I introduced my girlfriend to wow in order to play Classic with me (though we later settled into retail, more beginner friendly).
Long story short, we’re kicking ourselves for not creating her account with recruit a friend and missing out on the rewards. Would she have to make an entirely new account in order to access those rewards? Shes rather attached to her current characters.
Once I described the rewards, like free game time, she actually elected to make an entirely new account anyway. In return I am paying for her to transfer her favorite character to the new account
Just keep in mind, only the recruiter gets those in-game rewards and game time. As a recruit, she’ll get some bonus XP when leveling with you and you guys will be able to summon one another too.