25 Best Travel Affiliate Programs in 2026 (Commissions and Cookies Compared)

Travel affiliate programs love a big headline number. Booking.com, for example, claims that you can earn “up to 40%” on a sale. This actually comes out to about $4 on a $200 room. The fact is that you earn a percentage of Booking’s commission. The important details are further down: the duration of the cookie, whether payment is based on bookings or completed stays, and the earnings threshold required before payout.

I’ve been adding affiliate links to travel sites since at least 2015, and half the programs on my original list have since been renamed, merged or shut down. This list covers what each program pays, how long the cookie lasts, where to join, and the catch. I last checked the terms in late 2026. They change often, so check the program’s own page before you build a post around one.

Disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you sign up through them I may earn a commission, at no cost to you.

Jump to: Comparison table · Where beginners should start · Networks · Hotels · Airbnb · Tours · Flights · Car rental · Insurance · eSIMs · Money and VPNs · Gear · FAQ

Comparison table

Rates marked “around” come from networks or third-party reviews rather than the program’s own page. Treat them as a guide.

Which travel affiliate programs should beginners join first?

Start with the programs that match posts you’ve already written. An affiliate link in a post with no traffic earns nothing, however good the rate.

If I were starting a travel blog today, I’d join these in this order:

1. Travelpayouts. One account, one dashboard, and access to Booking.com, Agoda, Hostelworld, Kiwi, GetYourGuide and dozens more. Approval is easy for small sites.
2. GetYourGuide or Viator. Every destination post has something bookable in it, and readers are already planning, so a tour link reads as help rather than a sales pitch.
3. An insurance program. SafetyWing if your readers are long-term travellers, World Nomads if they’re on shorter, more active trips.
4. Airalo. Everyone needs data abroad now, and it fits into almost any post without feeling forced.

That’s enough to start. Joining 30 programs on day one mostly gives you 30 dashboards to ignore.

Travel affiliate networks

Many travel brands don’t run their own affiliate programs. They pay a network to do it. That’s useful for you, because one network account can get you into dozens of programs.

One change to note: ShareASale, which hosted Viator for years and was the network I’d had the most success with, shut down in October 2025 and moved its programs into Awin. If you still have ShareASale links on your site, they need replacing.

Travelpayouts

Travelpayouts is built for travel, and it shows. It has more than 100 travel brands, including Booking.com, Agoda, Hostelworld, Kiwi and GetYourGuide. Commissions run from about 1% to 30% depending on the brand, and the minimum payout is $50.

The interface is the easiest of the lot. Search for “travelpayouts” has gone up about tenfold in the past year, so I’m not the only one who thinks so.

Impact

Impact takes a while to learn. Once you’ve figured it out, building custom links and finding brands is straightforward, and I’d still vote it the best network for publishers.

Travel brands on Impact include Hilton, Skyscanner and Airalo. It also has travel-adjacent products like Babbel and NordVPN.

Awin

Awin is a bit clunky to navigate, but it has more programs than you’ll ever need, and now it has the former ShareASale ones too. Travel brands include Europcar, Interrail, Hoppa, GetYourGuide and Tiqets.

CJ

CJ is not my favourite. The interface is clunky and conversions always seem few and far between. It’s still one of the biggest networks, and it’s where you’ll find World Nomads, Emirates and Kayak.

Hotels and stays

Hotel links are the easiest to add and the lowest-paying per click. They work because every destination post has somewhere to stay in it.

Booking.com

Almost every travel blogger uses Booking.com’s affiliate program, and you can find a link for nearly any property on earth in the dashboard.

The commission page is a little, well, misleading. It says you can earn up to 40%. That’s 40% of Booking’s own commission, not of the booking. If Booking takes $10 on a $200 stay, you get $4 at the top tier. Most new affiliates start at 25%.

The cookie is short, roughly the length of the visit. If your reader books tomorrow instead of today, you probably don’t get paid. You can also join through Travelpayouts.

Agoda

I use Agoda myself as a customer. In Southeast Asia it often has better prices and more properties than Booking, and the app is nicer.

Agoda Partners pays around 5–7% of the booking, which beats Booking’s effective rate. The catch is a 24-hour cookie. If you write about Asia, add Agoda links next to Booking links and see which one your readers pick.

Expedia Group (Hotels.com, Expedia, Vrbo)

Hotels.com no longer runs its own program through CJ or Awin. It now sits inside the Expedia Group Travel Creator Program, with Expedia and Vrbo under the same account.

Rates vary by brand and by what the reader books. Hotels pay more than flights. The cookie runs from 7 to 30 days depending on the brand. It’s strongest for US readers and for holiday rental content, where Vrbo is the obvious alternative to Airbnb.

Trip.com

Trip.com pays 5–7% on hotels and less than 1% on flights, with a 30-day cookie on the website. The minimum payout is $200, which is high for a small site. It’s worth it if you write about China or other parts of Asia, where Trip.com’s inventory is strong.

Hostelworld

If your readers sleep in dorms, Hostelworld is the one to join. Commission is tiered and starts at around 5%, with a 30-day cookie. It’s available through Travelpayouts or directly.

Hilton

The Hilton program on Impact pays around 3–6%. It only makes sense if your readers are loyal to hotel brands, which most budget travel readers aren’t.

Does Airbnb have an affiliate program?

Airbnb shut down its public affiliate program years ago and hasn’t reopened it. Any partnerships it runs now are invitation-only.

To the disappointment of travel bloggers the world over, old Airbnb links on your site earn nothing. Check your old posts and swap them for one of these:

• Vrbo, through the Expedia Group program. It’s the closest like-for-like replacement for whole-home rentals.
• Booking.com, which now lists a lot of apartments and holiday homes alongside hotels.
• Agoda, which has strong apartment listings in Asia under “Agoda Homes”.

If someone is still selling an “Airbnb affiliate” course or link scheme, be sceptical.

Tours and activities

Tours pay better than hotels and have longer cookies. GetYourGuide and Viator both pay 8%, and a food tour or day trip often costs more than a night in a hostel.

GetYourGuide

GetYourGuide pays 8% when you join directly, with a 31-day cookie and a $50 minimum payout. It’s also on Awin and Travelpayouts. It’s strongest in Europe and in cities, and its widgets look better than most.

Viator

Viator pays 8% on completed bookings with a 30-day cookie. It used to run through ShareASale. It now runs its own program, so old ShareASale Viator links need replacing.

Viator’s inventory is bigger than GetYourGuide’s in a lot of places outside Europe. If you can’t decide, join both and link whichever has the better tour for the post.

Klook

Klook is the one for Asia. Rates vary a lot by category: about 5% on attractions, 6.5% on tours and hotels, and up to 20% on eSIMs. The cookie is 30 days for most things and 7 days for hotels and car rental.

Tiqets

Tiqets sells museum and attraction tickets. It pays around 5–6%, with a 30-day cookie, and it’s also on Awin. Use it in city guides, where readers are already looking up opening hours and ticket prices.

Flights

Flight affiliate programs pay badly. Airlines run on thin margins and the booking sites pass very little on. Include flight links where readers expect them, but don’t build a strategy around them.

Skyscanner

Skyscanner runs its program through Impact. It pays a share of what Skyscanner earns, not a share of the ticket, so the figures are small. The rules on where you can promote it are fairly relaxed, but it doesn’t accept coupon or discount sites.

Kiwi.com

Kiwi.com is available through Travelpayouts and pays around 3% on average. That’s about $13 on a typical booking. It’s good for awkward routes, because Kiwi combines airlines that don’t normally sell connecting tickets together.

Going

Scott’s Cheap Flights is now called Going. Instead of a percentage, it pays a flat fee for each paid membership. Third-party reviews put that at roughly $10–40 depending on the plan, so check the current figure when you apply. It suits US readers who travel often and are flexible about dates.

AirHelp

Everyone has a story about a cancelled flight. Most people never claim the compensation they’re owed, because the process is a hassle. AirHelp handles the claim for them.

The affiliate program now centres on AirHelp+, its subscription, and pays around 20% per sale with a 30-day cookie. The minimum payout is €40 for EU bank accounts and €100 for everyone else. It fits into any post about flights, delays or airports.

Car rental affiliate programs

This is the category most travel bloggers underrate. Rentals cost hundreds, readers book them days or weeks ahead, and the best programs have long cookies.

Discover Cars

Discover Cars pays 70% of its profit on each rental and has a 365-day cookie. That cookie is the reason to join. If a reader clicks in January and books a summer road trip in May, you still get paid. Discover Cars also pays on the full-coverage insurance people buy with the rental.

LocalRent

The big rental companies don’t cover less-visited places well. Countries like Armenia, Georgia and Bulgaria don’t get much attention from them.

LocalRent works with local rental companies in those places, as well as popular destinations like Thailand, the UAE and Turkey. It has claimed that around 50% of its revenue goes to affiliates, and Travelpayouts puts the average commission at about €20 per booking. It also pays commission on insurance. If you write about any of those countries, join here.

Rentalcars.com

Rentalcars.com is the mainstream option and pays around 6%. The cookie is only two days, which is short for something people usually book well ahead. Use it if your readers want a familiar brand, and use Discover Cars for everything else.

How to choose

For most sites, start with Discover Cars for the cookie. Add LocalRent if you cover the Caucasus, the Balkans or Southeast Asia. Car rental links work best in road trip itineraries and in “getting around” sections, not dropped into the introduction.

Travel insurance

Insurance is where the real money is in travel affiliate marketing. Premiums are high, and some programs pay every month for as long as the customer stays insured. Remind readers to get cover. A hospital bill in the US can bankrupt someone who travelled without it.

SafetyWing

I use SafetyWing for my own travel. The cover renews every month until you cancel, which saves a lot of admin, and trips back to your home country are covered.

For affiliates, it pays 10% of the premium on Nomad Insurance, recurring for as long as the customer keeps paying. The cookie lasts 364 days. People can also sign up after they’ve already left home, which makes it easy to recommend in posts about life on the road.

There’s a second way to earn. SafetyWing’s ambassador referral scheme pays $100 when a creator you refer makes their first sale, and a $500 bonus once they reach five. If you know other travel creators, it’s worth a look.

World Nomads

World Nomads was one of the first travel insurers to sell online and is still well respected, especially for adventure activities. It pays 10% per sale with a 60-day cookie, and the program runs through CJ.

eSIMs

Fewer people queue for a local SIM at the airport now, so eSIM programs belong on most travel sites. They pay well and they’re easy to mention in any destination post.

Airalo

Airalo is the best known. It pays 10% with a 30-day cookie, directly or through Impact. It’s cheap, so the commission per sale is small, but plenty of readers buy it.

Holafly

Holafly sells unlimited-data plans, which cost more than Airalo’s, so each sale earns more. Commission is 10–20% depending on your volume. It’s on Impact and Awin.

Saily

Saily is from the company behind NordVPN. It pays 15% with a 30-day cookie, and you can join directly or through Awin. It suits readers who already know the Nord brand.

Money and VPNs

Wise

Wise is the money app most nomads end up using. It has multi-currency accounts, a debit card with fair exchange rates, and cheap transfers. The affiliate program pays a flat £10 for each new personal customer and £50 for each business customer. The cookie never expires.

NordVPN

A VPN is useful on hotel and airport Wi-Fi, and in countries that block Google or WhatsApp. VPN programs also pay some of the best rates in software. NordVPN, which I prefer, pays 100% of the first payment on monthly plans, 40% on longer plans, and 30% on renewals.

There’s plenty of competition, including free VPNs built into browsers. It works best if your readers already trust your recommendations.

Travel gear

Amazon Associates

Nearly everything in a packing list is on Amazon, which is why so many travel bloggers use it. The rates are low: 4% on luggage and 5% on electronics and cameras. The cookie is 24 hours. If the reader adds the item to their cart in that time, you still get paid if they buy it within 90 days.

For better rates, go direct to the brand:

• Osprey pays 8–10% through AvantLink.
• Tortuga pays 10% through its own affiliate program.
• GoPro pays 3% through its affiliate program on Partnerize.
• DJI pays around 2–8%. Some reports say it pays in store credit rather than cash, so read the terms before you apply.

Frequently asked questions

What are the highest paying travel affiliate programs?

Per sale, insurance and car rental pay the most. SafetyWing’s recurring 10% keeps paying for as long as the customer stays insured, and Discover Cars’ 365-day cookie catches bookings that other programs miss. VPN programs have the highest percentage rates, but it’s a crowded market. Flights pay the least.

How much does Booking.com pay affiliates?

Booking.com pays 25–40% of its own commission, not of the booking value. On a $200 stay, that’s usually $2.50–4.

Which travel affiliate programs are best for beginners?

Travelpayouts, then a tours program (GetYourGuide or Viator), then insurance and eSIMs. See the section above.

Do you need a lot of traffic to join?

Most programs on Travelpayouts, Awin and Impact accept small sites. Some direct programs, like Trip.com, have a high minimum payout, so it can take months before you’re paid. A few API products, like Kiwi’s, require 50,000+ monthly users.

How do I find more travel affiliate programs?

Look in the footer of a brand’s website for “affiliate”, “partner” or “ambassador”. For a faster search, Affilisting lists more than 10,000 programs and the Ultimate Affiliate List has about 2,000 curated ones.

If you’re still building the site these links go on, start with my guide to starting a travel blog, then read how to monetise a blog.