Rivian Kills Free RAN Charging Referral Rewards

[nwafvsneaf]

I also have a pending referral and just contacted Rivian and asked if I would still qualify. It's a self referral and the 1 year of free charging was a big factor for staying with Rivian. Will post here when I get a response tomorrow (hopefully).

What really sucks is that I've been talking to multiple people from Rivian during my buyback process for the last couple weeks and I asked multiple times about making sure I get the 1 year of free charging. I was told over and over again that I would get the referral reward. Either they knew about the change in rewards and led me on or they also did not know about the change until it happened. Either way I'm really hoping they can do the right thing for people with pending referrals.

Just got off the online support chat:

When it comes to the Rivian rewards, customers who placed a deposit from the moment the terms were updated are subject to the new conditions. Looks like your order was placed on March 5th, so new terms do not apply to your specific order. You should still get free charging as part of your Rivian Reward.

I know this is just one example from one support agent but good news for anyone who started the purchasing process before 3/11.

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[Electrified Outdoors]

Maybe better incentives are on the way? The reduction from 750 to 500 seemed to coincide with increased incentives.

 

[onesoil]

Nothing like having a referral “pending” — and looking forward to a summer of free RAN charging (with a lot of West Coast travel already planned) — only to have it yanked away at the last minute. It somehow makes it worse than if it were never there at all. Such a crappy feeling, and I never feel crappy about my Rivian experience. It’s like I just found out my girlfriend cheated on me. WTF?? A huge, unexpected bummer.

I had 4 pending when I found out about the change. One went through on Friday, and I still got another 6 months (and $500).

Apparently if you have any pending before the 11th, you should be good!

 

[leeormorris]

I can also confirm this is the case.

 

[onesoil]

Also, there’s an interesting loophole:

if you have more than one Rivian, the free charging gets applied to the last one you purchased or leased. You have to call in to have the charging switched to a different VIN. In my case, this is an employee of ours’ trucks, so I’m switching the free charging over to my truck.

For the last two referrals, it keeps adding to this last leased VIN as if his truck has all of the other referrals still. It’s kind of hard to explain, but maybe a screenshot will show what I’m talking about (note the free charging dates and VINs):

I may leave the last referral on the other truck of all 4 go through ??‍ that would be 30 months on my truck and 36 on one of our employees trucks. My only hesitance is that he almost never travels/DCFCs, and I do a lot more.

edit: I think I’ve been reading this wrong. Maybe the other VIN would start free charging on 12/20/2025 when mine ends?

 

[TagMan]

Also, there’s an interesting loophole:

if you have more than one Rivian, the free charging gets applied to the last one you purchased or leased. You have to call in to have the charging switched to a different VIN. In my case, this is an employee of ours’ trucks, so I’m switching the free charging over to my truck.

For the last two referrals, it keeps adding to this last leased VIN as if his truck has all of the other referrals still. It’s kind of hard to explain, but maybe a screenshot will show what I’m talking about (note the free charging dates and VINs):

I may leave the last referral on the other truck of all 4 go through ??‍ that would be 30 months on my truck and 36 on one of our employees trucks. My only hesitance is that he almost never travels/DCFCs, and I do a lot more.

edit: I think I’ve been reading this wrong. Maybe the other VIN would start free charging on 12/20/2025 when mine ends?

I just traded in my R1T for a R1S and have an active charging reward through June. I called to transfer the reward to the new R1S and the Rivian advisor told me that I don't have to do anything since the credit is active on my account and the new R1S in on that account. Can anyone confirm if this is accurate?

 

[DeanB1452]

Had a pending referral that was confirmed today (3/30/25). Received 750 points and 6 months free charging. So if your referral code was locked in before the change in rewards, you’ll still get the original benefits.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

I just traded in my R1T for a R1S and have an active charging reward through June. I called to transfer the reward to the new R1S and the Rivian advisor told me that I don't have to do anything since the credit is active on my account and the new R1S in on that account. Can anyone confirm if this is accurate?

Wait one business day after your call, @TagMan, and confirm that the VIN in your account's Rewards screen is the new R1S' VIN, not the old R1T.

If the VIN doesn't correspond to your current vehicle after a day, call Customer Support again.

Best wishes!

 

[TagMan]

Had a pending referral that was confirmed today (3/30/25). Received 750 points and 6 months free charging. So if your referral code was locked in before the change in rewards, you’ll still get the original benefits.

It must have been pending since before the new year, when the points dropped to 500? Also if you referred yourself, would you have gotten 1 year of charging?

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