“Partner code” and “promo code” sound interchangeable because brokers do not use the labels consistently. Operationally, one tends to identify who referred an account; the other tends to invoke a campaign. “Tends to” is doing real work.
The practical distinction
| Question | Partner code | Promo code |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Attribute a registration to a commercial partner. | Apply or identify a promotion. |
| Typical location | Registration or referral field. | Coupon, offer or campaign field. |
| Benefit required? | No. | Usually claimed, but still needs terms. |
| Can both exist? | Yes. A link can attribute while a code invokes terms. | Yes. The same flow may record both. |
Why the label is not evidence
A provider can call a field “partner code”, “referral code”, “promo code”, “coupon” or something else entirely. Marketing copy may also use the words loosely. The label cannot tell you the percentage, cap, eligible countries, qualifying deposit or withdrawal condition.
That information should come from code-specific terms, a provider landing page, an account-facing confirmation, or a documented partner communication that is clearly labelled as such.
Two live examples
AvaTrade code 128979 is treated as a partner code. AvaTrade officially documents the partner-code field and general bonus mechanics. The supplied 20% claim remains only partially verified because current public terms for that exact code and market list were not found.
TABTrade code TABFDB2k is treated as a promo code. A representative supplied a 15% first-deposit statement, while TABTrade's separate public campaign currently says 10%. Showing that discrepancy is more accurate than blending the two offers together.
When a link and code appear together
A partner link can carry attribution automatically. The code may be a fallback, a visible reference, or an additional promotion instruction. Copying a code should never force an immediate redirect; the user should be able to inspect the terms and choose whether to visit the provider.
Broker.codes records attribution types separately for that reason. The data can support a partner link, partner code, promo code, co-branded landing page or manual instruction without pretending they are one mechanic.
What to capture from the terms
- The exact code and campaign name.
- The provider entity and countries covered.
- The product and account types covered.
- The benefit, cap and currency.
- Start, end and time-zone details.
- Deposit, trading-volume, withdrawal and expiry conditions.
- Whether the benefit is cash, credit or non-withdrawable balance.
The simple rule
Treat the code as an identifier. Treat the current terms as the offer.
If those terms cannot be found, keep the code and the benefit as separate facts. That is not indecision. It is a cleaner record.