What Is the Rolling 90-Day Window?

The rolling 90-day tier maintenance system for how to refer friends to ether.fi uses a continuous 90-day lookback window, not a calendar month. This means:

  • Your tier is checked against referrals from the past 90 days from today.
  • On day 91, your oldest referral drops out of the window and is no longer counted.
  • On day 1 of a new referral, it immediately enters the window and counts toward your tier.
  • There are no month-end resets or fixed dates — the window rolls forward every single day.

Signal: If you make steady progress (for example, 10–15 referrals every 3 months), you’ll maintain Tier 2 indefinitely. A burst of 50 referrals followed by 3 months of zero activity will drop you back to Tier 1 the day your oldest referral exits the 90-day window.

Tier Requirements and Commission Rates

Each tier has two requirements: an all-time minimum and a rolling 90-day minimum. You must meet BOTH to qualify for that tier’s commission rate.

Tier 1 (0.1% commission) — Default tier, no requirements. Everyone starts here.

Tier 2 (0.2% commission) — Requires 50+ all-time referrals AND 10+ in the last 90 days. This works out to roughly 3–4 referrals per month to maintain steady.

Tier 3 (0.25% commission) — Requires 100+ all-time referrals AND 20+ in the last 90 days. You need about 6–7 per month to stay at this tier long-term.

Tier 4 (0.3% commission) — Requires 500+ all-time referrals AND 50+ in the last 90 days. This demands roughly 17 referrals every month — a significant, active affiliate operation.

Key metric: The difference between Tier 1 (0.1%) and Tier 4 (0.3%) is 3× the commission rate. On an active referral base of 100 people spending $300/month each, Tier 4 earns $90/month while Tier 1 earns only $30/month. Tier maintenance pays for itself if you have the volume.

Why it matters: The all-time requirement ensures you’re a proven recruiter; the 90-day requirement keeps your tier tied to recent, active performance. You can’t coast forever on old referrals — the system rewards consistent growth.

What Happens When Your Count Drops Below the Threshold?

On day 91 after a qualifying referral was made, that referral leaves the rolling window. If you fall below the tier requirement:

  • You drop to the next-lower tier automatically — no action needed, no delay.
  • Your commission rate drops with it for all future referrals.
  • Existing referrals from before the drop keep their original commission rate for up to 12 months from their activation date.

For example, if you are at Tier 3 earning 0.25% and your 90-day count drops to 15 (below the 20-referral floor), you fall to Tier 2. A referral you made 3 months ago that was earning you 0.25% keeps earning 0.25% for the remaining 9 months of the 12-month window. But any new referral you make will now earn only 0.2%.

Risk: A 30-day pause in referrals at Tier 3 doesn’t immediately drop you, because old referrals haven’t exited the 90-day window yet. But 120 days of zero new referrals will drop you to Tier 2 once the oldest cohort rolls off. After 150 days of inactivity, you’ll fall all the way to Tier 1.

Watch: Mark your calendar for day 91 after your last batch of referrals. That’s the day they leave the rolling window and your tier could shift. If you’re at 49 Tier 3-equivalent referrals (one short of 50), a single new referral who activates a card puts you safely above the threshold.

How Commission Rates Compound Across Tiers

Your total earnings come from multiple sources:

  1. Recurring commission — 0.1%–0.3% of each referred user’s spending for up to 12 months.
  2. One-time new member bonus — $10–$20 per qualifying referral (tier-dependent).
  3. Physical card commission — 20%–25% of the card fee (tiered: 20% for Tiers 1–3, 25% for Tier 4).
  4. Sub-affiliate revshare — At Tier 2+, earn 20% of commissions from people who sign up via YOUR referral’s referral link.

The higher the tier, the higher the rate on ongoing spending. A Tier 4 affiliate earning 0.3% on 50 active referrals spending $500/month each makes $75/month in recurring commission. The same affiliate in Tier 1 (0.1%) would earn only $25/month. Over a year, that’s $600 in additional earnings — far more than the effort it takes to recruit a few more people per month.

Why it matters: A single referral that spends $100/month for a full year at Tier 4 (0.3%) earns you $36 in total commission. At Tier 1 (0.1%), that same person earns you only $12. Climbing even one tier (say, from Tier 1 to Tier 2) doubles your earning rate. The system compounds: more referrals → higher tier → higher rate on each referral.

How to Track Your Progress and Stay on Tier

To stay aware of your tier status and avoid unexpected drops:

  • Log into your ether.fi affiliate account and check your referral count (all-time and last 90 days).
  • The 90-day count decrements automatically every day — referrals roll off without any action from you.
  • Plan your referral campaigns in sprints of 2–3 weeks rather than all-at-once pushes to smooth the rolling window.
  • If you’re close to a tier drop, one new qualifying referral (someone who activates a card and spends $100+) can lift you back above the threshold immediately.

Key metric: A Tier 3 affiliate sitting at 19 qualifying referrals in the last 90 days is one referral away from a drop to Tier 2. But a single successful recruit activating a card tomorrow puts them at 20 and secures the tier for another 90 days.

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Common Misconceptions About Tier Maintenance

Misconception 1: “If I hit Tier 4 once, I stay there forever.” — False. The rolling 90-day window means you must maintain the activity level every month or drop.

Misconception 2: “Commission stops after 12 months even if someone keeps spending.” — True. Each referral earns commission for up to 12 months from card activation, then the commission window closes, even if they keep using the card.

Misconception 3: “If I drop tiers, my old referrals drop their commission rate too.” — False. Tier drops only affect NEW referrals going forward. Existing ones keep their original rate for the remainder of their 12-month window.

Signal: The rolling 90-day tier system is actually forgiving for short-term pauses. A single month off costs you nothing if you’re 20 referrals in (Tier 3). But three months of zero activity is when the tier collapse begins.

What to watch

  • Track the exact day when your oldest Tier 3 or 4 referrals exit the 90-day window. Set a calendar reminder 85 days after a big recruitment push so you can plan your next cycle.
  • Monitor your monthly referral rate against the tier requirements: ~3.3/month for Tier 2, ~6.7/month for Tier 3, ~16.7/month for Tier 4.
  • Note that commissions from a single referral stop accruing 12 months after that person activates the card, regardless of how long they keep spending.
  • Check the ether.fi affiliate page periodically for any changes to tier thresholds or commission rates. Tier requirements are subject to change per the program terms.
  • If you refer someone but they never activate a card or never spend $100, they do not count toward your tier — keep tracking only qualifying referrals.

Bottom line

  • The rolling 90-day tier maintenance system is continuous, not calendar-based — referrals drop off on day 91, not on the 1st of a month.
  • To stay at higher tiers (3–4), you need consistent referral flow; a 120-day pause drops you to the tier below.
  • If you fit the profile of someone bringing in 5–20 friends every month, invest in maintaining Tier 3 (0.25%) or higher. The extra 0.15%–0.2% compounds quickly across an active referral base.
  • Most successful affiliates operate at Tier 2 or 3 long-term, treating the referral process as a slow-burn growth channel rather than a sprint.
  • Ready to start climbing tiers? Sign up and begin referring — your commission rate climbs with your tier, and your earnings grow as the 90-day window fills up with active referrals.

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Risk & Disclosure:

DefyCard publishes affiliate-linked reviews; we earn a commission when you sign up through our links. The rolling 90-day tier system is based on ether.fi’s published affiliate program terms as of 2026-09-15. Tier thresholds, commission rates, and the 12-month commission window are subject to change per the program’s terms of service.

Crypto assets are volatile. Ether (ETH) and stablecoin values can fluctuate significantly, and spending via the ether.fi Cash card is not a financial investment — it’s a payment method. Do not assume commission earnings will remain steady if the crypto market moves sharply.

The ether.fi Cash card is available in a limited set of countries. Check ether.fi’s help centre to confirm the card is available where you live before joining the affiliate program.