---
title: "Bonus and referral credit"
description: "The first top-up bonus, bonus credit from small tasks, and the credit a referrer earns."
---

# Bonus and referral credit

The amounts below are today's settings. They can change; a change applies to top-ups paid after it.

| Credit | Who gets it | Today's amount |
|---|---|---|
| First top-up bonus | Every person, once, on their first top-up of at least $5 USD in any of their [projects](projects.md) | $5 USD |
| Bonus credit from tasks | You, on the next top-up you make by hand after finishing a task | The sum of your finished tasks, up to 20% of that top-up, and at most $10,000 USD over your whole life |
| Invited by someone | The person you invite, on their first top-up | 5% bonus credit or the $5 USD first top-up bonus, whichever is more, never both |
| Referral credit | The referrer, on each top-up the referred account pays | 10% of the top-up, for 12 months after the referred account's first top-up, at most $1,000 USD from each referred account |

## Bonus credit from tasks

Open [/bonus](https://plaingateway.com/bonus) for the task list and what each task adds.
You pay the full amount, and the bonus credit is added to your balance on top: pay $100, get up to $120 of credit.
Tokens always cost the provider's list price.

- Each finished task adds bonus credit once, to the next top-up you make by hand. Automatic top-ups never use it.
- Finished tasks add up on that top-up, up to 20%. Any left over waits for your next top-up by hand.
- An invite counts once the person you invite has paid $20 USD in total, after refunds.
- A post about plaingateway is checked by hand. Once approved, its bonus credit is valid for 30 days, and you can post again after that.
- The other one-time tasks, such as adding your own provider key or making your first request, count once and do not expire.
- Bonus credit shows as "Bonus credit" in your wallet at [/settings/credits](https://plaingateway.com/settings/credits).

## Rules

A paid top-up is money paid by card. Bonus credit is not a paid top-up, so it earns no referral credit.
A refund or dispute takes back the matching share of referral credit and bonus credit, and takes back the first top-up bonus when it refunds the first top-up. See [Refunds](refunds.md).
Bonus credit taken back by a refund still counts toward the $10,000 USD lifetime limit.