Top 8 Travel Affiliate Programs With the Highest Commissions

Travel bloggers and content creators who stick with low-commission programs are leaving significant money on the table. While Amazon Associates pays out 3-4% on most travel gear, dedicated travel affiliate programs routinely offer 40%, 50%, or even 80% commission rates on bookings. The difference between a mediocre affiliate strategy and a profitable one often comes down to which eight programs you choose to promote.

Travelpayouts

Travelpayouts functions as an affiliate network rather than a single program, giving you access to over 100 travel brands through one dashboard. Commissions vary by partner, but flight bookings through Aviasales typically pay $1 to $7 per booking, while hotel bookings through partners like Hotellook can earn 30-50% of the booking fee. The real advantage here is consolidation: instead of managing a dozen separate affiliate accounts, you track everything in one place with a single payout threshold of $50.

New affiliates also benefit from the network's White Label program, which lets you build a fully branded booking engine without any development work. This matters for bloggers who want to look established rather than like they're redirecting traffic to someone else's site.

Stay22

Stay22 works differently from a traditional affiliate program because it sits between your content and the big online travel agencies. Its free script instantly converts all accommodation links on your website into monetized Stay22 links that earn you commissions, and the platform partners with top OTAs like Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, and now Agoda. The commission split starts at 30% of what Stay22 earns on each booking, and depending on your traffic and booking rate, you can ask for a higher rate.

Stay22 earns its place among the highest paying travel affiliate programs through conversions rather than a flashy headline rate. Booking.com’s direct program uses session-based tracking, so if a reader doesn’t book in one sitting, you earn nothing, while Stay22 has a 24-hour cookie with Booking, which captures readers who come back later to book. Its Allez link generator lets you paste a link to any accommodation, flight, or experience and get an affiliate link back, and commissions become ready for payment 7 days after the booking’s check-out date.

Booking.com Affiliate Partner Program

Booking.com remains one of the most recognizable names in travel, which helps conversion rates even if the commission structure is modest compared to niche programs. Affiliates earn between 25% and 40% of Booking.com's commission on each reservation, and since the platform takes a cut of roughly 10-15% from hotels, your actual earnings land between 3% and 6% of the total booking value. On a $400 weekend hotel stay, that translates to $12-24 per booking.

The appeal lies in volume and trust. Booking.com's cookie duration and brand recognition mean visitors are more likely to complete a purchase than they would be on an unfamiliar site.

Expedia Group Affiliate Program

Expedia's affiliate program covers its full portfolio, including Hotels.com, Vrbo, and CarRentals.com, which gives you flexibility to promote whichever vertical fits your content best. Commission rates range from 2% to 6% depending on the product category, with package deals and car rentals often sitting at the higher end. Cookie duration runs seven days, which is shorter than some competitors but still workable for readers who book shortly after researching.

Vrbo listings within the Expedia network can be particularly lucrative for content focused on family travel or group trips, since vacation rental bookings tend to have higher average order values than single hotel rooms.

World Nomads Travel Insurance

Travel insurance affiliate programs deserve more attention than they typically get, and World Nomads is one of the strongest options available. The program pays a flat 10% commission on policy sales, and because insurance policies for international trips often run $100-300 depending on coverage and trip length, that commission adds up quickly on a single sale.

Insurance content also converts well because it solves a specific anxiety: travelers searching for insurance are already in a buying mindset, not just browsing. Pairing a World Nomads link with destination guides for adventure travel or long-term backpacking tends to perform especially well.

GetYourGuide Affiliate Program

GetYourGuide specializes in tours, activities, and skip-the-line tickets, and its affiliate program pays 8% commission on every booking made through your referral link. What makes this program stand out is the average order value; a Colosseum tour or a multi-day excursion can easily run $50-150 per person, so commissions on group bookings add up fast.

The platform also offers a 30-day cookie window, giving your readers plenty of time to book after reading a destination guide. This is one of the best affiliate programs worth prioritizing if your content leans toward experiences rather than just lodging.

TripAdvisor Affiliate Program (Viator)

Viator, owned by TripAdvisor, operates similarly to GetYourGuide but with a slightly different commission structure that starts at 8% and can climb based on volume. The program benefits from TripAdvisor's massive review database, which lends credibility to the tours and activities you're recommending. Readers who already trust TripAdvisor reviews are often more willing to click through and book.

Because Viator covers over 300,000 activities worldwide, it works well for niche or less touristy destinations where other platforms might have limited inventory.

Skyscanner Affiliate Program

Skyscanner's affiliate program pays on a cost-per-click or cost-per-action basis depending on the partnership tier, with CPA rates often outperforming flat per-click rates for sites with engaged traffic. Flight searches don't always convert into immediate bookings, but Skyscanner's brand recognition and comparison tool make it an easy recommendation for budget-focused travel content.

The program works best when embedded directly into content about specific routes or seasonal fare deals, where readers are already primed to search for flights.

Building a Program That Actually Pays

Choosing the right mix of these eight programs depends less on which one has the flashiest headline commission rate and more on matching the program to your content's natural booking intent. A site focused on luxury hotel reviews will do better with Booking.com or Expedia, while an adventure travel blog will see stronger returns from World Nomads and GetYourGuide. Test two or three programs within existing content before committing to a full-site overhaul, and track actual conversion data rather than relying on advertised commission rates alone.

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