What’s the most lucrative niche in affiliate marketing?
If you said “credit cards,” you’re right.
If you want to earn high commissions by promoting the best credit card affiliate programs, you’re in the right place.
Here are our top 3 picks for affiliates;
- American Express
- Indigo Platinum MasterCard
- Credit Karma affiliate
The #1 reason for the high demand for the credit card niche is that there is ALWAYS a HUGE demand for credit cards, and people are often looking for new and better credit card deals. The best part? Many credit card programs pay affiliates between $25 and $150 for a single sale.
Read on if you’re looking for a handpicked list of high-paying credit card affiliate programs.
The Best Credit Card Affiliate Programs
1. American Express Affiliate Program
Key Benefits for Affiliate Marketers:
- Affiliate commission: Up to $200 per sale
- Cookie Duration: 7 Days
American Express Company (Amex) is one of the most popular American bank holding companies that issues personal, small business, and corporate credit cards.
It is also one of the oldest banks that was founded in 1850 which now has a HUGE market capitalization of over 102 billion dollars. If you’re looking to promote a well-known credit card brand, you can’t go wrong with Amex.
What are the benefits offered by American Express?
Purchase protection: The #1 reason millions of people use Amex cards is that they offer a lot of purchase protection benefits to its card holders, such as;
- Extended warranty protection
- Purchase protection
- Return protection, etc
When you’re promoting Amex cards, you can focus on explaining these benefits to attract your website visitors to try their products.
High commissions: Another big reason is that American Express offers affiliate marketers some of the highest commissions in the industry. For example, you can earn up to $200 per approved application for the American Express Platinum Card.
How to sign up for the American Express credit card affiliate program?
Visit this link to join their affiliate program. Once you submit your application, it will take a few days for American Express to approve or deny it. Once approved, you can start promoting it to make money.
2. Experian
Key Benefits for Affiliate Marketers:
- Affiliate commission: Up to $8 per sale
- Cookie Duration: 10 Days
Experian is one of the BIGGEST data analytics and credit reporting companies in the world.
In fact, Experian has a huge database of over 1 billion people. If you’re looking for a credit card affiliate program that offers quick and easy access to customer credit reports, Experian is an excellent choice for you.
What are the benefits offered by Experian?
Lots of products to promote: Once you become an affiliate for Experian, you can choose to promote a wide range of products, including credit reports, credit monitoring, credit repair, identity theft protection, and more. So, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to make commissions as an affiliate.
Strong brand: Experian is a well-known brand in the credit card industry, which means that people are more likely to trust your recommendations and click on your affiliate links.
How to sign up for the Experian credit card affiliate program?
You can visit their official affiliate page to join their program. Make sure to include your website URL, a brief description about it, monthly traffic, etc, while emailing them.
Once you send the email request, they will review your information and get back to you within two working days.
3. USAA Credit Cards
Key Benefits for Affiliate Marketers:
- Affiliate commission: Up to $25 per lead
- Cookie Duration: 30 Days
There’s ONE unique thing about USAA credit cards: USAA is only available to active and retired military members and their families. So, they have a highly targeted set of customers who’re mostly disciplined with their payments.
What are the benefits offered by USAA cards?
Here are the main reasons to promote USAA credit cards.
Excellent choice for the military: This card is a great promotion option if some of your audience might be from the military. If you’re wondering, here are a few sets of people who are eligible for USAA cards.
- Active Duty military
- National Guard and Reservists
- Veterans who have honorably served
- Contracted ROTC Cadets and Midshipmen
- Officer and Warrant Officer Candidates
- Military spouses
- Children of USAA members
- Service Academy appointees
Hefty reward points: One more reason to promote USAA cards is that they offer generous rewards programs.
- For example, the USAA Cashback Rewards Plus American Express Card offers 5% cash back on gas purchases and on purchases made on military bases
- 2% cash back on supermarket purchases
- The USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature Card offers 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
So, it’s easier to convince your audience to try their products, which ultimately results in more commissions for you.
How to sign up for the USAA credit card affiliate program?
You can visit this page to find more details about their affiliate program. Remember that the amount of commission you earn depends on the USAA credit card product that the person signs up for.
4. Credit Karma Affiliate
Key Benefits for Affiliate Marketers:
- Affiliate commission: Up to $2 per new signup
- Cookie Duration: 30 Days
Credit Karma is a popular platform that allows you to check your credit score whenever you would like without paying any fees.
But it only pays up to $2 per every new sign-up. So consider it only if your website generates a ton of traffic.
What are the benefits offered by Credit Karma?
Wide range of services: Credit Karma offers a wide range of financial services you can promote as an affiliate, including;
- Credit cards
- Personal loans
- Mortgages
- Auto loans
- Insurance products
- Credit monitoring services
- Debt repayment services and more
Easy to promote: Credit Karma is a well-known brand which was founded in 2007. It has over 100 million users worldwide. This makes it easy to promote Credit Karma to your audience and convince them to sign up.
How to sign up for the Credit Karma affiliate program?
You can click on this link to join their affiliate program. Once you are approved, you will receive a unique affiliate link that you can use to promote Credit Karma and its products and services.
5. Avianca LifeMiles
Key Benefits for Affiliate Marketers:
- Affiliate commission: Up to $200 per lead
- Cookie Duration: 30 Days
Are you targeting digital nomads and people who travel around the world? Then, promote the Avianca LifeMiles credit card.
If your target audience is mostly international travelers, you can refer to LifeMiles credit cards so they can earn and redeem miles to get exclusive rewards, discounts, etc.
LifeMiles airline partners include United, Air Canada, Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, Turkish, ANA, Asiana, Copa, and many more.
What are the benefits offered by Avianca?
The reasons to go for the Avianca LifeMiles card are;
- You can earn LifeMiles on every purchase you make with your card. You can redeem those points for flights, upgrades, etc
- You’ll get one free checked bag on all Avianca flights
- You can enjoy priority boarding on all Avianca flights
- You’ll get better discounts on Avianca flights when you book with your card
- No foreign transaction fees
- You’ll also get protection against unauthorized charges, cover for damage, travel insurance, and much more.
How to sign up for the Avianca credit card affiliate program?
You can visit this page to join an affiliate for Avianca LifeMiles.
6. Indigo Platinum Mastercard Affiliate
Key Benefits for Affiliate Marketers:
- Affiliate commission: Up to $35 per lead
- Cookie Duration: 30 Days
Indigo Platinum Mastercard can be a good option for people who are looking for a credit card with no security deposit required.
With Indigo Platinum, prequalification is a fast and simple way to see if you’ll likely be approved for your credit card without damaging your credit score.
If you want to persuade people with lower credit scores, the Indigo Platinum Mastercard is an excellent choice, as people who’ve been declared bankrupt can apply for their card.
What are the benefits offered by Indigo Platinum Mastercard?
Here are the benefits of Indigo Platinum card for users;
- No security deposit is required, meaning you don’t have to pay upfront when you open the card.
- Cash back on purchases, as this card offers 1% cash back on purchases at eligible restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, and mobile phone services.
- It can help rebuild credit scores, so you can convince people with a below-average credit history to try this card.
How to sign up for the credit card affiliate program?
You can visit this link to become an affiliate of Indigo Platinum Mastercard.
7. Capital One Affiliate Program
Key Benefits for Affiliate Marketers:
- Affiliate commission: For credit cards, you will earn a commission of 1% to 2% of the purchase amount. The commission rate will vary for other products.
- Cookie Duration: 30 Days
Capital One is one of the biggest American bank holding companies that offer a wide range of options, including credit cards, auto loans, banking, and savings accounts.
They also offer a “Refer-a-Friend” program, which allows you to earn rewards for each friend that becomes a card member.
What are the benefits offered by Capital One?
Here are some of the benefits of promoting the Capital One affiliate program.
Lots of earning opportunities: Affiliates have the potential to earn commissions for credit card applications, as Capital One offers lots of services.
Trusted brand: When you’re promoting Captial One, you’re recommending a trusted brand in the credit card industry. As an affiliate, you can use Captial One’s reputation and trust to attract potential customers.
How to sign up for the Capital One credit card affiliate program?
Visit this page to become an affiliate for their affiliate program.
8. Bankrate Credit Card Affiliate
Key Benefits for Affiliate Marketers:
- Affiliate commission: Varies on the products you promote
- Cookie Duration: 30 Days
Bankrate is one of the well-known personal finance websites offering many free tools and expert analysis to make better financial decisions.
Bankrate also offers a credit card referral bonus where you get an incentive that credit card issuers offer to cardholders for inviting their friends to apply for a card.
Here’s how it works: as a credit cardholder, you’ll get a unique link to share with your friends. Your friends will use that link to apply for the card. Once your friend’s card is approved, you get the bonus.
What are the benefits offered by Bankrate Credit Card Affiliate?
The major reasons to promote the Bankrate affiliate program are listed below.
Excellent benefits: There are a lot of benefits for affiliates who’re promoting Bankrate, which include;
- Monthly payouts
- Access to customer service
- Access to banners to promote their products
- User-friendly tracking and reporting interface
- It is totally free to join
Wide range of credit card offers: Bankrate, as a financial comparison platform, gives you access to a ton of different credit card offers from various banks. So, you can persuade different types of credit card holders to promote their products and make money.
How to sign up for the Bankrate Credit Card Affiliate program?
You can visit the official website page to join as an affiliate to start promoting their products.
9. Credit Sesame Affiliate
Key Benefits for Affiliate Marketers:
- Affiliate commission: Up to $3 to $6 per signup
- Cookie Duration: 30 Days
Credit Sesame affiliate offers one of the best payouts in the credit card industry.
Credit Sesame is a credit and loan company that offers various credit-related services, including free credit scores, to attract new customers.
What are the benefits offered by Credit Sesame Affiliate?
Credit Sesame affiliate program offers the following benefits.
Good cookie window: Credit Sesame affiliate offers a generous 30-day cookie window period. This means that once a user clicks on your affiliate link, you’ll receive a commission for any resulting signups within 30 days.
Wide range of products: The best part about Credit Sesame is that it offers a wide range of products, including;
- Credit Cards
- Home Loans
- Auto Loans
- Credit Builder
When you’re promoting such affiliate products with a variety of offers, you can easily attract a lot of new customers to try those products.
How to sign up for the Credit Sesame Affiliate?
Visit this page to sign up for their affiliate program for free. After applying, the Credit Sesame team will review your application. If approved, you will get access to your unique affiliate links to promote their program.
FAQs on affiliate credit card programs
Here are some questions most people ask about credit card affiliates.
How much do credit card affiliates make?
The amount of commission you earn will be determined by the affiliate program you choose. The average commissions can range from $20 to $200+.
Which is the highest-paying credit card affiliate program?
American Express is one of the high-paying affiliate programs that pays up to $200 per lead.
How do credit card affiliate programs work?
You need first to choose and sign up for a credit card affiliate. Once approved, you’ll get a referral link. You can use these links in your marketing efforts, such as on websites, social media, or other promotional channels. When a visitor clicks on your link and applies for a credit card, you will earn a commission if the application is approved.
Are there any credit card affiliate programs that are great for travelers?
Yes, you can promote Avianca LifeMiles, where its users can earn LifeMiles on every purchase they make with the card, which can later be redeemed for flights, upgrades, and other travel rewards.
How are payments made in credit card affiliate programs?
All your commission payments are often made MOSTLY through PayPal, direct bank deposits, or checks.
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Final thoughts on business credit card affiliate programs
The amount of commission you can earn from a credit card affiliate program will depend on several things, such as the credit card, your website traffic, etc.
However, most programs pay $25 to $100 commissions per approved credit card application. A few programs, such as Credit Karma, also pay per signup.
What are your thoughts on the affiliate programs listed here? Have any more questions? Let us know in the comments.