Instagram Reels Bonus Eligibility in 2026: Requirements and How to Check

Instagram's bonus program eligibility is determined by Meta's internal creator scoring system, which is not publicly documented but is understood to include these factors based on creator reports and Meta's own guidance: Account type: You must have a Creator or Business account (not a personal account) to access any monetization features. Professional account status is the minimum requirement. Location: Meta has geographically restricted its bonus programs. US, UK, Australia, Canada, and select European markets have historically had the most access. India, Southeast Asia, and most of Latin America have had limited or no access to direct payment bonus programs. Age: You must be 18+ for any payment program. Content compliance: Your account must not have active content policy violations. Even one removed post for policy violations can make you ineligible for several months. Partner Monetization Policies compliance: A specific set of policies separate from the general Community Guidelines — your content must not be 'borderline' in any way. Follower count: Meta has not specified a minimum, but in practice, bonus invitations appear far more commonly to accounts with 10,000+ followers. However, some accounts with as few as 5,000 followers have received invitations based on high engagement rates. Recent activity: Accounts that have posted Reels consistently in the past 30-60 days are far more likely to be invited than dormant accounts.

Checking your Instagram bonus status takes under 2 minutes: Step 1: Go to your Instagram profile. Step 2: Tap the Professional Dashboard (visible only on Creator or Business accounts). Step 3: Tap 'Monetization Tools' or 'Monetization' in the dashboard. Step 4: Look for 'Bonuses' in the list of monetization options. If you see active bonus opportunities, you'll see the terms and payout structure. If you see 'Bonuses are invite-only,' you are not currently eligible but your account has been reviewed and not yet selected. If you see no Bonuses option at all, you may need to check that: your account is a Creator/Business type, your account is in an eligible country, and your account has no active policy violations. Alternative: On desktop, go to Meta Business Suite > Monetization to see all available monetization tools for your connected Instagram account. Note: Eligibility status can change month to month. If you received an invitation previously and it expired, check monthly — previous participants often receive new offers. If you've never received an invitation, the Dashboard check shows you whether you're in the 'invited but not eligible yet' state or the 'actively not qualified' state.

Several factors definitively disqualify an account from bonus programs, regardless of follower count or engagement: Content violations: Any account with active content policy violations (nudity, graphic violence, misinformation labels, intellectual property strikes) is ineligible during the violation period and typically for 30-90 days after resolution. Inauthentic activity: Accounts with detected artificial growth (bought followers, engagement pods, automated likes) are permanently or long-term disqualified. Meta's detection systems have become sophisticated enough to identify most third-party growth services. Age of account: Brand-new accounts (under 3 months old) are almost never invited — Instagram requires a track record. Original content: Your content must be original. Heavy use of others' audio, video clips, or branded content without a proper partnership tag can mark your account as low-priority for monetization. Business category: Accounts in certain business categories (financial services, political, weapons-adjacent) face additional scrutiny and may be excluded from bonus programs even if compliant with policies. Location mismatch: If your account's registered business location doesn't match your primary audience's location, this can create flags. Important: appealing a disqualification is difficult. The most effective path is resolving any violations, waiting 90 days, and ensuring full policy compliance before expecting reconsideration.

Even without current access, these steps increase your likelihood of receiving future invitations: Consistent Reels production: Post at least 4-5 Reels per week. Accounts showing consistent Reel production in Meta's analytics are higher priority for creator program invitations. High engagement rate maintenance: Aim for 3%+ engagement rate (likes + comments + saves divided by reach). High engagement relative to reach signals to Meta that your content has genuine value to the platform. Use original audio when possible: Instagram explicitly favors creators who generate original audio that others then use. If your Reel's audio gets remixed or used by other creators, this boosts your creator profile significantly. Enable all available monetization features: Set up the Creator Marketplace, enable Instagram Shopping if relevant, and use the affiliate tools. Accounts that actively use Meta's tools are higher priority for bonus invitations — it signals that you will actually use bonus offers if invited. Build toward Reels performance benchmarks: Reels getting 10,000+ views consistently are far more likely to trigger invitation review. Focus your content quality efforts on maximizing reach rather than just engagement. Professional collaboration signals: Tag brand partners properly using the Paid Partnership tool, use creator collaborations (Collab posts), and engage with the Creator community on Instagram. Meta prioritizes creators who are actively participating in the professional creator ecosystem.