Can I use a referral code on a Free Fly account?

Yes, and this is the part most guides skip. Enter STAR-JTV7-FXLR in the Referral Rewards field when you create the Free Fly account. The 50,000 UEC bonus only credits once you complete a Game Package purchase of $40+, but the code stays attached to your account. So if you decide to upgrade after Free Fly, the bonus triggers automatically.

Does the referral code expire after the Free Fly event ends?

The 24-hour rule applies from the moment your RSI account was created, not from when the Free Fly event ends. If you created the account during Free Fly and did not enter the code, you have 24 hours from that signup time to add it under Account → Referral Rewards. After that the field disappears even if you have not yet bought a Game Package.

What's the difference between Free Fly and the Starter Pack?

Free Fly is temporary access, your account stays but the rented ships lock when the event ends. A Starter Pack is a permanent Game Package: the cheapest, the Citizen Starter Pack at $60 USD, gives you the RSI Aurora Mk II plus 10,000 UEC and full game access year-round. The referral bonus only triggers once a $40+ Game Package is on your account.

Do I need to redownload the game for each Free Fly event?

No, the RSI Launcher and the Star Citizen client install once and persist between events. You re-enter Free Fly windows by logging in during the active period. The launcher will tell you when patches are required; Free Fly periods often coincide with patch releases so a download may be needed.

Free Fly 2026

Star Citizen Free Fly events, what they are, when they run, and the referral-code trick

Q: When is the next Star Citizen Free Fly event?

CIG runs three to four free-fly windows per year. The largest is the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo (IAE) in mid-November to early December, when every flyable ship in the live alpha is free to test. Other recurring windows: Invictus Launch Week in late May (military showcase) and Alien Week in September (alien ships). Exact dates are announced 2–4 weeks ahead on RSI's Comm-Link.

Free Fly is the only way to actually try Star Citizen for free. CIG opens the live alpha to anyone with an RSI account, hands you a rotating roster of flyable ships, and lets you play until the event window closes. The bit almost nobody mentions: enter STAR-JTV7-FXLR at signup so the 50,000 UEC bonus is queued for the moment you decide to buy a Game Package.

By Domux · Updated 18 May 2026

Create account with code pre-filled

What "Free Fly" actually means

Twice or three times a year, Cloud Imperium Games unlocks part of the Star Citizen live alpha to anyone who creates an RSI account. No payment, no upgrade. You install the RSI Launcher, download the client, and fly a curated roster of ships through the same persistent universe paying players use. When the event window closes, the ships lock and the rest of the game waits behind a Game Package, that's the cheapest version of "owning" Star Citizen.

The point of Free Fly is twofold: prospective players get to test-drive the alpha without commitment, and CIG seeds the player base before a major patch. The events typically coincide with new flight-ready ships or sale windows.

The 2026 Free Fly calendar

CIG announces specific dates 2–4 weeks ahead of each event on the official Comm-Link feed (robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link). The pattern below has held for several years and is what to budget around, exact start dates shift by a few days.

Invictus Launch Week ~14–28 May

The military showcase. Roughly two weeks of free-fly access focused on combat and exploration ships, Hornets, Gladius, Cutlass variants, Reclaimer in some years. Held inside ArcCorp's Area18 and Hurston's Lorville. Coincides with a Game Package sale that drops some Starter Pack bundles.
Alien Week ~mid-late September

The shortest of the three major windows, usually a week. Focused on alien-design ships: Vanduul Blade, Xi'an Khartu-Al / Nox, Banu Defender, MISC Hull-line variants. Themed around alien lore and culture rather than military hardware.
Intergalactic Aerospace Expo (IAE) 19 Nov – 5 Dec

The biggest event of the year and the one to plan around if you can only do one. Every flyable ship in the live alpha is free to test, rotating across themed days for each manufacturer (Anvil, Aegis, Drake, MISC, Origin, Crusader, RSI, Tumbril, Esperia, Banu). Game Package sales are deepest during IAE, and the new-account servers see their highest concurrent player counts of the year.

Best Free Fly for a brand-new player

IAE in November. You see every ship class, small fighters, mid-size cargo haulers, capital salvage, industrial mining, without paying. That's enough to know whether the game suits you before committing the $60 Citizen Starter Pack. Invictus is solid as a backup, but the ship roster is narrower.

How to combine Free Fly with the referral code

This is the actual reason a Free Fly window matters to your wallet. The signup flow is the same as a normal RSI enlist, the Referral Rewards field is right there on the form. Use it, even if you have no intention of buying a Game Package during the event.

Open RSI signup during the Free Fly window
CIG publishes the live signup URL at the top of the Comm-Link. From this site, the orange button below pre-fills the code in the URL, same path as a normal enlist.
Fill the form and paste STAR-JTV7-FXLR into Referral Rewards
Same field as the normal signup. If you used the orange button it's already populated; double-check the dashes are intact. Tick the Terms checkbox and Enlist Now.
Download the launcher and play
The launcher and client are at robertsspaceindustries.com/download. Sign in, pick a ship from the event roster, and you're in. Nothing is charged.
When you decide to upgrade, any time, even years later, the bonus triggers
The referral code stays attached to your RSI account once accepted. The 50,000 UEC bonus only credits once you complete a Game Package purchase of $40 USD or more, but there's no expiry on the code attachment itself. You can stop after Free Fly, come back next year, buy a Starter Pack, and the bonus still applies.

The 24-hour rule still applies, even during Free Fly

The clock starts the moment you click Enlist Now on your RSI account, not when you buy a Game Package, not when the Free Fly event ends. If you create the account on day 1 of Free Fly and forget to enter the code, you have 24 hours from that signup to add it under Account → Referral Rewards. After that the field disappears, and RSI support does not manually re-open it.

Translation: if you only want to do Free Fly and decide about buying later, still paste STAR-JTV7-FXLR at signup. Costs nothing, locks the bonus for whenever you upgrade.

Free Fly vs Game Package, what changes when you upgrade

	During Free Fly	With Citizen Starter Pack ($60)
Account on RSI	Permanent	Permanent
Ships you can fly	Curated event roster (rotates daily during IAE)	RSI Aurora Mk II forever, plus anything you buy in-game
Starting UEC	0	10,000 (Aurora Mk II's package UEC) + 50,000 (referral bonus if STAR-JTV7-FXLR was applied)
Access after the event ends	Locked out of flying, account exists but no owned ship	Unlimited access, your ship and game persist
aUEC progress in-game	Carries between events while you have a ship; resets on patch wipes like everyone else	Same, aUEC follows alpha rules for all players

Practical tips for a smooth Free Fly

Pre-download the client before the event opens

The launcher is large (50+ GB depending on the patch). On the first day of a Free Fly window everyone tries to download at once and the CDN gets sluggish. Install the launcher and the current patch the week before, you can sit on it until the servers open.

Use the Verse Tour for first orientation

Star Citizen does not hand-hold. If it's your first time in the alpha, run the Verse Tour from your hangar to learn keybinds and basic flight. Skipping straight to a Free Fly mission with no orientation is the fastest way to bounce off the game.

Watch the patch number

Free Fly events sometimes coincide with major patch releases, a fresh wipe means everyone starts with no aUEC and no in-game inventory. That's actually better for new players: nobody is ahead, the economy resets, and you experience the alpha exactly as everyone else does. If your event lands mid-patch the gap between veterans and new pilots is wider.

Save the manufacturer day for the ship you want to keep

During IAE specifically, each day spotlights one manufacturer. If you suspect you'll buy an Aegis Avenger or a Drake Cutlass after Free Fly, fly that ship on its manufacturer day, that's when the event sale on that specific ship is deepest.

Frequently asked questions

Is Star Citizen Free Fly actually free?

Yes, you create an RSI account, download the launcher and play the live alpha for the duration of the event with no payment. The trade-off is the ships: only the curated event roster is unlocked. After the event window closes, those ships lock and you'd need a Game Package or a specific ship pledge to keep flying.

When is the next Star Citizen Free Fly event?

CIG runs three to four windows per year. Pattern: Invictus Launch Week in late May, Alien Week in September, IAE in mid-November to early December. Exact dates are announced 2–4 weeks ahead on RSI's Comm-Link.

Can I use the referral code on a Free Fly account?

Yes, paste STAR-JTV7-FXLR into the Referral Rewards field at signup. The 50,000 UEC bonus only credits once you complete a $40+ Game Package purchase, but the code stays attached to your account indefinitely. Even if you only do Free Fly this year and upgrade in two years, the bonus still triggers when you upgrade.

Does the referral code expire after Free Fly ends?

No, the code's attachment to your account is permanent once accepted. The 24-hour rule that catches people is about adding the code: you have 24 hours from account creation to enter it. After that, the field disappears even if you have not bought a Game Package.

What's the difference between Free Fly and a Starter Pack?

Free Fly = temporary access (account stays, rented ships lock). Starter Pack = permanent Game Package. The cheapest, Citizen Starter Pack at $60, gives you the RSI Aurora Mk II forever plus 10,000 UEC. The referral bonus only triggers once a $40+ Game Package is on your account.

Do I need to redownload the game for each Free Fly?

No, the RSI Launcher and the Star Citizen client install once and persist between events. Sometimes a Free Fly window coincides with a patch release; the launcher prompts you for that.