Short answer: Before promoting a referral program, check the payment base, whether rewards recur, the caps and conditions, how attribution is tracked, and whether the product genuinely fits your audience. A high percentage on a tiny base is worth less than a modest one on a base that scales.
1. What is the percentage a percentage of?
The headline rate means little without the base. ether.fi’s referral dashboard, for example, lists a 0.1% share of referred spending next to a 50% commission on card issuance. The first applies to a large flow of spending, the second to a small, one-time fee.
Always translate each rate into a plausible monthly amount for one typical referred user.
2. One-off or recurring?
Fixed bonuses pay once, while recurring shares continue as long as the referred user stays active. A program with only small one-off bonuses depends entirely on constant new sign-ups, while a recurring share builds over time but only if referrals stay.
3. What are the caps and conditions?
Look for limits on the number of rewards, minimum spending, verification requirements and country restrictions. The ether.fi dashboard shows up to 10 new-user bonuses, with more unlocked by high-spend bonuses, which is a cap you can plan around only if you know it exists.
A reward that requires your referral to pass identity verification in their own country depends on factors you cannot control.
4. How is attribution tracked?
Find out how a referral is credited: a link, a code, a wallet, and for how long. Check whether the dashboard shows clicks, sign-ups and pending versus settled rewards, because without that you cannot tell whether the program works for you.
5. Would you recommend it without the commission?
The last check is the most important one. If the product would not be useful to your audience at all, no commission justifies promoting it. Disclose every referral link, and write only about the parts of the product you have verified yourself.