REVIEW: Discover Cars Affiliate Program in 2023

Want to join one of the best travel affiliate programs?

You’ve landed on the right article because I’m going to tell you all about the lucrative Discover Cars Affiliate Program. I’ve been a part of their program since 2020, so I have a lot of insights.

This article contains everything you need to know about becoming a Discover Cars affiliate — but if you don’t want to read and you’re only here for the link to sign up, then here you go.

If you want to learn more about the program before you join, you’re in the right place. Ready to discover why you need to join Discover Cars ASAP?! I think they have the best car rental affiliate program — and I’m about to tell you why.

Discover Cars Affiliate Program Review

When it comes to car rental affiliate programs with high earning potential, Discover Cars is always my top choice. Below, I have a full explanation of why I recommend them above all other transportation affiliate programs.

Discover Cars Affiliate Program Features

• 365 day cookie: The longest cookie of any car rental affiliate marketing program I’ve ever seen
• 70% commission on their car rental profit: The highest commission rates among car rental affiliates — with the potential to earn even more
• 30% added commission: Earned with the sale of their Full Coverage Plan, meaning you can make a nice amount from the full coverage revenue
• Single tier, cost per sale (pay per sale) commission structure means you get paid on every sale made
• Monthly payout sent by PayPal or ACH bank wire transfer
• Minimum payment threshold is $200 USD
• Apply to the Discover Cars Affiliate Program now!

Earn Even Higher Discover Cars Commissions with this Hack

Discover Cars allows you to earn 5% more on booking commissions for placing just one affiliate link on your website within 10 days of your registration. If that’s not incentive to get an affiliate marketing blog written, I don’t know what is!

If you place an affiliate link on your site’s homepage, they offer a 10% commission increase. Remember this has to be done within 10 days of your registration for the Discover Cars affiliate program.

Note: They don’t combine these, so I recommend that if you want to take advantage of this, put the link on your homepage so you get the 10% bump versus on any inner pages dedicated to travel, which only yield a 5% increase.

Discover Cars partners with 380 car rental companies worldwide, meaning you can recommend it to your readers consistently, regardless of your target audience or location.

Affiliate content creators see an average of $20-$50 USD commissions per sale, with average monthly payouts hovering around $2,500 per 100K visitors. Not bad for passive income — though not everyone gets those results.

It’s easy to see why Discover Cars is one of the best affiliate programs travel bloggers love — and why it’s one of the most-used travel blogger affiliate programs out there today.

Discover Cars has Deep Links, Banners and Widgets

Another nice feature is the ability to do deep links with Discover Cars.

Deep links tend to be the highest converting for most affiliate marketers, however, there’s also banner ads (you can see one above) and a fully customizable widget you can embed on your site.

With so many options, you can see why this affiliate program is ideal for travel blogs, online travel agencies, accommodation websites, travel apps and more.

Where do I Sign up for the Discover Cars Affiliate Program?

The Discover Cars affiliate program is available across multiple affiliate networks, including Share A Sale, CJ Affiliate, and Travel Payouts. You can also sign up for their affiliate program, bypassing the affiliate networks.

Going direct is typically more lucrative, as Discover Cars pays 70% commission rates, whereas joining the program through an affiliate network often means different commission rates.

I personally love that Discover Cars offers great support and tips for new travel bloggers to boost sales. I also find they have a quick response time, thanks to their dedicated account managers.

Since I personally use Discover Cars for my own car rentals when traveling, I can speak to their service with confidence and experience — which goes a long way in boosting conversion rates. Also, their cookie period is amazing!

However, if you want to see what other affiliate car rental programs there are, keep reading!

There’s info about two companies similar to Discover Cars in that they’re aggregate search tools (they search many companies and get multiple car rental prices at once) — and also info about joining single company programs.

🔎 first click vs last click Explained Further

Still confused on the What does last click mean in affiliate marketing? question. Admittedly, it’s a bit confusing when you first hear about it, so here’s a practical example of how last click affiliate marketing works:

If someone clicks on your Discover Cars affiliate link, leaves the site, then goes to another blog and clicks on their affiliate link to Discover Cars, and ultimately uses their link to book a rental car — they get the affiliate commission, not you.

🤔 What is Linear click attribution?

There’s also something called linear distribution — but it’s pretty rare. With linear attribution in affiliate marketing, the credit for the conversion is distributed equally across all the affiliates who helped make the sale.

Discover Cars Affiliate Program Alternatives

While I mentioned above that I consider Discover Cars the best affiliate program for car rentals — I know they won’t be the best for absolutly everyone.

In fact, I always encourage people to test affiliates and pick the best one(s) for your sites. After all, no two travel blogs are the same. If you need a few more suggestions for the top car rental affiliate programs, here are three options:

1. RentalCars.com Affiliate Program

There are a few big players in the car rental affiliate space. Aside from Discover Cars, another travel affiliate company option is RentalCars.com, the official rental car partner for the Booking.com Affiliate Program.

When comparing Discover Cars vs RentalCars.com Affiliate Program, there are a few key differences to consider:

• Commission Rates — Discover Cars has a higher commission rate of up to 70% of profits (this includes 30% added commission from a Full Coverage Plan sale), while RentalCars.com pays out 40% of profits, or a flat rate of 6% per sale.
• Cookie Duration — Discover Cars’ 365 cookie window far exceeds the RentalCars.com 30 day period for cookies.

Overall, both Discover Cars and RentalCars.com offer some of the top travel affiliate programs that help you make money from travel blogging quickly and easily.

However, if you’re looking for a higher commission rate and ease of use, I recommend Discover Cars as your go-to car rental affiliate program.

Discover Cars Affiliate Program Review

2. Auto Europe Affiliate Program

European bloggers might want to check out the Auto Europe affiliate program. Like Discover Cars and RentalCars.com, this is a car rental comparison website that uses an aggregate search tool.

Auto Europe works with all the big brands, like Europcar, Hertz, Avis, Enterprise, Buchbinder, Peugeot, National, Budget and Dollar. They say they get the best rates at 20,000 pickup locations in more than 180 countries.

• Commission Rates — 5% commission on completed car rental bookings
• Cookie Lifetime — 7 days, which is on the shorter side

Your blog readers will love that Auto Europe offers free cancellation up to 48 hours before the rental car pickup date. They also have a best-rate guarantee, no hidden fees and a 24/7 customer support hotline — a lot of great selling points.

Note: I have personally never used Auto Europe or been a part of the Auto Europe affiliate program. I am including them here as an alternative if Discover Cars will not work for you.

🚙 DISCOVER CARS VS Auto Europe: WHICH IS BETTER?

Personally, I’d still recommend you sign up for the Discover Cars affiliate program. The cookie duration is much longer than Auto Europe’s cookie (365 days vs. 7 days). The Discover Cars commissions are also a lot higher.

Discover Cars Affiliate Program Review

3. Going Direct with Individual Rental Car Companies

If you’re brand-specific and only want to recommend one car rental company, then neither Discover Cars nor RentalCars.com will work for you. What will work is going direct with the company (or companies) you love.

Here are the links to join some of the other rental cars affiliate programs:

• Enterprise affiliate program
• National Car Rental affiliate program
• Alamo affiliate program
• Budget Rental Car affiliate program
• Avis Car Rental affiliate program
• Hertz affiliate program
• Thrifty affiliate program
• Sixt affiliate program
• Turo affiliate program

Discover Cars Affiliate Program Review

Affiliate Marketing Guide & FAQ

The affiliate earns a commission for each referral, typically based on the number of sales, clicks or sign ups generated from the referral.

Affiliate sales are generally tracked using affiliate links, which contain a unique tracking code that allows the affiliate to track and monitor their referrals.

With affiliate marketing, there are little to no upfront costs for either the advertiser or the publisher, so it’s a great starting point for making money without spending in advance.

While affiliate marketing may feel daunting at first, and the thought of selling to your readers may seem uncomfortable, it’s one of the most reliable and natural ways to monetize your blog.

Affiliate marketing doesn’t have to be salesy and pushy — you can find companies that align with your blog’s values and promote them in an authentic way.

If you’ve ever used a product or service and then recommended it to friends and family, you’ve essentially done affiliate marketing without even realizing it.

You’ve already proven you have what it takes to be an affiliate marketer and start monetizing your travel blog (or travel blogs if you have more than one).

Discover Cars Affiliate Program Review

Through these programs, you can earn commissions for referring customers and visitors to partner companies such as airlines, hotels, tour operators and more.

Travel affiliates may also receive exclusive discounts or perks for themselves or their readers. This can be an excellent way to demonstrate the value of travel products or services to your readers while also earning commissions.

Travel is one of the top niches for affiliate marketing and there are many great programs to choose from. Be sure to do your research and pick the one(s) that fit with your blog’s values and audience.

Discover Cars Affiliate Program Review

Some programs have stipulations before they approve you, like a minimum traffic number of monthly visitors to your site. However, many don’t, and should approve in a few days or a week (sometimes longer).

After you’re approved, you can and start promoting their products or services through deep links, banner ads or other promotional materials they provide you with. For many affiliate marketers, deep links convert best.

When choosing an affiliate program, be sure to pay attention to any requirements such as minimum sales thresholds, or restrictions on content or promotion methods.

You’ll also want to make sure you read the terms and conditions of each program carefully before signing up.

Some programs may not allow certain types of promotion or may require you to make specific types of disclaimers to your readers.

The key to success with affiliate marketing is to be honest and transparent with your readers by using disclaimers. You’ll also only want to be promoting high-quality products that you genuinely believe in.

This way, you can foster trust and loyalty among your followers while earning commissions for yourself.

Discover Cars Affiliate Program Review

Through affiliate marketing, you can earn commissions for referring customers and visitors to partner companies in the travel industry.

Recommending the best travel affiliate products for your readers helps you to satisfy user intent and build trust with your followers, all while monetizing your blog.

Additionally, many affiliate programs offer exclusive discounts or perks to bloggers that can help you stand out from the competition.

These discounts may be passed on to your readers as well, adding even more value to their experience.

Affiliate marketing for travel bloggers is often the most lucrative monetization strategy, but it’s much more than simply adding a few text links to your content.

I teach bloggers how to find keywords with big potential to earn affiliate income in my How to Find Affiliate Marketing Keywords Class.

Discover Cars Affiliate Program Review

Consider the issues that your readers face as they travel to your target destinations. Assess what products and services could help mitigate these struggles and look for affiliates to match them.

By doing so, you can provide immense value to your readers while building a lucrative revenue stream through affiliate marketing.

Once you have identified the right affiliates, reach out and inquire about their program.

Many companies have an online application process that you can complete to become approved as an affiliate.

Other times, you may need to contact a representative directly if the company does not yet have an established program.

Discover Cars Affiliate Program Review

The cookie allows the advertiser to track purchases and activities of the customer over time, even after they leave the site.

This allows advertisers to reward affiliates for any purchases that their readers make as a result of their link or advertisement. Affiliate cookies last anywhere from zero to 365 days or longer, depending on the program.

Most of the best travel affiliate marketing programs use cookies to track sales, as they provide an accurate way to measure the success of each partner’s efforts.

Discover Cars Affiliate Program Review

Choosing the right travel affiliate program for your blog can be both exciting and daunting — so here is an example to help make some sense of it.

If you’re in the luxury travel niche, you can find a variety of luxury travel affiliate programs through some of the popular affiliate networks, like the Plum Guide Affiliate Program. They bill themselves as an upscale Airbnb.

If you’re in the budget-friendly travel niche, luxury programs won’t suit your audience and you’ll instead want to stick with what you know your readers will be interested in, like the HostelWorld Affiliate Program.

Additionally, one of the most important things to look for is programs that have a positive reputation and active community of affiliate marketers, so you know your readers are getting quality products, and that you’ll be paid reliably.

A great way to start affiliate marketing is by signing up for one or two programs of products or services that you already use and would recommend to others.

As you build up your skills and following, you can expand to include more programs to diversify your income streams.

Here are four things to consider when picking the best travel affiliates and best best travel affiliate networks to join:

🍪 What is their cookie policy? 

Tracking cookies are an integral part of any affiliate program. Cookies help ensure that you get paid for all the leads and sales generated from your blog.

Every affiliate program should have a clear cookie policy, stating how long their cookies last and what kind of data is collected.

Read each cookie policy carefully and make sure you understand the cookie duration (or cookie window), what happens when customers clear their cookies, and what kind of data is collected through them.

Knowing these details can help you choose the best travel blog affiliate programs and ensure that you get paid for your hard work.

It’s also important that you disclose tracking cookies in your privacy policy and provide the opportunity for your readers to opt out of cookies if they choose to do so. A cookie opt-out pop-up is a great way to tackle this.

💰 What are their commission rates? 

When selecting the best travel programs for affiliate marketing, commission rates should be high on your priority list.

While there are some pay per click travel affiliate programs, most programs pay a percentage of the sale. The exact rate varies depending on the product or service.

Online marketplaces like Booking.com, DiscoverCars.com and many others that act as a middle-man between you and the companies you are promoting often pay commission on their portion of profits from the sale.

While the percentage of commission may appear to be higher for these such programs, the actual rate you receive may be lower than that of a direct affiliate program.

Other programs may have tiered commission rates with higher percentages for larger or more sales.

It’s usually worth your time to compare different programs and affiliate networks and find the ones that offer the highest commission rates for the same great products.

This way, you can maximize your earnings from each sale and make sure that your time is spent wisely.

🙋 Do they have a dedicated Affiliate Manager? 

Many travel affiliate programs now offer dedicated affiliate managers who are available to help you promote their products and services.

A good affiliate manager will be able to answer any questions you may have about the program, provide creative assets and tailored promotions for your blog, and help you get the most out of the affiliate program.

Having a dedicated affiliate manager can make it much easier to quickly launch and maximize your campaigns, and can sometimes help you to negotiate higher commission rates based on top performance.

It’s worth considering whether a program has a dedicated affiliate manager when you are making your selection, as this can be a great asset to you.

🗝️ Can they give your readers a discount code or special offers?

One of the best ways to increase conversions is to offer your readers a discount code or special offer.

Look for affiliate programs that have regular promotional offers and discount codes, as this can be a great way to increase your affiliate income.

Make sure you check the terms of each offer carefully, as you will be responsible for providing the code and ensuring that it is applied correctly.

Additionally, many programs have restrictions on where they can be advertised, so make sure you read the terms and conditions before promoting any offers.

Discover Cars Affiliate Program Review

Doing so can help you scale your readership faster and create content that resonates with your readers.

Travel bloggers tend to enjoy higher engagement and more loyal readers than many other niches, making it a great choice for affiliate marketing.

By targeting the right affiliate keywords and joining relevant, high-converting affiliate programs, you can easily make income from your travel blog while also providing great value to your readers.

Discover Cars Affiliate Program Review

Finding lucrative affiliate programs begins with finding ones that are most relevant to your readers, as this will always maximize your chances of making a sale.

After you’ve done that, start sifting through affiliate programs and networks to find those with the highest commission rates and most favorable terms.

It’s also always important to choose programs that have a good reputation and reliable customer service, as this will ensure that your readers will have a great experience and will continue to trust you as an authority in your niche.

Discover Cars Affiliate Program Review

In fact, affiliate marketing is often the top monetization strategy for travel bloggers, accounting for over 60% of revenue for many top travel bloggers.

By targeting the right affiliate keywords, implementing marketing best practices, and maintaining the trust of your readers, travel bloggers can earn substantial commissions from their affiliate marketing efforts.

Discover Cars Affiliate Program Review

Now is the best time to start, as the sooner you begin the sooner you will find the best methods for successfully marketing to your audience.

Additionally, joining affiliate networks and programs as early on in your blogging career as possible can give you an advantage down the road when it comes to negotiating higher commission rates and better promotional offers.

Don’t have time to read the whole article? No worries — I’m including the cliff’s notes here so you can get the info you need fast! There are the affiliates I use personally, and the ones I always recommend.

Each of these travel blog affiliate programs (and many more) are listed below with in-depth information about the programs. Keep reading to learn about all your options so you can make money from affiliate marketing fast!

Final Thoughts on the Discover Cars Affiliate Program

In my opinion, and from my experience growing my travel blog to multiple six figures, affiliate marketing is the right place for travel bloggers to start monetizing through passive income.

By joining the right programs, like the Discover Cars Affiliate Program, targeting the right keywords, and taking the time to invest in learning the art of affiliate marketing — it is more than possible to generate substantial passive income through your travel blog.

Now that you’ve seen my list of the best affiliate programs for travel sites, start brainstorming what your audience needs and what travel niche products or services would make their travel journey easier.

Find an affiliate program (or programs) that fits your blog niche and start telling your readers about it. For most bloggers in the travel niche, a car rental affiliate makes logical sense, so Discover Cars is a great one to start with.

As you continue to build your audience and hone your strategies, the sky’s the limit for what you can achieve with affiliate marketing through your travel blog. For example, I made more than $160K from affiliate marketing in 2022!