The car rental industry is experiencing a significant rebound, with projections estimating the global market to surge from $82.5 billion in 2022 to over $137 billion by 2029. Coupled with a growing customer base expected to exceed 602 million by 2026, the opportunities within the car rental sector are immense. This resurgence in travel and mobility creates a perfect landscape for affiliate marketers looking to tap into a lucrative and expanding market.
Even if your primary focus isn’t travel, consider the diverse needs of your audience. They might be planning a cross-country move requiring a van rental or organizing a family road trip. Car rental affiliate programs offer versatile earning potential, transforming your website traffic into a stream of passive income.
Ready to explore the Best Car Rental Affiliate Programs? Let’s delve into a curated list that will help you capitalize on this thriving industry.
1. RentalCars.com
Rentalcars.com stands out as a leading online car rental platform, facilitating over four million rentals annually across 46,000 locations worldwide. They aggregate rental options from industry giants like Avis, Hertz, Enterprise, and Thrifty, alongside reputable local brands, providing customers with a vast selection.
As part of Booking Holdings, which also manages travel metasearch engines such as Booking.com and Kayak.com, Rentalcars.com benefits from strong brand recognition and trust.
Their affiliate program offers a 6% commission on each completed car rental booking, with a 30-day cookie duration. It’s important to note that commissions are calculated on the base car rental price, excluding extras or additional services.
Travelpayouts, the affiliate network managing Rentalcars.com, reports an average order value of €230 and an effective CPC of $0.02, indicating solid earning potential for affiliates.
- URL: RentalCars.com affiliate program
- Commission rate: 6% per completed booking
- Cookie duration: 30 days
2. Discover Cars
DiscoverCars.com is a premier car rental comparison website, empowering travelers to seamlessly search, compare, and rent vehicles in over 145 countries and 10,000 locations globally. The platform attracts over a million monthly users during peak seasons, highlighting its popularity and reach.
A key advantage of Discover Cars is their transparent pricing, providing quotes that encompass all mandatory fees, taxes, and extras, ensuring customer satisfaction and minimizing surprises at pickup. They also offer 24/7 customer support and flexible free cancellation policies, enhancing user experience.
Their affiliate program, accessible through the ShareASale network, boasts an impressive 40% commission on qualifying revenue from each car rental. Furthermore, affiliates earn an additional 23% commission on sales of their FullCoverage insurance service. The program’s standout feature is its generous 365-day cookie window, the longest among the programs reviewed here, maximizing your earning potential from referred traffic.
ShareASale statistics reveal a 30-day average sale of $62.72 and a high EPC of $101.34, coupled with a strong 4.85% conversion rate, demonstrating the program’s effectiveness.
Discover Cars goes the extra mile by providing affiliates with a dedicated account manager for strategic guidance and a comprehensive suite of marketing tools. These resources include banner ads, text links, customizable widgets, a landing page generator, and XML API integration, equipping affiliates for success.
- URL: Discover Cars affiliate program
- Commission rate: 40% of qualifying revenue per transaction
- Cookie duration: 365 days
3. Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Enterprise Rent-A-Car is a globally recognized car rental company, offering both car and truck rentals at over 8,000 locations worldwide. As the flagship brand of Enterprise Holdings, which also includes Alamo and National, Enterprise benefits from a strong portfolio and brand reputation.
Renowned for exceptional customer service, Enterprise consistently ranks high in customer satisfaction surveys, including topping the JD Power’s latest North America Rental Car Satisfaction Study.
Their US car rental affiliate program operates on the Impact Radius network. Affiliates earn a 1% commission on all sales generated within a 180-day cookie window. While the commission rate might seem modest, the potential earnings can be substantial, especially considering the high value of premium car rentals and extended booking durations.
Enterprise provides affiliates with a range of promotional materials, including logos, banners, and text links, to facilitate traffic generation and conversions.
- URL: Enterprise affiliate program
- Commission rate: 1% per sale
- Cookie duration: 180 days
4. National Car Rental
National Car Rental, also part of Enterprise Holdings, caters to customers across 1,500+ locations spanning the US, Canada, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Australia.
A significant draw for National is their Emerald Club rewards program, which offers valuable perks to frequent renters. Members accrue rental credits for each qualifying rental, with seven credits culminating in a free rental day, fostering customer loyalty and repeat business.
National Car Rental’s affiliate program, also managed through Impact Radius, offers a flat 3% commission on all sales, coupled with a 180-day cookie window. Commissions are typically paid within 30 days after the rental completion.
- URL: National affiliate program
- Commission rate: 3% per sale
- Cookie duration: 180 days
5. Alamo Rent A Car
Alamo Rent A Car, another brand under the Enterprise Holdings umbrella, focuses on providing affordable car rental options. Their website is designed to streamline travel planning, offering resources like travel directions, weather updates, and local activity suggestions. Alamo also incentivizes customer loyalty through a rewards program that offers up to 5% discount on base rental rates.
In response to traveler concerns, Alamo joined the Clorox Safer Today Alliance, emphasizing their commitment to safety and hygiene. This partnership provides access to expert guidance from the Cleveland Clinic and the CDC, reinforcing customer trust.
Alamo’s car rental affiliate program is hosted on the FlexOffers affiliate network. It offers a 5% commission on all sales and maintains a generous 180-day cookie window, consistent with its sister brands, Enterprise and National.
- URL: Alamo affiliate program
- Commission rate: 5% per sale
- Cookie duration: 180 days
6. Budget Car Rental
Budget Car Rental is a well-established global car rental company, also providing truck rentals in the US. With over 3,000 locations worldwide, Budget is part of the Avis Budget Group, which includes Avis and Zipcar.
The Budget Car Rental affiliate program is administered through the Partnerize network. New affiliates can earn up to 4% commission per sale, with rates varying based on rental duration and mileage. Higher commission tiers are available for top-performing affiliates, incentivizing increased traffic and conversions.
Budget provides a comprehensive affiliate dashboard, offering real-time data on clicks, sales, and earnings, enabling affiliates to optimize their campaigns effectively.
Note that Budget requires affiliates to have an active website for application approval, as they review all sites prior to acceptance. Currently, Budget partners with affiliates based in the US and Canada only.
- URL: Budget Rental Car affiliate program
- Commission rate: Up to 4% per sale
- Cookie duration: Unlisted
7. Avis Car Rental
Avis Car Rental pioneered airport car rentals and is now a cornerstone of the Avis Budget Group, alongside Budget and Zipcar. Together, they form one of the world’s most recognized car rental brands, operating approximately 5,500 locations across more than 165 countries.
Avis instills customer confidence through its best-price guarantee. If customers find a lower qualifying rate elsewhere, Avis commits to matching it and offering an additional 10% discount.
Similar to Budget, Avis manages its car rental affiliate program through the Partnerize network. New affiliates can earn up to 4% commission per transaction, based on rental mileage and duration, with enhanced rates for high-achieving partners.
Affiliates can register multiple websites under a single affiliate account, provided each site has a unique URL. Currently, Avis accepts affiliate applications from entities in the US and Canada. Upon approval, Partnerize provides comprehensive technical support to facilitate quick onboarding and earning.
- URL: Avis affiliate program
- Commission rate: Up to 4% per sale
- Cookie duration: Unlisted
8. Hertz
Hertz is another global leader in the car rental industry, with over 10,000 airport and neighborhood locations across 145 countries and six continents. Beyond the Hertz brand, the company owns budget-focused rental companies Dollar and Thrifty.
Hertz fosters customer loyalty through its Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program, boasting over 11 million members globally and having issued six million complimentary upgrades in 2019 alone.
To join the Hertz car rental affiliate program, you’ll need to create a CJ Affiliate account first. Once approved, you’ll earn a 3% commission on completed car rentals in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. However, the cookie duration is notably short at just one day. Despite this, CJ Affiliate reports a three-month EPC of $89.07 for the program.
Hertz provides affiliates with various promotional resources and tools, including newsletters featuring regular incentives, promotions, and banners to support marketing efforts.
- URL: Hertz affiliate program
- Commission rate: 3% on completed rentals in select markets
- Cookie duration: 1 day
9. Thrifty Car Rental
Thrifty Car Rental is a subsidiary of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, which is itself owned by Hertz. Thrifty operates extensively in the car rental market, with over 1,000 locations across 77 countries, including 472 in the US and Canada.
As the name suggests, Thrifty targets budget-conscious travelers. Their Thrifty Blue Chip Rewards program offers members a 15% discount on bookings, appealing to value-seeking customers.
Thrifty has partnered with Rakuten Advertising for its affiliate network. Their program offers a standard 1% commission on completed rentals and has a 14-day cookie window.
- URL: Thrifty affiliate program
- Commission rate: 1% commission on consumed rentals
- Cookie duration: 14 days
10. Auto Europe Car Rentals
Auto Europe is a car rental comparison website with established partnerships with major brands like Hertz, Avis, Enterprise, Europcar, National, Budget, Dollar, and Thrifty. They aim to provide customers with the best rates at 20,000 pickup locations across over 180 countries.
Auto Europe offers flexible booking terms, including free cancellations up to 48 hours before pickup and transparent pricing with no hidden fees. They also provide a best-rate guarantee and 24/7 customer support. To date, Auto Europe has served over eight million customers worldwide.
The Auto Europe affiliate program is available on the CJ Affiliate network. It offers a 5% commission on completed car rentals and has a 7-day cookie duration.
- URL: AutoEurope affiliate program
- Commission rate: 5% commission on completed rentals
- Cookie duration: 7 days
Conclusion: Is a Car Rental Affiliate Program Your Next Profitable Venture?
Car rental affiliate programs present compelling opportunities. The commission structures can be highly rewarding, with some programs offering up to 40% of the car rental profit. Given the significant average cost of car rentals, potentially reaching $695 for a week-long rental, the earnings per transaction can be substantial.
However, the car rental niche is intensely competitive. Success requires outperforming major rental companies and numerous other affiliates targeting similar audiences and keywords. Building a well-optimized, high-converting affiliate website is crucial for standing out.
Fortunately, resources are available to help you succeed. Consider exploring expert training to learn effective strategies for building successful affiliate sites and gaining a competitive edge. This knowledge can be invaluable in navigating the car rental affiliate landscape and maximizing your earning potential.
