The Trip.com affiliate program lets you earn commissions by promoting travel services like flights and hotels. It offers competitive rates, a 30-day cookie duration, and tools to track and boost your earnings, ideal for travel-focused affiliates.
Trip.com uses a one-time commission model with rates that depend on what the user books.
Product-level payout examples (as listed in the program details):
Important calculation notes: Hotel and train rewards are counted from the amount including tax, while flight rewards are counted from the amount excluding tax. Rewards for flight bookings are counted for adult tickets only (adult/child definitions vary by airline).
Cookie lifetime is platform-dependent:
Because travel bookings frequently happen on mobile/app, the 7-day app cookie reduces long-tail attribution compared to travel programs with consistent 30–90 day cookies.
Trip.com is paid through Travelpayouts (monthly payouts at the network level), but confirmation timing is driven by travel completion:
The program is unusually clear about payout rules and constraints, including:
The score is calculated using following formula:
(Trustpilot Score × 0.7) + (Internal Review Score × 0.3)
Trustpilot conversion used here: Trustpilot stars × 2 (so 4.0 → 8.0 / 10).
Trip.com is a large, established OTA with broad inventory across hotels, flights, trains, transfers, and rentals, available in many languages and countries.
For travel audiences, the offer is easy to understand and fits high-intent booking behavior, especially for hotels (the strongest commission category).
Promotion is flexible for content and deal funnels, with important PPC rules:
(Higher score = less competition)
OTA keywords (hotels, flights, “best hotel deals”, etc.) are extremely competitive. Winning usually requires strong SEO authority, unique destination content, or a deal/cashback angle.
Support is handled through the Travelpayouts ecosystem and is generally responsive for tracking/payout issues and offer clarifications.
For performance optimization, ask support for: best converting GEOs, recommended deep links by product (hotels vs transfers), and how pay-at-hotel delays affect reporting.
Trip.com operates on a one-time, product-based commission model. Affiliates earn a single commission per booking once the trip is completed and confirmed. There are no recurring or lifetime commissions.
Commission rates vary depending on the type of travel product booked. All rates below are based on the official Trip.com offer details provided via Travelpayouts.
| Product category | Commission | Important notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hotels | Up to 5.5% | Calculated on booking value including tax |
| International flights | 1% | Calculated excluding tax; adult tickets only |
| Domestic flights (China) | Fixed payout (e.g. 3.6 CNY) | Per adult ticket; capped upside |
| Train tickets | 1.8% | Calculated on booking value including tax |
| Car rentals | Up to 4.5% | Varies by provider and destination |
| Airport transfers | Up to 4.5% | Strong conversion for arrival-focused traffic |
| Activities & experiences | Approx. 3.6% | City tours, excursions, experiences |
| Attractions & tickets | Approx. 1.36% | Lower margin products |
| Flight + hotel bundles | Approx. 2.25% | Blended rate across products |
Additional commission rules affiliates should know:
Trip.com’s Travelpayouts offer uses a platform-dependent cookie lifetime. This means the attribution window changes depending on where the user completes the booking (desktop web vs app).
| Scenario | Cookie window | What it means for earnings |
|---|---|---|
| User books on desktop | 30 days | Good coverage for typical travel planning. If the user returns and books within 30 days, you still get credit (assuming no later affiliate overwrite). |
| User books in the app | 7 days | Short window for a travel purchase cycle. Best results come from high-intent traffic that books quickly after clicking. |
| User clicks on mobile web | Rewarded platform | Mobile web bookings are rewarded, which helps affiliates monetize mobile traffic without forcing an app conversion. |
| User clicks today, books much later | Depends on platform | Desktop bookings can still be credited up to 30 days; app bookings beyond 7 days are likely to be lost unless the user re-clicks your link. |
Best practices to maximize attribution:
Trip.com is positioned as a global, multi-product online travel agency (OTA). In the Travelpayouts program details, the offer is listed with Target countries: Worldwide, and it supports bookings across desktop, mobile web, and app.
High-converting audience segments & content placements:
| Audience segment | Best pages / placements | Why it converts |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel bookers | Destination hotel guides, “Where to stay in [City]”, hotel comparisons, itinerary pages, hotel deal roundups. | Strong purchase intent and higher basket sizes; hotels also have the highest % commission shown in the program. |
| International trip planners | “How to get to [City]”, airport guides, route guides, trip-planning checklists, booking hubs. | Users want one place to book multiple parts of a trip (hotel + flights + transfers). |
| Train / ground transport travelers | “Train from [A] to [B]” guides, station guides, regional itineraries, intercity travel pages. | Clear route-based intent; works well for regional travel publishers. |
| Arrival logistics (transfers) | “Airport to city center” pages, arrival guides, hotel check-in logistics pages, cruise/port transfer pages. | Transfers are urgent and practical; users often book quickly once travel dates are set. |
| Mobile-first travelers | Mobile travel guides, QR link hubs, itinerary pages optimized for mobile, app-focused travel audiences. | The offer is rewarded on mobile web and app, so you can monetize mobile traffic directly. |
Practical targeting notes for affiliates:
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Trip.com affiliate commissions are paid through Travelpayouts. This means payout timing, confirmation rules, and payment methods follow Travelpayouts’ centralized payout system, not direct payments from Trip.com.
| Booking type | Confirmation timing | What affiliates should expect |
|---|---|---|
| Prepaid hotels | After checkout | Faster confirmation compared to pay-at-hotel, but still not instant. |
| Pay-at-hotel bookings | Up to 6 months | Long validation period; normal for large OTAs due to cancellation risk. |
| Flights / trains | After travel date | Confirmation after trip completion; typically appears in the next reporting cycle. |
Payment methods (via Travelpayouts):
Minimum payout thresholds depend on the chosen payment method and are defined by Travelpayouts, not Trip.com directly.
Trip.com runs through Travelpayouts, so approval is primarily tied to your Travelpayouts account and the promotion methods allowed by the Trip.com offer. In practice, most affiliates get access once they have a legitimate project (website/channel) and agree to the traffic rules.
Standard approval steps (what affiliates actually need to do):
Add accurate account details (name/company, country, contact details) and prepare a payout method so you’re ready once earnings are confirmed.
Provide your URL/channel link and clearly state how you get traffic (SEO, content, email list, social, etc.). Transparent descriptions reduce approval friction.
Open the Trip.com offer in Travelpayouts and connect your project. If manual moderation applies, your application is reviewed based on project quality and compliance.
Trip.com is strict about how you promote the brand—especially for paid search. Misaligned traffic methods can lead to rejection or non-rewarded bookings.
Trip.com-specific promotion rules (approval + compliance checklist)
