If a referral code is not working at checkout on our booking page, the message under the code box tells you exactly which rule stopped it. Five of the reasons take a minute to fix: a typo, not signed in, phone not verified, changed dates, or a room price below RM150. The rest mean this booking cannot get the discount.
This article is for the person using a friend's code. If you are the one who shared it and want to know why a booking did not count for you, read why my homestay referral did not count instead. Everything below is written from how our checkout actually works, not from a general list of coupon tips.
What does a friend's referral code give you?
A friend's code is a six-character code that every guest with an account on our booking portal gets. When you type it into the box labelled "Promo or friend's code" on a direct booking:
| What happens | Rule today |
|---|---|
| You get a discount | RM20 off the room price (the current default) |
| Minimum | The room price before the discount must be at least RM150 |
| How often | Once per account, ever, across all friends' codes |
| What it comes off | The room price only, never cleaning or other fees |
| Your friend | Earns 5% of the room price you paid, confirmed on check-in day |
| Stacking | One code per booking, never two |
| Cash | Never exchanged for cash |
The code also works if your friend sent a link and you booked later on a different device: a typed code is proof on its own, so you do not need to have clicked anything.
Why does it say "This code doesn't exist. Check the spelling."?
This is the most common one, and it is almost always a typo. Our referral codes are exactly six characters and are built from an alphabet that leaves out 0, O, 1, I and L, because those are easy to confuse when someone reads a code from a phone screen. So:
- If you typed a zero or the letter O, the code is wrong. Ask your friend to send it as text, not as a screenshot.
- Spaces and lower case do not matter; we remove spaces and convert to capitals.
- A code longer or shorter than six characters is not a friend's code. (Promotion codes we publish ourselves can be 4 to 20 characters; those follow their own rules.)
The fastest fix: ask your friend to open their referral page and copy the link, not the code. The link fills the code in for you.
Why does it ask me to sign in or verify my phone?
You can press Apply before you have an account. In that case the page shows the discount with a note: "We'll confirm this code once you sign in and verify your phone." The full check runs again when you sign in and pay.
Two messages come from that second check:
- "Please sign in to use this code." A friend's discount belongs to an account, so we cannot give it to an anonymous checkout. Sign in or create the free account, then pay.
- "Please verify your phone number to use a friend's code." This is the rule that keeps the RM20 to one per person. A phone number can only be verified on one account, so verifying it is what stops someone opening five accounts for five discounts. Verify the number by the code we send you, then apply again.
Why does it say I have already used this offer?
"You've already used this offer on your account." means your account has received a friend's referral discount before, on any booking, from any friend. The friend benefit is once per account for life. Using a different friend's code does not reset it.
This is the honest answer most people do not like: there is nothing to fix here. You can still book at the normal price. If you came from your friend's link on this same browser within the last 7 days, your friend may still be credited by the link click even without the discount; that is explained in the referrer's guide.
Why can't I use my own code?
"You can't use your own referral code." The person paying cannot be the person who owns the code. We check this twice, once when you press Apply and again at the point where the commission is assigned. Booking for your family with your own code does not work; ask a family member to book with your code from their own account instead.
Why does it say the room price is below the minimum?
"The room price is below this code's minimum" appears when the room price for your dates is under RM150 before the discount. Two details catch people:
| You see | Counts toward RM150? |
|---|---|
| Room price for all nights together | Yes |
| Cleaning fee | No |
| Other fees on the summary | No |
A one-night stay at a smaller unit on a weekday is the usual case. Adding a second night or choosing a bigger unit normally clears the minimum. We would rather tell you that than suggest you book something you do not need: if one night is what you need, pay the normal price.
Why did the code disappear after I changed dates?
This one has no error message, which is why it confuses people. An applied code is stored for exactly that unit and those dates. If you go back and change the check-in date, the check-out date or the unit, the code is not carried over, so a code used on one stay can never leak onto another. Just type it again on the new dates.
What do "inactive", "expired" and "fully used" mean?
| Message | Meaning | Can you fix it? |
|---|---|---|
| "This code isn't active right now." | The offer is switched off, or a promotion has not started yet | No, wait or book at normal price |
| "This code has expired." | The friend offer or promotion has an end date that has passed | No |
| "This code has been fully used." | A promotion code (not a friend's code) reached its total number of uses | No |
| "This code can't be used for this booking." | Something else did not fit, for example the discount would be zero | Message us with the dates |
Friend codes do not run out because other people used them. "Fully used" is only about promotion codes with a fixed number of uses.
Can the code fail after I have already paid?
No. The code is checked again at the moment you pay, next to the money. If it fails then, the payment stops and you are told why, so you can remove the code or fix the problem. We chose this on purpose: the alternative would be to quietly charge you the full price. Once you have paid the discounted price, the discount stays, even if the offer ends the next day.
Does it work on Airbnb, Agoda or Booking.com?
No. The code box only exists on our own direct booking page. If you found the unit on a platform and book there, no friend's code applies and your friend earns nothing. The discount and the 5% are both direct-booking only.
What should you do, in order?
- Copy the code as text, or use your friend's link.
- Sign in, and verify your phone number.
- Choose the final unit and dates first, then apply the code.
- Check that the room price, not the total, is RM150 or more.
- If the message says "already used", "inactive" or "expired", the offer is not available to you; book at the normal price or message us.
What we cannot promise: that every booking gets RM20. The rules above are deliberate, and some of them (once per account, room price only) will say no to people who expected a yes.
If you want to be on the other side and earn 5% when friends book, our guide to how much referrers really earn shows the numbers, and the Refer & earn page explains how to get your own code.