transferable, and it can expire or be forfeited.
• The rules can change: Anthropic can change, pause or end the offer at any time, so check the current terms before you promote a link.
• Disclose every time: a referral link is a material connection, so it needs a clear disclosure near the link, not a footnote.

What the Claude referral programme is

Claude is the AI assistant made by Anthropic. Its referral scheme is built around guest passes: each eligible subscriber receives a small, limited allocation of invitations, shares them through a unique referral link, and can see how many remain and which have been redeemed. Anthropic’s help centre describes these passes for Claude Code and Cowork, and the trial they unlock is the full Pro plan, which includes the regular Claude chat app as well as those tools.

In short, Claude offers a referral program for existing paid users, with a trial for the people they invite. Two points are worth understanding before anything else. First, this is a referral perk, not an affiliate programme: there is no commission, no payout to a bank account and no reward for clicks. Second, the details sit in Anthropic’s help pages and promotional terms, and Anthropic states plainly that offer availability and terms may change. Anything in this guide was checked against those pages in October 2026, but the live terms always win.

Where to find your guest passes

According to Anthropic’s help centre, eligible subscribers can find their passes in several places:

• a notification that appears when you start a Claude Code session or a Cowork task
• the Claude Code tab in your Claude settings
• the Cowork tab in the Claude desktop app’s settings
• the /passes command inside Claude Code

If none of these show passes for you, your account is probably not eligible at the moment. Anthropic does not publish a fixed number of passes per person, and passes themselves expire, so share them while they are valid.

Who can refer and who can receive a pass

Eligibility runs in both directions, and most confusion about the programme comes from missing one side of it.

Question	What Anthropic’s help pages say	What it means in practice
Who can share passes?	Eligible Pro and Max subscribers, with a limited number of passes	You need an active paid plan; the Free plan does not include passes
Who can redeem one?	People new to Claude paid subscriptions	Anyone who has paid for Claude before is not eligible, even if they cancelled long ago
What does the recipient get?	Seven days of free access to the Pro plan	Enough time to test Claude on a real project, such as a chapter edit or blurb drafts
Is a card needed?	Yes, payment details are required at sign-up	The trial converts to a paid Pro plan unless the person cancels before it ends
What if more people click than you have passes?	Redemption is first come, first served	Do not promise a free trial to a large audience; some readers will miss out
Can passes be sold or swapped?	No cash value and not transferable	Never sell passes or offer them as a paid bonus

Because the trial is for people new to paid Claude, it suits readers who have only used the free plan or have never tried Claude at all. Readers who already pay for another AI assistant are still eligible, as long as they have not paid for Claude.

What the referrer actually receives

This is the part most often overstated online. Anthropic’s help page says guest passes may, in some cases, result in usage credit for the referrer, with the amount specified in the offer when it applies. It does not promise a reward for every pass, and it does not publish a standard amount. Figures quoted on third-party sites cannot be confirmed from Anthropic’s own pages, so treat them with caution and check the offer shown in your own account.

What the official pages do confirm about any credit:

• It is earned on conversion, not sign-up. Anthropic’s promotional credit terms say referral credit is earned when the referred person becomes a paid subscriber. A trial that is cancelled earns nothing.
• It is usage credit, not money. It applies only to usage credit charges on a Claude subscription, such as extra usage beyond plan limits. It does not pay subscription fees, seat charges or taxes.
• It expires. The guest pass help page currently says credits expire one year after they are issued. Anthropic’s general promotional terms use a shorter default where an offer does not state a date, so check the expiry shown with your offer.
• It can be forfeited. Credit is void if you downgrade to the Free plan, and the general terms add cancelling your subscription or having your account suspended. Forfeited credit is not reinstated.
• Anthropic decides. The terms say Anthropic’s determination of eligibility, completion and credit amounts is final, and it can revoke credit for fraud or abuse.

Put simply, a referral may knock a little off the cost of heavy Claude use if you already pay for a plan. It will not cover your subscription, and it is not a way to earn a living. Anthropic also runs separate partner arrangements for businesses; those are different schemes with their own terms and are not covered here.

Is it worth sharing your link?

For most authors the honest answer is: only if you already use Claude and would recommend it anyway. The reward is too small and too conditional to justify writing content purely to push a link.

Your situation	Does sharing make sense?	Why
You use Claude on a paid plan and write about your process	Yes, where it fits naturally	Readers asking “what do you use?” get a free week to test it
You have a writing group or critique partners curious about AI	Yes, one to one	A personal invitation to someone who wants it is exactly what the passes are for
You are on the Free plan	Not possible	Passes are only for eligible paid subscribers
You have not really used Claude	No	Recommending a tool you do not know is the fastest way to lose reader trust
You hope to replace other income	No	Credit has no cash value and is only issued on paid conversions

If you want genuine extra income from your author business, it will come from your books, your email list and the options covered in alternative revenue streams for self-published authors, not from AI referral perks.

How to share a Claude referral link: step by step

1. Check you are eligible. Look for passes in your Claude Code or Cowork settings, or run /passes in Claude Code. No passes means no link to share.
2. Read the current terms. Open the guest pass help article and the promotional credit terms linked from it. Note the pass expiry, the recipient rules and whether any credit is offered.
3. Copy your unique referral link. Use the link exactly as Claude gives it to you; do not shorten it in a way that hides where it goes.
4. Choose the right place. A tutorial, a “tools I use” page or a reply to someone who asked is better than a blanket social post.
5. Write the disclosure first. Put a plain-language disclosure next to the link before you publish.
6. Describe the trial accurately. Say it is a seven-day Pro trial for people new to paid Claude, that a payment method is needed and that it becomes a paid plan unless cancelled.
7. Mark website links correctly. On your own site, add rel=”sponsored” to referral links, as Google Search Central recommends for paid or affiliate-style links.
8. Track and refresh. Check your referral dashboard for remaining passes and update or remove the link when passes run out or the terms change.

If you are building a page that lists the software you rely on, the author toolkit guide shows how to compare tools neutrally so a single referral link does not dominate the page.

Want to try the AI assistant we use for book work? Claude handles long manuscripts well, which makes it useful for outlining, editing passes and keeping series notes straight. You can start on the free plan.

Try Claude

Referral link — we may receive usage credit, at no extra cost to you.

Disclosure rules for referral links around the world

Any benefit you receive for a recommendation, including free usage credit, counts as a connection your readers should know about. The exact rules depend on where you and your audience are, but the principle is the same almost everywhere: the disclosure must be clear, close to the link and easy to understand.

Region	Main rule or regulator	Key expectation
United States	FTC Endorsement Guides (revised 2023)	Disclose material connections clearly and conspicuously, near the endorsement
United Kingdom	ASA and the CAP Code, plus CMA guidance	Marketing must be obviously identifiable as marketing
Australia	ACCC under the Australian Consumer Law	Do not mislead consumers, including by hiding incentives behind a recommendation
European Union	Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, applied nationally	Commercial intent must not be hidden from readers
Search engines	Google Search Central link guidance	Use rel=”sponsored” on links where you receive a benefit

A good disclosure is short and specific. For example: “This is a referral link. If you sign up and later pay for Claude, I may receive Claude usage credit. It costs you nothing extra.” On video or social media, say it in the caption and, where possible, out loud or on screen, rather than hiding it among hashtags. Also check the rules of the platform you post on, because some newsletter and blogging platforms restrict or label referral links in their own terms.

How authors can mention Claude without sounding like an advert

The most useful referral content teaches something first. A reader who learns how to run a developmental-style read-through of a chapter, or how to draft three blurb variations to test, will decide for themselves whether the tool is worth a week’s trial.

• Show real tasks. Outlining, line-editing prompts, keeping a series bible consistent and drafting metadata are all practical uses authors understand.
• Be balanced. Mention limits too: AI can invent facts, flatten voice and miss genre conventions. Our Claude vs ChatGPT comparison for authors covers where each tool tends to suit different jobs.
• Offer alternatives. Linking to a neutral round-up such as the best AI writing tools for authors shows readers you are not steering them to one product.
• Respect publishing rules. If you encourage readers to use AI, remind them that platforms such as Amazon KDP ask authors to declare AI-generated content when publishing.
• Protect your accounts. Use a strong password and two-factor authentication on any AI account that holds your manuscripts; see online security for authors.

Common mistakes

• Promising money. Saying people can “earn” from Claude referrals is misleading: the reward is conditional usage credit with no cash value.
• Saying credit arrives on sign-up. It is only earned if the referred person becomes a paid subscriber.
• Promising everyone a free trial. Passes are limited and first come, first served, and anyone who has paid for Claude before is not eligible.
• Hiding the card requirement. Readers should know a payment method is needed and the trial becomes a paid plan unless cancelled.
• Burying the disclosure. A note at the end of a long article or a lone hashtag is not clear enough.
• Selling or bundling passes. Passes are not transferable and have no cash value; offering them as a paid bonus breaches the terms.
• Leaving old links up. Expired passes and changed terms make old posts inaccurate. Review referral pages regularly.
• Quoting reward amounts from blogs. Only the offer shown in your own account and Anthropic’s current terms are reliable.

Before you publish a referral link: checklist

• I have used Claude enough to recommend it honestly.
• I have checked the current guest pass help page and promotional credit terms.
• My description of the trial (seven days, Pro plan, new paid users only, card required) matches the current terms.
• I have not promised money, a set reward or a guaranteed trial.
• The disclosure sits next to the link and uses plain words.
• Website links carry rel=”sponsored”.
• I have checked the rules of the platform where I am posting.
• I have a reminder to review the post when passes expire.

Sources this guide draws on: Anthropic Help Centre article on Claude Code and Cowork guest passes; Anthropic Promotional Credit Offer Terms; Anthropic Help Centre article on the Claude Pro plan; US Federal Trade Commission Endorsement Guides; UK Advertising Standards Authority CAP Code; Australian Competition and Consumer Commission guidance on the Australian Consumer Law; Google Search Central guidance on qualifying outbound links.

FAQ

Does Claude have a referral programme?

Yes. Anthropic gives eligible Pro and Max subscribers a limited number of guest passes, shared through a unique referral link. Each pass gives someone new to paid Claude seven days of the Pro plan at no cost. The scheme and its terms can change, so check Anthropic’s help centre for the current version.

Can I earn money from Claude referrals?

No. Any reward is Claude usage credit, which has no cash value, cannot be transferred and only applies to usage charges, not subscription fees. Credit is only issued in some cases and only after the referred person becomes a paying subscriber.

Can Free plan users share guest passes?

No. Anthropic’s help page says guest passes are for eligible Pro and Max subscribers. If you are on the Free plan, you will not see passes in your settings.

Who is eligible to use a Claude guest pass?

People who are new to Claude paid subscriptions. They need to enter payment details, and the trial converts to a paid Pro plan unless they cancel before the seven days end. Anyone who has previously paid for Claude cannot use a pass.

Do I have to disclose my Claude referral link?

Yes. Because you may receive a benefit, most advertising rules, including the FTC Endorsement Guides in the US, the CAP Code in the UK and the Australian Consumer Law, expect a clear disclosure near the link. Use plain words such as “referral link” and explain what you may receive.

How long does referral credit last?

Anthropic’s guest pass help page currently says credits expire one year after they are issued, and they are lost if you downgrade to the Free plan. Offer details can differ, so check the expiry shown with your own offer and the current promotional credit terms.

Claude referrals work best as a courtesy to readers who want to try the tool you already use: a free week for them, possibly a little usage credit for you. Share the link where it genuinely helps, describe the trial accurately, disclose it clearly and keep checking Anthropic’s current terms. If it suits the way you work, Try Claude today, and for a wider view of the tools worth paying for, compare it with the alternatives in the neutral guide linked above.