The travel blogging landscape is SO much different to how it was back in 2016 when we first launched this site.
It is much harder to get traffic now through traditional SEO means.
And you can’t be guaranteed that articles will even perform like they used to.
So using tools like Travelpayouts can be a fantastic way to simplify and speed up monetising your blog.
But it’s not quite that simple.
Though they may claim to be a sort of be-all-and-end-all affiliate solution, it’s far from the case
So below I want to take you through an in-depth look at what Travelpayouts actually is.
And whether it can make you and your travel blog a lot of money.
First up ...
Travelpayouts is a travel-focused affiliate platform that brings together a bunch of different programmes under one roof. Booking.com, Rentalcars, DiscoverCars, Viator, Agoda, Airalo, Hostelworld — you name it.
You don’t need to join each one separately. Just sign up once and you’re in.
That’s what first got my attention. We already run 30+ affiliate programmes, and managing them all is a pain. This simplified things massively.
But what actually makes Travelpayouts useful are the tools that auto integrate links. Or at least make the process of creating links much more simple.
You get stuff like a WordPress plugin that automatically converts links. Deep link generators. Customisable search forms. Widgets. Banners.
And you can even track performance down to individual blog posts.
It’s clean. It’s easy to set up. And you don’t need to be techy to make it work.
Most importantly, their Emerald AI tool works quietly in the background. Once we set it up, we didn’t really touch it again. Yet it just kept making money.
I kind of view it like Mediavine (our ad partner). We put the content up and regardless of anything else, it makes more money the more people view it. Similar to how Stay22 can work too (read our review of them here).
This depends on so many factors. But as an idea, here is how much we made in 2024
And this wasn’t from doing anything new. These earnings came from our usual content. We didn’t create special posts or campaigns. We just integrated the tools and let them do their thing.
That’s what I like most. It doesn’t demand your time.
The tools track everything, so I can see which posts and links convert best. That kind of info is gold when it comes to growing income from existing content.
If you’re a blogger juggling affiliate links, you already know the chaos. We manage more than 30 different programmes across our site. Which means tracking links, updating expired ones, signing into a dozen dashboards, figuring out what’s still performing.
It’s a full-time job on its own.
Travelpayouts cut through that mess.
Everything sits in one place. Flights, hotels, car rentals, even eSIMs. No switching accounts or pulling data from different platforms. Just one clean dashboard.
But the best part? The tools actually save time. LinkSwitcher, for example, automatically turns Booking.com or Rentalcars links into affiliate ones without me doing a thing. It even works retroactively. So posts we published years ago started earning without being touched.
I don’t need to manually generate links. I don’t even need to think about it. And when a booking happens, I know exactly where it came from.
It’s not revolutionary tech. But it’s smart. It’s built for people like us who’d rather spend time writing than updating URLs.
Let’s talk tools. Because honestly, this is where Travelpayouts delivers.
1. LinkSwitcher Plugin:
This is our favourite. It automatically scans for supported links and converts them on the fly. We use it across the whole site. Once it’s installed, that’s it — no upkeep required. And it doesn’t interfere with the reader's experience. If you don't want it to upset old links, you can do that as well. For example, we have it so that it doesn't touch our existing Booking.com affiliate links.
2. Search Widgets:
We’ve tested a few of these on high-traffic posts. They let readers input destinations or dates right on the page. Not every post needs one, but they work well on itinerary and city guide articles.
3. Deep Link Generator:
When we do want to manually link to a specific hotel, car rental, or provider, this makes it easy. Quick and clean. You can add in subID’s for tracking, and the reporting is really simple to see.
4. Performance Reports:
Everything’s tagged by post. So you can tell exactly which page drove each click and booking. That’s helped us optimize older content — we now know which articles are worth pushing harder. It’s interesting to see which posts drive more clicks, more conversions and which have the highest commissions.
We don’t use every tool they offer. Haven’t touched White Label or banners much yet. But that’s the nice thing. You don’t have to use it all. You just pick what fits.
Like any platform, Travelpayouts isn’t perfect. But overall, it’s one of the better systems we’ve used for affiliate income.
The biggest pro is how hands-off it is. Once you’ve set up your tools, there’s barely anything else to manage. Links are auto-converted. Earnings are tracked. Payouts happen reliably every month.
The selection of partners is solid too. You’re not just stuck with Booking.com or Agoda. You’ve got car rentals, tours, eSIMs, insurance, and more. DiscoverCars alone made up over 75% of our 2024 affiliate income here. And that was from existing blog posts, with no extra effort.
I also like the post-level tracking. That’s something a lot of other networks don’t offer. It makes it so much easier to know what’s working.
Support is pretty good too. We’ve had a couple of questions over the past year and always had helpful replies within a day or two.
Overall, if I was starting a brand new travel blog today, I would 100% use Travelpayouts for all the brands they feature. And then just use other direct programmes for the brand they don’t.
The dashboard can be a bit clunky. It shows all the data, but it’s not the most intuitive layout. Once you get used to it, it's fine. But if you’re brand new, there’s a bit of a learning curve.
We’ve also had a few cases where bookings were delayed in being confirmed or didn’t show in reports straight away. That’s usually down to the partner company, not Travelpayouts, but still something to keep in mind.
And while the range of partners is decent, it’s not exhaustive. You’ll still need to use other networks for things like insurance or direct GYG/Viator links if you want more control.
Which is an important note; if you're a new travel blogger, then don;t get lazy. Travepayouts, Stay22, and an ad partner are great for beginning the earnings process. But you will earn so much more by other programmes, especially direct affiliate arrangements you forge and then write content for.
We’ve used a lot of affiliate networks over the years. Some are huge, like Awin or CJ. Others are direct, like Booking.com or GYG. Travelpayouts sits somewhere in the middle — and that’s a good thing.
With Booking.com direct, for example, you have full control. But if they randomly kick you out or close their programme (which they’ve done to plenty of bloggers), you’re left scrambling. Travelpayouts adds a layer of protection. If Booking.com drops you directly, you can still earn through them here.
Compared to Awin or ShareASale, it’s a lot easier to use. You’re not dealing with weird interface designs or having to apply for every single brand. It’s plug and play. No waiting around for approvals.
You also don’t need to manually build and insert links like you do with some other platforms. That alone makes it more scalable if you’ve got hundreds of posts.
It doesn’t beat every other programme in every area. But in terms of ease, reliability, and overall earnings potential, it definitely earns a spot in our top three.
In fact, it’s a shock just how bad CJ, Awin, Rakuten, and other huge legacy affiliate platforms are. Travelpayouts is MILES ahead of most of them in terms of simplicity, styling and effectiveness.
If you're going to use Travelpayouts properly, here’s what I’d recommend based on what’s worked for us.
Start with the LinkSwitcher plugin. It’s by far the easiest way to begin. It converts links site-wide and just works. Once it’s live, check your dashboard after a couple of weeks to see what’s being picked up.
Next, dig into your old posts. We found some of our best earners were articles we hadn’t touched in years. Add deep links where relevant or test out a widget. City guides and car rental content did especially well for us.
If you’re writing about transport or travel planning, add search forms or comparison tools. They stand out more than a regular link and tend to get more clicks, especially for car hire.
Also, check your performance by post. This has been a game changer for us. You can see exactly which page triggered each booking. Once you know what’s converting, you can focus on pushing or updating those pages to boost earnings even further.
Finally, stay patient. Some bookings take a while to confirm, depending on the provider. But if you’re driving consistent traffic, the results will stack up.
Yep. Without a doubt.
It’s not flashy. It’s not revolutionary. But it works. And more importantly — it keeps working without needing constant babysitting.
We earned over $10,900 in 2024 through Travelpayouts. Most of that came from blog posts that were already live. We didn’t build special campaigns. We didn’t spend hours generating links. We just set up the tools, kept an eye on performance, and let it run.
That’s the key thing. It saves you time. And as someone running a full-time travel blog with limited hours in the day, that’s what matters most to me.
So if you’re serious about earning more from your content, Travelpayouts is 100% worth trying. Especially if you're fed up with managing multiple logins, updating links manually, or relying on a single affiliate partner that could disappear tomorrow.
It won’t replace all your other affiliates. But it doesn’t need to. It earns its keep, sits quietly in the background, and makes your life easier.
That’s about it.
If you’re going to give it a go, I would appreciate you signing up via our referral link here. We get a commission, at no cost to you. Hopefully this article has proved helpful enough to you that you’re happy to return the favour!
Now ask away …
Is there anything you think I missed?
Have you tried Travelpayouts yourself and have some thoughts?
Drop a comment below, I would love to hear them!
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