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There are two ways to share HelloFresh, and only one of them pays you.
You open the HelloRewards panel to send something to a friend, and there are two different things in it: a Referral Code and a Freebie. HelloFresh’s own help centre explains that the one which is more generous to your friend pays you nothing at all. It last edited that article in November 2020, and the live amounts appear only inside the logged-in panel, which is not public.
- Referral Code, what you get for sending it$20 in credit
- Freebie, what you get for sending itNothing
Both buttons sit in the same HelloRewards panel. Figures from HelloFresh's help centre, last edited November 2020.
What pays what
| Referral code, your friend’s side, first-time customer | $40 off their first box |
|---|---|
| Referral code, your side, as the sender | $20 in HelloFresh credit |
| Freebie, your friend’s side, first-time customer | First box free |
| Freebie, your side, as the sender | Nothing |
| Anyone who has been a HelloFresh customer before | $0, either way |
| Your earned credit, if your code is posted to a website | Can be withdrawn |
| This site, for writing this page | Nothing |
Sending a Freebie is the nicer thing to do and costs you your entire reward. Sending a code pays you $20 and hands your friend the worse of the two offers. The only current amounts are the ones in your own HelloRewards panel once you sign in.
The clause that can take the credit back after you have earned it
Section 9 of the terms, headed VOUCHERS, ends with a sentence written specifically about people who share their code in public, and it is the reason this page shows you no code.
The sentence itself. "For the avoidance of doubt, and in accordance of the foregoing sentence, HelloFresh reserves the right to withdraw or deactivate any of your outstanding referral credits or similar Vouchers in the event your referral code is posted to a third party website (excluding your own social media profile(s) or blogs), or if you otherwise violate these Terms."
Who loses is the code owner. Every referral-swap forum, code-sharing thread and deals page carrying a HelloFresh code puts somebody else’s credits at risk, which is why we will not publish a HelloFresh code here, ours or a reader’s.
The same section bans copying vouchers at all. A voucher "may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, or published either directly or indirectly in any form or stored in data retrieval systems without our prior written approval."
And they only work in one place. "Vouchers may only be redeemed through our Site or App, and not through any other website or method of communication." If a browser extension claims it will apply a HelloFresh code somewhere else, it cannot.
One tell worth carrying with you: a great many HelloFresh code pages still cite support.hellofresh.com as their source. That host no longer resolves at all.
Do this, in this order
- Work out which side of this you are on. If you have never had a HelloFresh account, you are the one being sent something, and your job is to ask for the right one. If you already subscribe, only one of the two buttons pays you.
- If you are the newcomer, ask for a Freebie rather than a code. A Freebie makes the first box free of charge; a referral code takes $40 off it. Your friend gets nothing for sending a Freebie, and they accumulate them only by receiving boxes themselves, so you are asking a favour.
- If you are the sharer, send it privately and never post it. A message, an email, or your own social profile or blog are the channels the terms leave open. A forum, a subreddit, a codes site or a comment section are not, and HelloFresh reserves the right to withdraw the credits you have already earned when a code turns up on one.
- Check your friend is genuinely a first-time customer. HelloFresh’s help centre states that freebies and referral codes "can only be redeemed by first time customers, existing HelloFresh Customers will not be able to redeem it", and the terms repeat it: "Vouchers are only for first-time users of HelloFresh, unless the Voucher states otherwise." A lapsed account is not a new one.
- Do not try to stack the credit with anything. HelloFresh’s help centre is blunt about it: "only one promo code, discount, or credit can apply to a box at a time", and where you hold both, "our Customer Care team will honor the promo code first".
- Spend the credit before you cancel anything. Your reward is issued as HelloFresh Cash, and HelloFresh reserves the right to expire and withdraw promotional funds "upon your account cancellation".
- Put the five-day lock in your calendar the day the first box is confirmed. The terms state that "the ability to change an order locks on a rolling basis five days prior to your scheduled delivery date", and that afterwards "you will be charged and receive your Meal Box for that week". It is five days, and it rolls.
- Expect an identity check and a $1 hold on the card. Section 9 allows HelloFresh to ask for "additional identification information" and to charge "a $1.00 authorization charge (or such other amount identified to customer at time of verification by HelloFresh), which amount will be refunded following successful authorization".
What the $20 actually is, and what can still happen to it
It is store credit with a name. The terms describe amounts issued "as part of promotional programs such as referral awards" as HelloFresh Cash, which "can only be used on your customer account, and cannot be transferred to other accounts or individuals" and "cannot be redeemed for cash or otherwise claimed".
It can expire, and it can be withdrawn. HelloFresh "reserves the right to expire and withdraw your HelloFresh Cash funds that have been issued as promotions, discounts or compensation, upon your account cancellation". Cancel with unspent referral credit sitting in the account and you may have recruited those friends for nothing.
Any voucher can be pulled for any reason. Section 9: HelloFresh "reserves the right to withdraw or deactivate any Voucher (other than one which has been purchased) for any reason, at any time". A voucher you paid for is protected; one you were given is not.
Your friend is starting a weekly subscription. HelloFresh’s help centre puts it plainly: "When signing up for HelloFresh, you are enrolling in a weekly, auto-renewing subscription service. Coupons or vouchers may discount all or part of your initial delivery, but your subscription will automatically continue (with weekly charges to your account) unless you choose to skip or cancel deliveries."
Disputes are individual and private. The terms carry mandatory individual binding arbitration with class-action and jury waivers. The US contracting entity is Grocery Delivery E-Services USA, Inc. doing business as HelloFresh, and everything above is the US site and app, in dollars.
The other HelloFresh program, and who it pays
There are two entirely separate rails here, and only one of them is open to you. The in-account HelloRewards referral is the customer one, described above. The other is a Content Publishers program whose page says it is "DESIGNED FOR PUBLISHERS, BLOGS, SUBSTACKS AND NEWSLETTERS" and invites them to "Earn competitive commissions and unlock performance bonuses for top results". That page publishes no commission rate, no cookie length, and not a single line of program terms; those sit behind an application. We are not in the publisher program and carry no HelloFresh link of any kind.
Is it worth your time?
If you are the newcomer, yes: a free first box beats $40 off, so ask a friend for a Freebie and be honest that it pays them nothing. Then treat the subscription as the real decision, because the plan is a weekly charge that continues until you stop it, with a five-day lock in front of every delivery. If you are the one sharing, it is worth it on one condition: the code stays private. The moment it lands on a website, the terms let HelloFresh withdraw credits you already earned.
