Ready to discover the exciting world of travel affiliate programs?
Whether you're a seasoned travel enthusiast or a budding entrepreneur with a passion for exploration, affiliate marketing in the travel industry offers a gateway to turning your wanderlust into profit. These affiliate programs empower individuals and businesses to monetize their websites, blogs, or social media platforms by promoting travel-related products and services.
No matter if they involve the sale of luxury hotel bookings, flights, immersive tours, essential travel gear, or other items, the leading travel affiliate programs offer amazing opportunities for earning commissions while sharing your love for travel with others.
With the travel industry's high demand and global appeal, affiliate marketers like yourself can tap into a lucrative market with substantial earning potential. Furthermore, these programs often provide competitive commission rates, robust tracking tools, and reliable support, making them an attractive option for affiliate marketers seeking profitability and success in the digital space.
Read on to discover some of the best affiliate marketing programs in the travel sector, allowing you to work on becoming one of the world’s top affiliate marketers!
1. Expedia Group
Regardless of your level of experience with affiliate marketing and the travel niche, chances are you’re familiar with Expedia, a global giant in the travel industry.
With access to over 3 million properties, 500 airlines, thousands of car rentals, dozens of cruise lines, and a staggering array of over 220,000 activities, Expedia stands as a cornerstone of travel booking. What sets it apart is not just its expansive offerings but also its remarkable conversion rates, fueled by the widespread recognition and trust in its brand.
The Expedia Group affiliate program offers varying commission rates, depending on the kind of qualifying booking made through your affiliate link, allowing you to earn a rate of up to 4%. Expedia also provides affiliates with a variety of tools to take their business to the next level and generate more revenue.
For instance, with the affiliate program’s Creator Toolbox, you can generate affiliate links, obtain property images, and view statistics on property commission information. View important data via your Performance dashboard, which features your pending and completed bookings, along with the commissions you can expect to earn. In addition, avail of easily customizable banners and handy search widgets to add to your website and encourage your audience to book their future travel adventures ASAP!
Despite the program’s short cookie window of just 7 days, there’s lots of potential for earnings for affiliates due to Expedia being such a well-known name in the travel niche.
- Commission rate: Up to 4%
- Cookie duration: 7 days
- Payment threshold: $30
2. Booking.com
Booking.com is a leading online travel platform offering users access to a wide variety of accommodations around the globe. From hotels and apartments to vacation homes and resorts, Booking.com provides diverse options to suit every traveler's preferences and budget.
Users can easily search, compare, and book accommodations in destinations across the globe, with flexible booking options and competitive pricing. Additionally, Booking.com offers user-friendly features such as real guest reviews and 24/7 customer support, ensuring a seamless booking experience from start to finish.
Booking.com's affiliate program supplies a host of benefits for partners looking to monetize their traffic and earn commissions. Affiliates gain access to Booking.com's extensive network of over 28 million accommodation listings in more than 60,000 locations worldwide, enjoying a commission rate of 4%.
With easy integration options, real-time reporting, and dedicated support, Booking.com's affiliate program empowers affiliates to maximize their earnings while providing valuable travel solutions to their audience.
That being said, there’s a downside to Booking.com’s affiliate program: the cookie window operates on a session-based system. This means that you’ll only earn commissions if a visitor clicks on your referral link and makes a purchase during that specific browsing session.
Depending on where you’re based, you can join Booking.com’s affiliate program via either the CJ Affiliate or Awin platform.
- Commission rate: 4%
- Cookie duration: Session based
- Payment threshold: $100
3. Viator
Viator’s website supplies visitors with a vast selection of tours, activities, and experiences worldwide. From guided city tours and cultural excursions to adrenaline-pumping adventures and culinary activities, Viator provides travelers with diverse options to explore and discover destinations around the globe, all conveniently bookable online.
The Viator affiliate program welcomes travel enthusiasts of all kinds. Whether you’re a content creator, offer travel-related services, or simply have a deep love for exploration, you have the opportunity to generate income by promoting Viator's wide range of tours and activities.
As a Viator partner, you’ll receive an 8% commission for every experience booked within 30 days of clicking your link. What’s more, the selection to promote is extensive, with 300,000 experiences across 2,500 destinations, ranging from sightseeing tours and day trips to multi-day excursions.
Signing up for the affiliate program is both free and super simple, with plug-and-play tools provided to help you monetize social media content. And there’s good news for those new to affiliate marketing: you don’t need to have a high-performing site or loads of followers to join!
- Commission rate: 8%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Payment threshold: $50
4. Tripadvisor
Tripadvisor is best known for being a site where people can find hotel, activity, restaurant, and vacation rental reviews, with more than a billion reviews available. Did you know, though, that you can also book hotels and activities on the platform?
Note that Tripadvisor’s affiliate program concentrates just on hotel bookings, however. Affiliates won’t be able to earn money from the sales of other kinds of bookings.
Tripadvisor’s affiliate program differs from many other travel affiliate programs in that commissions are earned based on clicks rather than completed sales. You’re not reliant on someone making a booking for you to earn. When a customer clicks through to any of the booking sites from Tripadvisor, they earn a referral fee, a portion of which is shared with you as their affiliate.
To join Tripadvisor’s affiliate program, you’ll first need to sign up on the CJ Affiliate platform and search for Tripadvisor. Keep in mind that the site receives lots of applications, so it may take a bit of time to get approved.
Once Tripadvisor has determined that you’re a good fit for the brand, you’ll be able to start creating trackable links to add to your website and/or social media content. Earn at least a 50% commission on every referral fee Tripadvisor receives from their partners every time that users visit the Tripadvisor site through your affiliate link within a 14-day cookie window.
- Commission rate: 50%
- Cookie duration: 14 days
- Payment threshold: $50
5. Kayak
Kayak serves as an international network of numerous brands in the travel niche, including Cheapflights, HotelsCombined, and Momondo. This travel search engine consolidates data from various travel websites to offer users an extensive overview of available options for booking flights, hotels, car rentals, and additional services.
When you sign up and get approved for the Kayak affiliate program, you’ll be able to avail of deep links, widgets, and other tools to encourage clicks and increase your earnings, getting a 50% commission on ad revenue, bookings, and clicks. Furthermore, your commission potential isn’t limited to a single vertical— earnings involving car rentals, flights, holiday packages, and hotels are all possible!
Kayak’s committed support and technical team is available to assist you throughout your affiliate adventure, offering guidance from getting started with the program to scaling your business. In addition, take advantage of the platform’s dedicated portal to track your performance in real time.
With over 15,000 affiliates and more than $76 million in annual affiliate earnings, it’s clear Kayak’s affiliate program is a popular choice for affiliate marketers around the world. One drawback to the affiliate program, however, is that you’ll have to wait until your commissions reach $500 before Kayak will pay you.
- Commission rate: 50%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Payment threshold: $500
6. Agoda
Agoda stands as a global leader in online travel accommodations, offering a variety of options ranging from expansive family-friendly resorts to intimate, secluded retreats. Unlike niche-specific platforms, Agoda caters to a wide spectrum of travelers, including those on business, leisure, solo, and family trips.
As an affiliate marketer, you have the advantage of partnering with a reputable brand while generating income when you sign up for Agoda Partners. However, Agoda’s affiliate program is exclusively available for website owners, excluding social media channels, which may present a higher threshold for qualification.
If you do meet the program’s qualifications, though, you can look forward to potential earnings of up to 5% on completed bookings, achievable with more than 299 bookings per month, with the lowest commission rate being 4% for less than 50 bookings in a month.
Agoda also provides free tools with its affiliate program, such as a hotel data file, text links, a search box, and banners, which you can add to your website to help drive traffic, along with a dashboard for easy access to key affiliate data. Furthermore, as Agoda’s app, promo tools, and site are available in 38 languages, you’ll be able to reach and connect with your audience regardless of where they are in the world.
- Commission rate: Up to 5%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Payment threshold: $200
7. Skyscanner
Skyscanner, headquartered in Scotland, operates as a metasearch engine and travel agency, attracting an impressive average of more than 100 million monthly visitors.
The platform excels in assisting travelers in browsing, selecting, and booking from an extensive range of flight, hotel, and car rental options offered by more than 1,200 travel providers. Available in 30+ languages and 70+ currencies, Skyscanner caters to a diverse global audience.
Through Skyscanner’s affiliate program, the company offers commissions on flight and hotel bookings, with payouts based on a portion of the commissions received from their travel partners. Affiliates can anticipate earning approximately 20% commissions for completed bookings.
It’s worth noting, however, that the Skyscanner affiliate program has stricter acceptance criteria compared to other programs.
For instance, if you wish to join, you must have an “HTTPS” website that provides a good user experience, features current travel-related content, doesn’t make travel bookings for customers, and attracts over 5,000 unique visitors each month. If you’re a social media influencer, your account should have over 1,000 followers as well as share current travel content.
Despite the requirements that can make it a little tougher for new affiliates to get accepted, the Skyscanner’s program is still one of the best options today due to the company’s strong brand reputation and widespread trust among frequent travelers. What’s more, the program offers a decent 30-day referral window and a low threshold for payouts at just $10.
- Commission rate: Up to 20%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Payment threshold: $10
8. G Adventures
G Adventures is a leading adventure travel company committed to sustainable and responsible tourism. It offers small-group tours and expeditions to diverse destinations worldwide, focusing on authentic cultural experiences, active adventures, and immersive encounters with local communities. Its trips cater to various travel styles, from budget to luxury, with a strong emphasis on social and environmental responsibility.
Small-group adventure travel is admittedly a narrow niche, but it can still be quite a profitable area for affiliates due to the premium prices that accompany it. For example, G Adventures claims to have an average order value of $2,600. With a commission rate of 6%, this comes to $156 in earnings for you as the affiliate!
When you sign up for the company’s affiliate program, you’ll also benefit from a cookie window of a whopping 90 days—which will come in handy, as most consumers will take a little bit of extra time when shopping around for an adventure tour.
G Adventures works with the CJ Affiliate platform to offer its program to affiliates. Additional benefits include access to various display ads, supplemental copy, an XML feed, and frequent promos on the G Adventures site to further entice your target market and boost sales.
- Commission rate: 6%
- Cookie duration: 90 days
- Payment threshold: $50
9. Hostelworld
If your target audience consists of budget-minded travelers rather than those seeking luxury trips, Hostelworld is a great company to promote as an affiliate. Featuring 36,000+ hostels in 180 countries, Hostelworld offers a plethora of options for users looking for low-cost accommodations. In addition, the site has over 13,000 million verified reviews, helping people choose the hostel that best fits their needs.
Hostelworld’s affiliate program is open to entrepreneurs with a travel-related website or those who share their travel adventures on social media.
With this program, you’ll receive commissions based on a CPA (cost-per-acquisition) model. The commission is a percentage of the deposit earned by Hostelworld for each booking and is credited upon completion of the booking process. After the customer checks out, the conversion is approved, and the commission becomes accessible to you.
Hostelworld also supplies affiliates with detailed performance reporting, payment available in 60 currencies, and a dedicated support team to assist with any issues that arise or answer any questions.
- Commission rate: Varies, calculated as % of deposit
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Payment threshold: N/A
10. World Nomads
Insurance is not the most exciting thing to think about when planning a trip. However, a growing number of travelers are opting for travel insurance to mitigate financial risks and uncertainties associated with unexpected events such as trip cancellations, medical emergencies, or travel disruptions.
World Nomads is a well-known travel insurance company available in 100 countries, catering to adventurous travelers worldwide. Its policies offer comprehensive coverage for medical emergencies, trip cancellations, and personal belongings, with options tailored to various travel styles and destinations. Additionally, it provides 24/7 emergency assistance and access to a global network of trusted healthcare providers.
To sign up for the World Nomads affiliate program, you should have a travel-related website, as the company doesn’t accept content creators who have just a social media presence, create videos, or publish a podcast.
If you qualify, though, you can look forward to fast setup; a generous cookie lifetime of 60 days, ongoing support to guide you along the way; audience insights to track your earnings as well as conversion rates, device and browser type, and location; and more. World Nomads will pay you a flat fee, which varies depending on your payout tier and starts at $0.83, for each quote completed during a single user session.
- Commission rate: $0.83–$3.18 per quote
- Cookie duration: 60 days
- Payment threshold: $100
11. REI
REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.) is a renowned outdoor retail cooperative dedicated to inspiring, educating, and outfitting adventurers. Founded in 1938, REI boasts a vast selection of quality gear, apparel, and equipment from some of the best-known brands for outdoor enthusiasts, along with expert advice and immersive experiences to foster a lifelong love for nature.
While REI isn’t technically a travel company, its offerings are sure to appeal to consumers who enjoy traveling to destinations, near or far, to explore the great outdoors. If this sounds like your target audience, you may want to consider joining the REI affiliate program, which is in collaboration with the AvantLink affiliate network.
Featuring products from best-selling brands like Brooks, Garmin, GoPro, HOKA, The North Face, Salomon, and others, REI is an excellent company to promote, regardless if your site concentrates on travel, the outdoors, sports, or nature.
You’ll get a 5% commission for each sale generated on REI’s online store (average order value of $150) and for each new membership you bring in. While the program’s cookie window is relatively short at 15 days, the time spent on purchase decisions for items for sale by REI will often not be as much compared to, for example, an expensive international flight or long hotel stay.
- Commission rate: 5%
- Cookie duration: 15 days
- Payment threshold: $25
12. GetYourGuide
GetYourGuide serves as a platform for booking travel experiences and activities online, offering a wide array of options including guided tours, boat rides, skip-the-line tickets, city guides, and group tours of various sizes. Besides collaborating with local tour operators, GetYourGuide features its own Originals series of tours, curated based on extensive data analysis of popular kinds of adventures.
This travel agency based in Berlin has an affiliate program that allows you to promote the company’s 118,000+ experiences in 150 countries and earn a commission rate of 8% for every activity booked via your link.
In addition to complimentary training, affiliate marketers receive access to a range of resources from GetYourGuide, such as widgets, links, and assistance on seamlessly integrating their links into their websites or other platforms. You’ll also be able to avail of a 30-day cookie window along with a detailed analytics and performance report, obtaining valuable metrics to help you take your adventure in affiliate marketing to the next level!
Having sold more than 120 million tickets to adventurous globetrotters, GetYourGuide is well known for its plethora of offerings, particularly when it comes to European excursions. This combined with allowing customers to cancel for free 24 hours in advance of the activity and providing 24/7 customer support in multiple languages will give your audience plenty of incentives to click your links!
- Commission rate: 8%
- Cookie duration: 31 days
- Payment threshold: $0 for PayPal, $50 for bank transfers
13. Travelpayouts
While the rest of the travel sites listed in this article operate individual affiliate programs, Travelpayouts distinguishes itself as a pay-per-action affiliate network hosting numerous referral programs covering flights, hotel bookings, car rentals, and insurance.
With over 100 travel affiliate programs available, including several mentioned on this list as well as exclusive partnerships with various brands, the Travelpayouts network provides extensive opportunities for affiliate marketers. From 2011 onwards, the company has disbursed more than $67 million in commissions to around 500,000 travel bloggers.
It’s super easy to sign up with the Travelpayouts affiliate network, and you don’t need to have a website to join. Keep in mind, however, that the requirements for individual programs may be stricter.
A major advantage of becoming a Travelpayouts partner is that the all-in-one platform makes it easy to track your performance with detailed statistics for multiple programs in a single dashboard. What’s more, the platform consolidates earnings from all your affiliate programs into one monthly payment, conveniently deposited directly into your bank account or PayPal.
- Commission rate: Varies
- Cookie duration: Varies
- Payment threshold: $50
14. Discover Cars
Discover Cars is a leading car rental comparison platform offering services in over 10,000 locations worldwide. With a user-friendly interface, customers can easily compare prices and book rental cars from trusted suppliers. The platform ensures transparent pricing, 24/7 customer support, and no hidden fees, making the experience of renting a car as free of hassle as possible.
The Discover Cars affiliate program is arguably one of the best affiliate marketing programs involving rental cars. This is because you have the opportunity to earn a commission twice for every booking: 70% of car rental profit and 30% of revenue from full-coverage service.
What’s more, affiliates benefit from a very lengthy referral window of 365 days!
With this affiliate program, you’ll also be given a dedicated account manager, offering helpful tips to boost your profits and respond to your queries in a timely manner so you can get back to selling as soon as possible.
In addition, Discover Cars provides access to banners, widgets, a landing-page generator, and other tools to make promoting the company and attracting clicks on your links a breeze.
- Commission rate: 70% of profits from car rentals and 30% of revenue from full-coverage service
- Cookie duration: 365 days
- Payment threshold: $200
15. Outdoorsy
Similar to how Airbnb works for accommodations, Outdoorsy is a peer-to-peer RV rental marketplace connecting travelers with RV owners. With thousands of RVs available for rent in 11 countries across the globe, users can choose from a diverse selection of vehicles to suit their travel needs and preferences. Outdoorsy facilitates safe, secure, and seamless RV rental experiences for adventurers everywhere and has over a million customers.
Available via both the AvantLink and CJ Affiliate networks, Outdoorsy’s affiliate program is a great option if your target market consists of people who like getting outside and enjoy traveling to destinations known for their natural splendor, such as national parks, camping sites, etc.
Cookies last for 30 days with Outdoorsy’s affiliate program, and you’ll be able to earn commissions for both bringing in new bookings and for encouraging RV owners to create new listings, generating a base commission of $60 for each commissionable action.
Note that you’ll need to reach $100 before you’ll see your revenue. However, with Outdoorsy’s extensive catalog of adventure vehicles, trusted brand name, and provision of handy tools and dedicated support, the potential for earnings is high, and you’re sure to surpass the payout threshold in no time!
- Commission rate: $60+
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Payment threshold: $100
16. TrustedHousesitters
If you have a pet yourself, there’s a good chance that you know all about the anxiety that can accompany going on a trip and having to leave your furry family member behind. This is where a site like TrustedHousesitters can help!
TrustedHousesitters links homeowners with dependable sitters who offer pet care and home security in exchange for accommodation, ensuring peace of mind for pet owners during their travels.
Users subscribe to a membership, which grants them the ability to apply for the opportunity to serve as live-in pet sitters and enjoy complimentary accommodation in the owner's residence or obtain unrestricted access to pet and home care services provided by verified sitters. Users can also opt for a combined membership, allowing them to both provide and receive the aforementioned services.
When you join the TrustedHousesitters affiliate program, you can look forward to generating commissions of up to 40% for each membership sale. With the platform’s high average order value and high conversion rate, your affiliate earnings can start to add up in no time!
- Commission rate: Up to 40%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Payment threshold: N/A
17. Plum Guide
Plum Guide is a curated vacation rental platform offering meticulously selected homes in sought-after vacation spots like Dubai, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris, New York, and many more places around the world.
Each property undergoes a rigorous evaluation process to ensure exceptional quality and comfort. With personalized recommendations and dedicated customer support, Plum Guide provides travelers with a seamless booking experience for their dream vacation rental.
Resembling a more upscale alternative to Airbnb, Plum Guide properties typically lean towards the luxury end of the spectrum when it comes to travel budgets. Although stays on the platform may be too costly for travelers looking to keep their spending to a minimum, there’s high potential for decent affiliate earnings for the bookings you successfully bring in due to the larger price tags on accommodations and 7% commission on every sale.
To further increase your chances of success with the Plum Guide affiliate program, the company provides a lengthy cookie period of 90 days, giving your site visitors plenty of time to make a booking after first discovering your Plum Guide recommendations for luxury vacation homes.
- Commission rate: 7%
- Cookie duration: 90 days
- Payment threshold: N/A
18. SafetyWing
SafetyWing provides tailored travel insurance designed for digital nomads, remote workers, and frequent travelers, offering extensive coverage encompassing medical expenses and travel disruptions. These are markets that mainstream insurance providers often overlook, making it highly appealing for qualified site visitors to click on an affiliate link and purchase a policy.
SafetyWing's affiliate program offers an opportunity for individuals to earn passive income while advocating for global safety and insurance awareness. Affiliates receive a unique referral link and promotional materials to share with their audiences, earning a 10% commission for every successful referral.
With no cap on earnings, a 364-day cookie period, and a user-friendly dashboard for tracking progress, the program allows you to monetize your influence and contribute to spreading the message of accessible travel insurance worldwide. SafetyWing also provides numerous courses, business coaches, webinars, and other content to help you take your affiliate marketing efforts to the next level.
Plus, more than 70% of registrations involve subscriptions, ensuring you'll receive a consistent income from repeat purchases over the course of up to a year!
- Commission rate: 10%
- Cookie duration: 364 days
- Payment threshold: $10
19. Priority Pass
Priority Pass is a membership program providing access to over 1,500 airport lounges and travel experiences in more than 600 cities across 145 countries around the globe. With various membership tiers offering benefits like complimentary refreshments, Wi-Fi, and comfortable seating, travelers can enjoy a relaxing and convenient airport experience regardless of their airline or class of ticket.
While airport lounge memberships is a rather specific niche compared to other travel affiliate programs mentioned in this article, recommending Priority Pass’s offerings can be particularly advantageous if you’re already promoting airline tickets.
When you join the Priority Pass affiliate program, you’ll score a 10% commission for every membership sale generated via your affiliate link. With annual membership fees spanning from $99 for a standard membership to $469 for the best benefits, this means you’ll make between $9.90 to $46.90 per sale—not too shabby!
- Commission rate: 10%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Payment threshold: $20
Want to learn more about the best affiliate programs for other kinds of products? Be sure to take a peek at these articles: