Examined Oct 27, 2026 Paid as an order discount Not available in Washington state Collecting the full $40 takes two separate $35 orders, roughly $70 of groceries, not one big cart.
Instacart says plainly that “referral credit amounts can vary”, so treat $40 as the ceiling for the current wave and check the figure shown at sign-up. The rules do not vary: each credit needs its own order of $35 or more from one retailer, no alcohol or restaurant orders, and the link must be used before your first purchase. It cannot be applied retroactively.
What pays what
| Your first two orders, each $35+ at one retailer, via a referral link | Up to $40 total |
|---|---|
| An order under $35, or a second order you never place | No credit on that order; the coupon waits, unused, until it expires |
| Alcohol or restaurant orders | $0 |
| Applying the code after you have already ordered | $0 |
Each coupon may only be used in one order with only one retailer for an order of $35 or more. Code cannot be used retroactively for prior purchases.
Do this, in this order
- Check your state first. Washington state residents are excluded from the referral program entirely. You also cannot be referred by a member of your own household or a related account.
- Sign up through the referral link before ordering. The promo attaches at account creation and cannot be added to an account that has already ordered.
- Plan for two carts, not one. The credit is split across your first two orders, and each one needs its own $35 minimum from a single retailer. Collecting the full amount means roughly $70 of groceries, so do not expect $40 off a single shop. Splitting one order across stores breaks the rules. Our guide to collecting the full credit rather than half of it walks that two-cart sequence in the order it has to happen.
- Keep alcohol and restaurant items out of the math. The discount applies to non-alcohol products only, and restaurant orders do not qualify at all.
- Use both coupons before they expire. Codes expire “90 days after the redemption date or as indicated on the coupon in-app, whichever is earlier”, so go by the date on the coupon. If you did all of this and the credit still did not arrive, it is usually one of four rules, not a fault, and two of them are still fixable.
Is it worth your time?
This one costs zero extra effort if a $35 grocery order was happening anyway: the discount lands at checkout on the spot. It is a discount, not cash, so do not pad a cart past $35 to chase it; groceries you did not need can cost more than the credit saves. Delivery and service fees still apply, and heavy items or busy windows can push the real total up, so compare the checkout price against your store run before deciding Instacart is the habit for you. The referral is legit: it is Instacart's own program with its own written terms, though the $40 figure appears nowhere in those terms and the credit has, in Instacart's words, no cash value.
