Get behind the wheel of auto loan affiliate programs. Don’t let the somewhat dull name fool you — this niche is revving up to become one of the most profitable markets out there.
In fact, the global car loan market hit a staggering $1.9 trillion in 2021, and experts predict it’ll skyrocket to $5.6 trillion by 2031. That’s a compound annual growth rate of 11.5%.
We want you to tap into this high-octane market and make the most of your earning potential, so we dived into the data to bring you the eight best auto loan affiliate programs.
Auto Loan Affiliate Programs
- myAutoloan
- CarsDirect
- Caribou
- AUTOPAY
- Upstart
- Consumers Credit Union
- 1800FreshStart Auto Loan
- LightStream
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1 myAutoloan
myAutoloan is geared toward car buyers with “fair” or better credit scores; this automotive finance market provides up to four loan offers from a single application, saving customers a ton of research time.
If you’re in the business of advising those with less-than-perfect credit, myAutoloan’s affiliate program through CJ Affiliate might be a smart choice. Sure, the $5 per lead commission rate may not seem impressive, but don’t be fooled — the three-month EPC of $37.98 puts myAutoloan in the top two auto loan programs on the CJ Affiliate network in terms of earnings per click.
Plus, with a 45-day cookie window, there’s ample opportunity to earn.
- URL: myAutoloan affiliate program
- Commission rate: $5 per lead
- Cookie duration: 45 days
- Products/Services sold: Car loan refinancing, new and used auto loans, lease buyouts
- Payment methods: Check, direct deposit, Payoneer
- Market(s): US only
2 CarsDirect
CarsDirect connects car buyers with trusted local dealers to guide negotiations and make it easier than ever to score a sweet deal.
And with its vast lender network and popular sister sites InstantCarLoan.com and Autos.com, there are plenty of avenues for affiliates to make money.
Sign up for CarsDirect’s car loan affiliate program through Rakuten to access a 30-day cookie window and earn a $7 fee for each successful referral you generate.
Need support promoting CarsDirect? The platform employs a dedicated affiliate manager who can help optimize your campaigns.
- URL: CarsDirect affiliate program
- Commission rate: $7 per referral
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Products/Services sold: New and used car finance
- Payment methods: Direct deposit, PayPal, check
- Market(s): US only
3 Caribou
Caribou is a fintech platform that claims to help customers save an average of $100+ on their monthly car payments, which is a powerful selling point in a budget-conscious market.
This platform certainly looks the part, with a significantly slick website that outshines its dated competitors (*cough* Autos.com *cough*). And first impressions count for a lot in a world where 42% of consumers won’t buy from ugly or unprofessional-looking websites.
But it’s not just its good looks that stand out; Caribou also offers one of the most attractive auto loan affiliate programs out there, with a 30-day cookie window and a generous $100 commission per funded loan application.
What’s more, it supports deep linking and influencer partnerships, making it easy to boost conversions.
- URL: Caribou affiliate program
- Commission rate: $100 per funded loan application
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Products/Services sold: Auto loan refinancing, car insurance
- Payment methods: PayPal, check, wire transfer, direct deposit, ACH transfer
- Market(s): US only
4 AUTOPAY
AUTOPAY connects prospective car loan and refinancing customers with a network of trusted lenders, who battle it out to offer APRs as low as 2.99%.
The company makes a big deal of using 128-bit encryption — the same security major banks use — to protect customer data. This is a significant trust factor, with 67% of consumers worrying about having their identity stolen and used fraudulently.
Strictly speaking, AUTOPAY doesn’t actually operate a car loan affiliate program. But it does run a referral program that pays an enticing $100 reward per successful loan fund.
The only downside is you need to provide AUTOPAY with the referral’s contact details via an onsite form:
So you can either capture your referrals’ contact details and submit them manually, or ask referrals to share your details with AUTOPAY when submitting their information.
- URL: AUTOPAY affiliate program
- Commission rate: $100 per loan fund
- Cookie duration: Unlisted
- Products/Services sold: Auto loan refinance services, new car loans, lease buyouts
- Payment methods: Unlisted
- Market(s): US only
5 Upstart
Upstart provides personal finance services, including car refinance deals, offering customers average annual savings of $1,234. Would-be customers can check rates in minutes and access funding the very next day.
The platform delivers exceptional customer experience, as demonstrated by an “Excellent” Trustpilot rating based on 40,000+ reviews. That’s a key selling point for affiliates, considering 89% of consumers read reviews before they buy.
Join Upstart’s car loan affiliate program through the Impact network and earn 1% per funded loan, with a 30-day cookie duration.
Like Caribou, Upstart is happy for affiliates to leverage deep linking, allowing you to direct your audience to the most relevant page for their needs.
- URL: Upstart affiliate program
- Commission rate: 1% per funded loan
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Products/Services sold: Car refinance deals
- Payment methods: PayPal, check, wire transfer, direct deposit, ACH transfer
- Market(s): US only
6 Consumers Credit Union
As the name suggests, Consumers Credit Union (CCU) is a credit union. In other words, it’s kind of like a bank — but because it’s run for the good of members rather than shareholders, it offers cheaper loan rates and no-fee services.
Members get up to a 0.25% rate reduction. So if your audience contains some of the union’s 178,000+ members, this should be a pretty easy sell.
CCU’s car loan affiliate program is managed through performance marketing network Perform[cb]. Unfortunately, it doesn’t publish details on commission rates, so you’ll need to sign up to learn more — but we can tell you it offers a 30-day cookie window.
Affiliate partners also get access to a variety of regularly updated creatives and a dedicated affiliate management team to help improve campaign performance.
- URL: Consumers Credit Union affiliate program
- Commission rate: Unlisted
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Products/Services sold: Auto loans
- Payment methods: ACH, PayPal, check, wire transfer
- Market(s): US only
7 1800FreshStart Auto Loan
Now for the most snappily titled company in our roundup: 1800FreshStart Auto Loan.
The auto loan provider helps people with no (or bad) credit access car finance — even if they’ve been declared bankrupt. So this program could be a good fit if you advise people with lower credit ratings.
Join the 1800FreshStart Auto Loan affiliate program through CJ Affiliate to access a 45-day cookie window and a $12 commission per valid loan application.
At the time of writing, the program has a three-month EPC of $76.95 — higher than any other auto loan affiliate program on the CJ Affiliate network. So there’s clearly decent money-making potential here.
- URL: 800FreshStart affiliate program
- Commission rate: $12 per valid loan application
- Cookie duration: 45 days
- Products/Services sold: Auto loans
- Payment methods: PayPal, check, wire transfer, direct deposit, ACH transfer
- Market(s): US only
8 LightStream
Last but not least is LightStream, an online consumer lender specializing in low-interest finance packages for borrowers with good to excellent credit ratings. If that aligns with your audience, LightStream looks an ideal fit.
The company puts its money where its (metaphorical) mouth is by offering a satisfaction guarantee: if customers aren’t completely satisfied with their experience, they can complete a survey in return for $100. That’s a pretty strong differentiator.
LightStream also pledges to plant a tree for each loan it funds. This is another solid selling point, with 48% of consumers stating they want brands to take the lead on creating sustainable change.
Join LightStream’s affiliate program through the Impact network. Affiliates earn $60 per funded loan. And with a window that’s over twice the length of any other car loan affiliate program we analyzed, LightStream gives you the best chance of earning a commission from your referrals.
- URL: LightStream affiliate program
- Commission rate: $60 per funded loan
- Cookie duration: 105 days
- Products/Services sold: Auto refinance, new and used car loan deals, classic car loans
- Payment methods: PayPal, check, wire transfer, direct deposit, ACH transfer
- Market(s): US only
Conclusion
All of these auto loan affiliate programs offer genuine earning potential.
But there’s more to affiliate marketing success than signing up for the right affiliate programs.
If you’re going to build a consistent revenue stream, you need a reliable traffic source. Social algorithms are too changeable, so we always recommend building an affiliate site (or optimizing your existing website to generate more visitors, clicks, and conversions).
Not sure where to start? We can help.
Sign up for our free training today to learn seven tried-and-trusted tips for building high-performing affiliate websites — including one super-effective strategy for generating links without paying a dime.
See you there!
