Credit Cards offer some of the most profitable affiliate programs of all niches. After all, it is a US$3.32 trillion per year industry so it is no surprise that affiliates in this category are making great profits despite the high competition.
For example, Tim Chen from Nerd Wallet makes $100 million in annual revenue from his 10-year-old blog and one of his main income sources is affiliate commissions from credit cards.
This might seem like an unreachable goal and you might only want to replace your current income so you can finally quit your job. But it goes to show you the possibilities available in this industry and what you can achieve with some work and consistency.
Credit Cards are seen as valuable and exclusive products by consumers so as an affiliate in this niche, you won’t need to “sell’ them. It’ll be enough with communicating their benefits and helping your audience find the best ones for their lifestyle and financial record.
This is also a niche where you want to promote different offers so you have a credit card that suits best each one of your readers. So, pay attention to the following list with the best affiliate programs for credit cards.
Best Credit Card Affiliate Programs
1. USAA Credit Cards
- Commission Rate: Up to $20 per lead
- Cookie Length: 30 days
- Join here
The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) was founded in 1922 by a group of U.S. Army officers as a mechanism for mutual self-insurance when they were unable to get auto insurance out of the perception of them being a high-risk group.
They have since then, expanded their services and provide a full range of financial products including banking, investing, real estate, and credit cards by Visa and Amex.
This is a might And your potential audience for these cards is any of the
The target audience for these services includes the 24+ million active or retired military personnel so if you already have them among your readers, this is a great program that offers them a mainstream credit card, with a number of perks.
They also work with family members of military personnel and some of their products are even available to the general public.
As an affiliate, you get $20 per approved credit card which is on the lower end of commission when compared to other programs but since this is a very niche-specific card, it will be easier to target and you’ll have less competition.
Additionally, you can negotiate a better rate based on volume and performance.
While we are focusing on credit cards, it is worth mentioning that you also get paid per lead for the following products:
+ $5 for a rental insurance lead
+ $10 for an auto insurance lead
+ $25 for an enterprise deposit lead
Their affiliate program is run by Commission Junction (CJ) and you’ll get access to marketing material and real-time tracking.
2. Credit.com
- Commission Rate: Varies
- Cookie Length: Varies
- Join here
Credit.com is a financial platform that offers loans, price comparison, credit scoring, and a credit card network. They also offer free tools, education, and resources to guide people through their financial decisions.
They offer users access to all mainstream credit cards like Chase, Citi, American Express, First Progress, Mastercard, Group One and have their own credit card that works for almost any niche.
They are known for having one of the highest affiliate payouts and conversion rates but although they don’t share them publicly so you need to get approved to find out.
As an affiliate, you also get the benefit of promoting some of the best credit cards which are often only working with super-affiliates
One thing to notice is that you can promote individual credit cards so your affiliate link will direct people to their homepage where they can browse all of the products they offer.
But that is not a problem since they have a credit card for every niche so visitors will be able to find the best credit card for individual needs and credit scores.
As an affiliate with Credit.com, you will be able to enjoy high conversion rates and payouts. Their affiliate program is managed in-house and gives you access to exclusive offers, creatives, and live reporting.
If you can manage to get approved, this is a great program to promote no matter your audience.
3. OpenSky by Capital Bank
- Commission Rate: $25
- Cookie Length: 30 days
- Join here
Capital Bank is a reputable bank known for its consumer and user-friendly approach to banking.
Their OpenSky card offers customers the opportunity to repair and build their credit score and it doesn’t ask for any credit check to get started so anyone can apply.
Due to these advantages, this is a great program to promote for any audience, especially if you create content around subjects to building and repairing credit score which will attract the type of audience that will benefit from this card.
Since it is a secured card, it requires a one-time refundable deposit and doesn’t offer any rewards or perks. But giving people the chance to bring their credit scores up is attractive enough.
As an affiliate, you make $25 for every successful referral and. due to the easy approval process, the conversions and payouts are worth it.
According to Commission Junction, they pay an average EPC of about $27 and the cookie lasts 30 days which is pretty average in the industry.
While a lot of people look for a credit card because that offers the best rewards, this card has a selling point that will appeal to a broad audience. Additionally, and since users don’t require credit scores to get this card you can easily offer it to any audience.
4. Avianca LifeMiles Credit Card
- Commission Rate: Up to $200
- Cookie Length: 30 days
- Join here
Avianca is a Colombian airline that has been the flag carrier of Colombia since 1919. It offers a travel credit card with some of the best benefits in the market for both users and affiliates.
Card owners receive 0% APR for the first year along with no unauthorized charges nor foreign transaction fees. They also get coverage for accidents.
As an affiliate, you get $200 per referred sale, which is one of the highest commissions in this niche and a great way to build a significant income with just a few sales.
As mentioned, the airline’s hub is in Colombia so while it flies all around North, Central and South America and even some European routes, most connections are in Colombia so it makes more sense for travelers who fly this route frequently.
Ultimately any international traveler or digital nomad could enjoy the perks of having no foreign transaction and free travel accident insurance. The travel points can also be used among the 26 airlines of the Star Alliance to which Avianca belongs but the points are worth “less” for other Airlines.
This is a great program if you are in the travel niche or if you have an audience that travels to South America. It might be a small niche but again, you don’t need a lot of conversions to make some good money with this program.
The affiliate program is run by Commission Junction and according to their data, it has an EPC of $545.06 so if you have the correct audience, this is a very profitable offer to promote.
5. Luxury Card
- Commission Rate: Up to $405
- Cookie Length: 30 days
- Join here
As the name suggests, Luxury Card is very much a premium card, which becomes more obvious at the moment you hold it. It is made of stainless steel and carbon and if that is not luxurious enough, clients can order a 24-karat gold version of it.
They offer their exclusive clientele a 2% cashback and air miles redeemed at a rate of 2% as well but with no blackout dates or seat restrictions.
But that is not all. Users also get access to certain airport lounges and a 24/7 concierge service to help them with anything they need from making a reservation to finding the perfect gift for a loved one.
They will also enjoy amenities such as room upgrades, complimentary food and beverage, spa credits, and more when they book with their Luxury Card at over 3,000 properties worldwide. Not something you will find in other cards.
So, how much does a luxury card pay its affiliates? Nothing less than $405 per successful referral. The market is very niche but just a few commissions a month can make a huge difference to your income.
Wealthy people are not usually searching the web for a credit card but if you are in the luxury niche whether it is travel, shopping, dating, etc. you can present this offer to your audience as an exclusive opportunity they should be a part of.
6. Scotiabank Credit Cards
- Commission Rate: $99 CAD or around $73 USD.
- Cookie Length: 30 days
- Join here
Scotiabank is one of North America’s leading financial institutions and Canada’s most trusty international bank. It serves nearly 19 million customers in more than 55 countries worldwide.
They offer a broad range of products including 14 credit cards from VISA, Mastercard, and American Express. They also offer flexible rewards programs and attractive sign-up offers like ow APR, cashback offers, and travel rewards that you can use to promote them.
As an affiliate, you get an average of $99 CAD or US$73 on a cost per acquisition (CPA) basis that can vary based on the type of credit card.
It’s a great option for any financial blogger, especially the new ones since it doesn’t have much competition.
7. Credit Karma
- Commission Rate: $0.25 per sign up
- Cookie Length: 45 days
- Join here
Credit Karma is a credit monitoring platform that offers credit scores, reports, comparisons, and personalized recommendations on how users can make better financial decisions.
They don’t sell any products but instead provide recommendations about third-party services. In this sense, they also earn money as affiliates for the financial products they recommend.
As an affiliate, you get paid $0.25 for every person that signs up. This is not much but you can still make a significant income if you have a lot of traffic just by adding some links in your content or placing a banner on your site.
The services they offers are really helpful and free so the conversion rate is higher than for credit card applications.
Their affiliate program is run through Flexoffers and you get access to tools, educational articles, and a dedicated management team to help you create effective promotional strategies.
8.Indigo Platinum MasterCard
- Commission Rate: $35
- Cookie Length: 30 days
- Join here
The Indigo® Platinum Mastercard® is targeted towards those with less than perfect credit. It offers a pre-qualification tool that doesn’t affect your credit score and lets you know quickly if approval is likely, making it easier to attract and convert leads.
The program reports to all three major credit bureaus, which can help users improve their scores and build a positive payment history.
Due to the fact that this card is designed to improve credit scores, it’s easy to promote to any audience and also comes with attractive Annual fees which are another huge selling point.
As an affiliate, you get a $35 commission on successful referrals and since it is really easy to get approved, they have high conversion rates.
It is important to mention that your traffic sources need to be evaluated and approved by the affiliate network so your commissions are considered valid.
The affiliate program is run by Commission Soup which is is an affiliate financial network and also runs other offers in this list so if you get accepted it’ll be easier to be approved for other programs as well.
9. Petal Visa Card
- Commission Rate: $35
- Cookie Length: 45 days
- Join here
The Petal Visa program offers two credit cars with different benefits for every type of customer:
- The Petal 1 “No Annual Fee” , designed for those with either no credit or a nonprime credit score.
- The Petal 2 “Cash Back, No Fees”, for consumers with no credit or good credit.
They differentiate themselves from other cards because they look beyond credit scores to create a Cash Score based on banking history which can help users qualify for more credit at better rates.
They also offer attractive features that will help you promote it to your audience like no over-limit fees, no annual fee, no late fee, no foreign transaction fee, and cashback rewards of up to 1.5%.
You can join its affiliate program via Impact Radius, and get paid up to $36 per successful referral sale. It is an easy program to promote due to the many benefits it offers and the wide variety of audiences that it suits.
10. American Express (AMEX)
- Commission Rate: Up to 200 CAD or around $150 USD
- Cookie Length: 7 days
- Join here
American Express, popularly known as AMEX, is one of the big three credit card companies, along with Visa and Mastercard.
They are known for benefits like cash-back or flexible rewards and since they are pretty popular promoting them comes easy.
Their benefits for affiliates are not less impressive. They offer a $200 CAD ($150 USD) commission rate per successful referral.
They have a more strict approval process so the acceptance rate will be lower than for other programs. However, you won’t have any issues sending customers their way and with the generous payout, they boost a generous EPC of $644.89.
The program is available in both the US and Canadian markets but There is currently a push to expand the program in Canada, so they offer higher rates for certain products.
As an affiliate, you get access to well-developed resources including, APIs, technical assistance, and customer support 24/7 for your referrals.
11. Upgrade Credit Card
- Commission Rate: $60
- Cookie Length: 30 days
- Join here
The Upgrade credit card is a hybrid credit card/personal loan product that offers customers the possibility to get a Visa credit card with a credit line of up to US$20,000 without the horrible interest rates that most other cards charge. Instead, it offers them an interest rate closer to that of a personal loan.
In the example that they show, it’d mean that users would pay off $14,000 in two years instead of 28 years.
The size of the line of credit will be based on a person’s credit score regardless of the amount, but they’ll be able to benefit from a bigger credit line and lower interest rate than other cards.
As an affiliate, you get a flat commission of $60 for every approval of an Upgrade card.
This is a good card to promote as an alternative for a low interest rate and the option to pay off the debt way sooner than with other cards.
12. Barclaycard
- Commission Rate: Varies
- Cookie Length: 45 days
- Join here
Barclays is one of the leading global credit card providers with a great reputation in the industry so promoting their cards will help you build your authority and gain your readers’ trust.
As an affiliate, you can promote any of Barclaycard’s credit card services and get commissions based on the package you choose:
- The Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard, a travel rewards card with double miles on all purchases.
- Barclaycard CashForward World Mastercard with 1.5% cash rewards on every purchase,
Their affiliate program is run through FlexOffers and you get access to text links and banner ads along with increasing the reliability of your website or blog by association with its reputable brand.
13. Experian
- Commission Rate: $0-$100
- Cookie Length: 45 days
- Join here
Experian is a global leader in consumer credit reporting. It collects and aggregates information on over 1 billion people and businesses including 235 million individual U.S.
They have delivered over 20 million credit reports and provided more than 3.1 million members with credit monitoring products.
They work in more than 80 countries so if you have an audience from outside the US, you can promote this offer without worries
While this is not a credit card affiliate program, by offering your audience credit reports and scores, you can help them better understand their current credit situation and make an informed decision on what cards they’d qualify for.
They use Commission Junction to manage their affiliate program. and you get a 20% commission on the revenue from the customers you bring.
14. Credit Assistance Network
- Commission Rate: $1.25 per lead and $95 per sale
- Cookie Length: 365 days
- Join here
Credit Assistance Network is the leader in the market of credit card repair. It helps users with issues such as later payments, debt repair, and improving their credit score. They have a strong track record and they have an A+ rating on the latest Better Business Bureau Ranking.
They also have one of the highest-paying credit repair programs offering up to $95 commission per sale. Additionally, you also get paid $1.25 per lead which might not seem much but it can really up and allow you to make money even if your leads don’t turn into sales.
The program also offers a 365-day which is the longest duration of all programs on this list. It is managed by ShareASale which is a reputable network so you can be confident you’ll get paid for your referrals.
As an affiliate, you get access to banners, coupons and high-converting offers along with real-time tracking and detailed reporting.
This offers works for any blogger or content creator in the financial niche and will allow your audience to get their credit score on good track and be able to access better credit cards.
15. Commission Soup
- Commission Rate: $30-$40
- Cookie Length: ~30 days
- Join here
If you have noticed, a lot of credit card affiliate programs are run through affiliate networks since banks prefer to use an intermediary instead of deal with affiliates directly.
Commission Soup is one of the biggest affiliate networks for credit card programs, focusing on cost-per-action (CPA) financial services offers since 2000.
The affiliate program has different credit cards you can promote including some of the most high-profile credit cards available online like:
- Capital One Affiliate Program – Open Sky Credit Card
- American Express Credit Card
- Indigo Credit Card
- First Access Card
- Milestone Credit Card
- Total Visa Credit Card
- Credit One Bank
- First Premier Card
The commission varies according to the product and as an affiliate, you get access to all offers. This gives you a wide variety of options to offer your readers and optimize your results for better profits.
You also get access to some proprietary tracking technology, marketing materials, and a support team to help you identify the best products for your audience.
16. Bankrate Network
- Commission Rate: $30-$40
- Cookie Length: ~30 days
- Join here
Bankrate is one of the main credit card affiliate networks globally but it also manages credit card affiliate programs for some of its major competitors like AMEX, Chase, Capital One, and Discover.
They offer over 300 products with different payout structures including cost per mille or a thousand impressions (CPM), cost per lead (CPL), cost per click (CPC), and cost per action (CPA).
While the commissions vary for each product, a lot of the credit cards they offer have a high commission rate so you can earn around $50-$200 per referred sale
According to Bankrate, their affiliates “get more technology solutions than in any other network” including user-friendly in-site tools, co-brand solutions, and data feeds.
Some of these programs will also run their individual programs through other networks but with Bankrate, you don’t need to apply to each one separately. It also helps you organize all your commissions in the same place and reach the payout threshold faster.
However, being a sub-affiliate might mean you won’t earn as much as if you worked directly with the card issuer so make sure to compare the rates of the programs you are interested in.
17. BankAffiliates
- Commission Rate: Varies
- Cookie Length: Vaires
- Join here
BankAffiliates.com is an affiliate network specialized in businesses and financial institutions including products like lending, deposit acquisition, insurance, investments, and credit.
They also host some of the most lucrative credit card affiliate programs, including the Lexington Law and the Personal Capital affiliate programs.
Since they are focused only on the financial space, they are able to understand better the needs of affiliates in the niche including compliance issues unique to the industry.
They also work as an ad network so if you have a blog or website, you could monetize your traffic with ads relevant to your audience.
A great perk of this network is that they also work on a pay-per-call method so affiliates can earn extra money if their audiences call the companies to ask any questions.
Additionally, sales representatives are able to better help people over the phone and offer the services that they need to it also increases your conversion rates while letting you earn extra commission.
The commissions and cookies vary depending on the program so check the ones that you are interested in, to make sure the payouts are worth your time.
18. ShareASale
- Commission Rate: Varies
- Cookie Length: Varies
- Join here
Shareasale is a well-known and reputable affiliate network with two decades of experience and more than 4,800 merchants across multiple industries, including plenty of financial products and credit card programs.
They receive mostly positive reviews for the speed, accuracy, and efficiency it provides to its affiliate marketers. They also offer detailed reporting tools and one of my favorite features shows if is a merchant has founds in their account to allow for automatic payments or, otherwise, how long have they been without them.
Getting accepted as an affiliate is the first step to promote all the programs they manage but you still need to apply individually to each one of the offers you are interested in and have at least one website listed in your affiliate profile.
Like with other affiliate networks, the commissions and cookies vary depending on the merchant but having a trustable network is a great benefit to guarantee your fair and timely payments.
How To Promote Credit Card Affiliate Programs?
Choosing the right credit card affiliate programs to promote is only the first step to start making money and growing your income as an affiliate marketer in this niche.
While ultimately, your work as an affiliate lies in crafting and optimizing your own strategies, here are some of the platforms and methods you can consider to start making money with these programs.
1. With a blog or website.
Since most credit card affiliate programs require you to have a blog or website, it is a given that most affiliates in this niche already have one or are planning on creating it.
If this is your case, you have infinite opportunities to promote these programs to your readers. From credit card reviews, to “best of lists” and comparisons, all you need to do is guide your readers to choose the best card for their needs and they’ll be ready to click your affiliate links without thinking about it twice.
You can also create a static section in your blog for your recommended credit cards, or if you want to go one step further, consider creating a tool to help people find the best card for their needs. This Credit Card Finder in the NerdWallet blog (shown below) is one of the most visited pages on the whole site.
Make sure to check out this article later to learn my proven strategy to promote affiliate offers with a blog.
2. With A Youtube Channel
Youtube is another great platform to promote credit card affiliate programs. It is no secret that video content is king and will continue to be so starting a Youtube Channel in the financial niche can help you build trust with your viewers and make great commissions.
And if you don’t want to appear on camera, this is a great industry to use resources like animation and whiteboards for your videos.
Youtube allows you to place affiliate links directly on the description of your videos and as clickable buttons inside your videos so you have plenty of opportunities to promote your credit card affiliate offers.
Make sure to check out this article later if you want to learn how to get better results promoting affiliate offers on Youtube.
3. With Social Media
While blogging and Youtube-ing are great ways to get consistent and passive traffic to your affiliate offers, they both work through search engines (Google and Youtube) which means that it can take 8-12 months to start seeing some significant commissions.
If you are looking to see results faster, you can also consider using social media platforms like Instagram and Tiktok, which is where people spend most of their time online.
With the massive growth of Tiktok, Instagram has been forced to create its own version of short videos called “reels” inside its app. Both platforms give you the opportunity to grow a big audience in a matter of months (weeks for some) by posting simple 15-second videos.
If you want to take advantage of this opportunity, make sure to check this article on how to use TikTok to make money fast with Affiliate Marketing
These are some of the main methods that you can use to promote your credit card affiliate programs but you can find more about my 10 Favorite FREE Traffic Sources for Affiliate Marketing here.
Takeaway
No matter who your audience is, there are some great affiliate programs for credit cards you can promote as an affiliate marketer in the financial niche.
The best part is that people tend to actively look for credit cards that help them build their credit score and win rewards so you don’t need to be pushy or “salesy”. All you need to do is help them fund the best card for their needs )even if it’s not the one that pays the biggest commission).
If you are still wondering where to get started with Affiliate Marketing, make sure to check out this step-by-step training that is giving beginners great results and is only $7.
