Here are the best credit card affiliate programs that you can join to start promoting these best high-paying affiliate programs to your audience.
The personal finance niche is one of the most profitable blogging niches around. Money affects us all, which is perhaps why the finance niche does so well-it resonates with everyone.
One of the reasons personal finance bloggers make so much money is because of the lucrative affiliate deals available to them. From content on investing and financial planning, to how to spend wisely or side hustle ideas, affiliate programs relating to money and personal finance almost always offer very healthy commissions.
Read on to find out more about how to join the best credit card affiliate program around!
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Why Promote Credit Card Affiliate Programs?
Affiliate marketing is big business, and the industry is growing fast.
The affiliate marketing spend from the U.S. alone is expected to reach 8.2 billion U.S. dollars by 2022. It’s clear that affiliate marketing is here to stay. So if you’ve been thinking about getting into affiliate marketing in the personal finance niche, now is a great time to get started.
If your audience is interested in money (I mean, who isn’t?!) then letting them know about the best credit cards around can be beneficial to both them and you. Not only are you giving them the opportunity to find great deals they may otherwise not have heard of, but if they like the offer you are promoting, and make a purchase, you can start to rack up some great commission.
Although the personal finance niche is competitive, if you’re willing to put the work in, it can be very lucrative. The other good news is, you don’t necessarily need to be in the personal finance niche to promote credit card affiliate programs. Bloggers in all niches, particularly the lifestyle and budgeting niches can also make great money from promoting credit card affiliate programs.
Best Credit Card Affiliate Program
There are quite a few credit card affiliate programs around, but some are better than others. We’ve selected eight of the best credit card affiliate programs for you to join and start making money from.
OpenSky Secured Visa Credit Card Affiliate Program
OpenSky is a credit card that actually helps you to build better credit and improve your credit score. This makes it a great financial product to promote to your audience. Particularly if you blog about improving bad credit and getting personal finances in order.
Users can apply for an OpenSky secured credit card even if they have a bad credit history. This is because a refundable deposit is paid at the time of opening the credit account, which is used to secure the line of credit. Applicants can even choose how much credit they want! This makes it a great option for anyone with no credit history who wants to build their credit score in order to apply for a mortgage or any other reason.
The OpenSky affiliate program is operated on Commission Soup. Commission Soup is an affiliate marketing network dedicated exclusively to financial products, so they know what they are doing when it comes to promoting credit cards. Affiliates can earn a flat referral fee of $25 per referred customer, making this a very lucrative opportunity.
Bankrate Credit Card Affiliate Network
Bankrate is a credit card affiliate network that helps publishers generate affiliate revenue by promoting credit cards and other finance-related products. It works with some of the most popular U.S financial institutions. Partners include Amex, Citi, Barclaycard, Capital One, Chase, and Discover, so you will be able to promote trusted household names to your audience.
It’s completely free for bloggers to join the Bankrate credit card affiliate network. Because it’s an affiliate network rather than a single affiliate program, you can promote several different credit cards, with all of your commission and statistics in one place. Bankrate is well known for providing excellent customer service, and will even provide you with a dedicated affiliate manager who will help you get the most out of the program.
Commission Soup
Commission soup is an affiliate network that offers some of the best credit card affiliate programs around, as well as other financial products and services. They work with popular names in the finance world, including American Express, Citi, First Premier Bank, Credit One Bank, and more.
If you’re a finance blogger looking for a dedicated affiliate network to join, Commission Soup is a great choice. It’s free to sign up, and you will be given a dedicated affiliate manager who will help you choose the best credit card affiliate program to promote to your audience.
American Express Canada
If any of your audience is based in Canada, then promoting the American Express Canada affiliate program is a great way to make money from your blog. American Express is a trusted household name, known for offering cardholders huge rewards and benefits.
Since American Express is trying to expand in Canada, they are offering huge bonuses to their affiliates for every referral. Referral bonuses can be up to $300 CAD per referral – nice!
Their affiliate program is run through CJ Affiliate (formerly Commission Junction) so it couldn’t be easier to join.
USAA Credit Cards
USAA is a popular financial services provider to members of the U.S. Military, as well as their spouses and children. They offer competitive rates on credit cards, insurance, investments, and more, making them a great financial product to promote to any of your audience who may be in the military.
They’re one of the leading providers of credit cards in the U.S. and they even offer a dedicated USAA American Express card which offers cashback on purchases, as well as a number of other perks.
The USAA credit card affiliate program is run through CJ.com, so it’s super easy to sign up. At the time of writing, they are currently offering up to a $20 referral fee for every user that completes a quote or application through your affiliate link.
Experian
If you’re promoting credit cards to your audience, then you will almost certainly want to be promoting Experian too. Experian is a service that allows users to view their credit scores. This enables anyone applying for a loan, credit card, or mortgage to see how likely they are to be accepted. Having this information allows users to see exactly what they need to do to improve their credit score if it is low so that they can improve it and be accepted for finance in the future.
Although the commission is low, affiliates can earn commission on both free Experian accounts, and paid CreditExpert subscriptions. This makes the Experian affiliate program a great earning opportunity because since there is a free account available, your conversion rates are likely to be much higher.
Luxury Card
Luxury Card is a premium credit card that offers cardholders unparalleled perks, including 24/7 concierge, airline points, cashback on purchases, no foreign transaction fees, and more.
Their credit cards are made of stainless steel and carbon, weighing 22grams, and are patented around the world making them a true one-of-a-kind luxury.
Although each card comes with an annual fee, the benefits that come with the card should cover this cost. It offers competitive rates on travel and exclusive benefits at hotels and resorts around the world, making it the perfect choice for anyone who travels frequently.
The Luxury Card affiliate program offers a huge referral bonus of up to $405 per sale, making this a very lucrative affiliate program for those with the right audience.
Petal Visa Card
The Petal Visa credit card is a one-of-a-kind credit card that is designed to help users build credit, even if they have never had a credit card before. It works by calculating how much you earn, and what your outgoings are rather than just looking at your credit score like most other credit card companies do.
You can submit a pre-approval to see which credit card is right for you and whether you are likely to be approved without impacting your credit score. They also have a useful app that allows you to see your credit score and finances all in one place.
Best of all, there’s no monthly or yearly fee to use the Petal credit card. This makes it accessible to most people, and it’s a great way for young people to start building a credit score.
The affiliate program is easy to join, and you can sign up through Partner Centric. They offer commission rates of $15, with a 30-day cookie duration.
What to Look For in a Credit Card Affiliate Program
There are quite a few credit card affiliate programs around, but some are better than others.
If you want to find the best credit card affiliate program, there are a few things you need to look out for.
- Commission rates – how much commission do they pay? And do they pay per lead or per sign-up? Although some credit card affiliate programs offer lower referral fees, they may have higher conversion rates if they are free to sign up for, so it’s worth taking note of this.
- Payment threshold – Some credit card affiliate programs have lower payout thresholds than others. A high payment threshold means that even if you have made a few sales already, you might not be able to collect your earnings until months later when you have reached the threshold. This can be very frustrating!
- Cookie duration – how long is the cookie duration? When it comes to cookies, the longer the better. The best credit card affiliate program will have a cookie duration of 30-days or more. This can greatly increase the chance of you earning affiliate commission. This is because customers can sometimes take a while to make up their minds about getting a credit card. With a longer cookie duration, you will still be rewarded for your sale, even if they sign up a few weeks later.
- Affiliate support – you will want to choose a credit card affiliate program that has a good affiliate user area. This should give you access to all the metrics you need as an affiliate, such as clicks, conversions, and earnings. Access to this data will help you see what’s working best, so you can make more sales in the future.
How to Promote a Credit Card Affiliate Program
Once you’ve found the best credit card affiliate program for you, there are a few different ways you can promote it to your audience to start making sales.
The most popular way to promote a credit card affiliate program is on your blog. You can do this by writing articles relating to the credit card in question, such as:
- Reviewing the credit card
- Comparison articles (American Express vs Luxury Card – which is better?)
- Round-up articles of the best credit cards
- Articles outlining the benefits of using a credit card
You can also link to it in other relevant articles where you are sharing advice on financial matters.
Another great place you can share links to credit card affiliate programs is your mailing list. You can let your subscribers know any time there is a special offer so they can sign up and take advantage of it!
Finding The Best Credit Card Affiliate Program for You
Finding the best credit card affiliate program for you is important. Depending on the type of content you produce, one card might suit you better than another.
If you blog about getting out of debt and building a credit score for example, then the OpenSky secured visa affiliate program or the Petal Visa affiliate programs would be ideal to promote to your audience. Although these cards offer lower referral fees, they are free to sign up for. This means the conversion rates are likely to be higher and you will make more money in the long run.
On the other hand, if you blog about making money, investing, and living a luxury lifestyle, you may want to promote premium membership credit cards such as Luxury Card and American Express. These cards can have very high commission rates! Although the number of sales may be lower, you can still make some really good money with these affiliate programs.
Credit Card Affiliate Marketing
The great thing about promoting credit card affiliate programs is that you don’t necessarily need to be a personal finance blogger.
Since money is relevant to everyone, credit card affiliate programs can also be well suited to lifestyle bloggers, mommy bloggers, as well as various other popular niches. So if you’ve got an audience who would be interested in money, and you’ve been looking for lucrative affiliate programs to join, it’s definitely worth signing up to some of these.
Your audience may or may not be receptive to the offers, but it’s always worth running a few tests. At the end of the day, if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, but if it does it can be a good earnings boost!
