Which programs pay you for your referrals' referrals?

Published Sep 18, 2026 · updated Sep 13, 2026

Most referral programs pay you for the people you bring in. A few also pay you, at a lower rate, for the people those people bring in. That second layer is rare, frequently misunderstood, and worth a lot less than it first appears.

Of the twenty six programs listed here, exactly two pay on a second tier.

Get-Paid.com

Up to 30% of what your direct referrals earn, plus up to 10% of what their referrals earn. Both uncapped in the number of people involved.

Its own worked example: five referrals each earning 100 coins pays you 150 coins. If those five each refer two more who also earn 100 coins each, the second tier adds another 100 coins. Note the phrasing is "up to", and Get-Paid.com runs a levelling system, so the rate you actually get likely depends on your level.

SurveySavvy

A share of what your referrals earn and a smaller share of what their referrals earn. SurveySavvy has run since 1999 under Luth Research, so the program has a long track record, but it does not publish the percentages anywhere we could find. Any specific number you see quoted for it elsewhere is somebody's guess.

Credit also arrives 4 to 12 weeks after a referral completes their first survey, which is slow even by this category's standards.

Why the second tier matters less than it looks

Here is the part most write-ups skip. A second tier only pays if your referrals refer people themselves. Almost nobody does.

Think about your own behaviour. You found a referral pool, you drew a code, and you may or may not add one of your own afterwards. How many of the people you have ever referred to anything went on to actively recruit others? For most people the honest answer is none.

So a 10% second tier is not 10% more income. It is a small occasional bonus on the rare referral who turns into a recruiter. Treat it as a pleasant surprise rather than part of your arithmetic.

What to look at instead

The number that actually compounds is the first tier rate, and whether it is capped.

KashKick pays 25% on games and deals for life. PrizeRebel pays 15% to 30% depending on your account tier. Swagbucks pays 10% but on a site people genuinely keep using for years, which matters more than the percentage. PaidViewpoint pays 20% but caps it at $25 per referral for life, which is the kind of detail that turns a good-looking rate into a modest one.

An uncapped first tier on a program people stay with beats a two-tier arrangement on one they abandon, every time.

Every program's referral terms, and the date we last checked them against the company's own documentation, are on the bonuses page.