Program Details
| Commission | Up to 6% hotels, up to 3% flights, up to 8% attractions (Cost Per Sale) |
| Cookie Duration | 30 days |
| Network | Awin |
| Payment Methods | Bank Transfer, PayPal |
| Min. Payout | $50 |
| Payment Frequency | Monthly (Net 30) |
| Category | Travel |
| Countries | Global (strongest in Asia-Pacific) |
| Website | www.trip.com |
Trip.com is one of the world’s largest online travel agencies, operated by Trip.com Group (formerly Ctrip) – a company founded in 1999 that has grown into a global travel powerhouse listed on Nasdaq and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The platform lets users book flights, hotels, trains, car rentals, airport transfers, attraction tickets, and holiday packages across more than 200 countries and territories. With access to over 1.4 million hotels and 2 million flight routes, Trip.com competes directly with Booking.com, Expedia, and Agoda for the title of go-to travel booking platform.
The Trip.com affiliate program runs through Awin and pays commission on hotel bookings, flights, and attraction tickets. It’s a solid choice for travel content creators with audiences interested in Asia-Pacific destinations, international travel, or anyone who does a lot of cross-category booking research. The program’s 30-day cookie and multi-product inventory give affiliates a reasonable window to earn across a wide range of travel purchases.
Trip.com Affiliate Program Commission Structure
Trip.com pays different commission rates depending on the product category booked. Hotel bookings earn the most at up to 6%, while attraction tickets and activities actually top the list at up to 8%. Flights sit at the lower end at up to 3%, which is fairly typical for flight affiliate programs across the industry.
All commissions are calculated on the booking value and credited once the stay or travel date passes (not at the time of booking). This means there can be a lag between the click and the confirmed commission, especially for travelers booking hotels months in advance.
| Product Category | Commission Rate |
|---|---|
| Attraction Tickets & Activities | Up to 8% |
| Hotels | Up to 6% |
| Flights | Up to 3% |
| Car Rentals & Transfers | Varies by booking |
Cookie Duration and Tracking
Trip.com offers a 30-day cookie, which is one of the better durations in the travel affiliate space. Many travel OTAs (online travel agencies) have moved to shorter windows – Booking.com, for example, uses a session-based cookie that expires when the browser closes. A full 30 days gives you meaningful time to capture travelers who research, compare, and then come back to book.
Tracking is handled through Awin‘s publisher platform, which gives you real-time click and conversion reporting, access to deep links, banners, text links, and a product feed. Awin’s tracking infrastructure is generally considered reliable in the affiliate industry, with low dispute rates reported by publishers.
One thing to be aware of: if a user books a trip through the Trip.com app after clicking your web link, attribution may not always carry over depending on device and cookie settings. This is a common issue across travel OTA programs and not unique to Trip.com.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- 30-day cookie – competitive for the travel niche where booking cycles are long
- Multi-category inventory: hotels, flights, trains, attractions, and car rentals all earn commission
- Strong brand recognition, especially for Asia-Pacific travel audiences who trust the platform
- Over 1.4 million hotels in 200+ countries gives affiliates a wide range of promotable destinations
- Multilingual platform with localized pricing improves conversion for international audiences
- Managed through Awin – reliable tracking, timely payments, and a clean reporting dashboard
Cons:
- Hotel commissions (up to 6%) trail Agoda’s rates for some markets
- Flight commissions at up to 3% are low – not worth building content around flights alone
- Conversions skew heavily toward Asia-Pacific routes; Western-focused audiences may see weaker performance
- No PPC on branded terms – limits paid traffic strategies for affiliates
- Commission confirmed after travel date, not booking date – cash flow lag for active affiliates
How to Join the Trip.com Affiliate Program
Trip.com runs its affiliate program exclusively through Awin, so you need an active Awin publisher account before you can apply. The process takes about a week from start to first link.
- Sign up for an Awin publisher account. You’ll need to provide your website URL, traffic details, and payment information. Awin charges a $5 deposit fee that is refunded once you reach your first payout threshold. Approval typically takes 1-3 business days.
- Apply to the Trip.com programme on Awin. Once approved as an Awin publisher, search for Trip.com in the advertiser directory and submit an application. You can also apply directly via the Trip.com programme page on Awin. Programme approval takes an additional 2-5 business days.
- Get your affiliate links. Once approved, you can generate deep links to specific hotels, flight searches, or destination pages, or use the standard tracking link. Banners and a product data feed are also available.
- Add links to your content. Trip.com works best embedded in destination guides, hotel comparison posts, “best hotels in [city]” articles, and Asia travel itineraries.
Approval into Trip.com’s programme is moderate – they prefer publishers with established travel content and real organic traffic. Brand new sites with no content or traffic may be declined on the first application. Content quality and niche relevance carry more weight than raw traffic numbers.
Who Should Promote Trip.com?
Best fits: Travel bloggers and content creators focused on Asia-Pacific destinations – Japan, South Korea, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia – will see the strongest conversion rates. Trip.com is particularly trusted by travelers booking Asian hotel stays and regional flights, where it often has better rates and more inventory than Western-focused OTAs. Flight deal newsletters covering Asia routes and hotel review sites are also strong fits.
Attraction and activity-focused creators should note that the up to 8% commission on tickets and tours is genuinely attractive. If your content covers things to do in Tokyo, Bangkok, or Seoul, Trip.com’s activities inventory gives you a monetization angle that Booking.com doesn’t offer.
Weaker fits: Affiliates whose audiences primarily book European city breaks, Caribbean beach trips, or North American travel will likely find Booking.com or Expedia converts better. Trip.com’s brand recognition drops significantly outside Asia-Pacific, and users booking European hotels tend to default to platforms they already know.
How Trip.com Compares to Alternatives
| Program | Commission | Cookie | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trip.com | Up to 6% hotels, up to 8% attractions | 30 days | Awin |
| Booking.com | 25-40% of Booking.com’s commission | Session (closes on exit) | Direct / Awin |
| Expedia | 2-6% | 7 days | CJ Affiliate |
| Agoda | 4-7% | 30 days | Direct |
| Skyscanner | 20% of Skyscanner revenue | 30 days | Direct / Impact |
Trip.com’s 30-day cookie gives it a clear edge over Booking.com (session-based) and Expedia (7 days). For hotel-focused content, Trip.com and Agoda are close competitors – both offer 30-day cookies and similar commission ranges, though Agoda tends to outperform in Southeast Asia while Trip.com has stronger coverage across East Asia and the Middle East.
Skyscanner is the better choice if your audience is flight-price focused – it earns on searches and clicks rather than completed bookings, which can work well for audiences who research flights but don’t always book immediately. For most travel bloggers, running Trip.com alongside Booking.com (or Agoda) gives better geographic coverage than relying on either alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
What commission rate does the Trip.com affiliate program pay?
Trip.com pays up to 6% on hotel bookings, up to 3% on flights, and up to 8% on attraction tickets and activities through the Awin network. Commission rates vary by product category, and the exact rate you receive may depend on your publisher tier and any promotional rates Trip.com runs at a given time.
How long is the Trip.com affiliate cookie?
Trip.com uses a 30-day cookie window, which is one of the better durations in the travel affiliate niche. If a visitor clicks your link and books within 30 days, you receive the commission – regardless of whether they visited other sites in between.
Which affiliate network does Trip.com use?
Trip.com runs its affiliate program exclusively through Awin. You need an active Awin publisher account before you can apply to the Trip.com programme. There is no direct affiliate program outside of Awin at this time.
How do I get paid from the Trip.com affiliate program?
Payments are processed through Awin on a monthly Net 30 basis, with a minimum payout threshold of $50. Awin supports bank transfer and PayPal as payment methods, depending on your country. Note that commissions are confirmed after the travel date – not the booking date – so there can be a delay between earning and receiving your commission.
Is the Trip.com affiliate program worth joining for Western travel bloggers?
It depends heavily on your audience. Trip.com converts best for audiences booking Asia-Pacific travel – Japan, China, Southeast Asia, South Korea, Australia – where it has strong brand recognition and competitive rates. If your readers primarily book European city breaks or North American trips, Booking.com or Expedia will likely outperform Trip.com for you.
Does Trip.com allow PPC advertising in its affiliate program?
No – Trip.com prohibits affiliates from bidding on branded keywords in paid search campaigns. You cannot run Google Ads or Bing Ads targeting “Trip.com” or close variants. Affiliates are expected to drive traffic through organic search, social media, email lists, and content-based promotion.
How long does Trip.com affiliate program approval take?
Since Trip.com runs through Awin, you first need to be approved as an Awin publisher (typically 1-3 business days), then apply to the Trip.com programme specifically, which takes an additional 2-5 business days. The total process from signup to first link is usually about one week.
What types of content work best for promoting Trip.com?
Destination guides, hotel comparison articles, Asia travel itineraries, and “best hotels in [city]” posts tend to convert well. Trip.com’s attraction ticket commissions (up to 8%) also make activity and things-to-do content worth pursuing. Travel vlogs and Instagram content focused on Asian destinations are also strong channels for Trip.com promotion.
Final Verdict
Trip.com’s affiliate program is a genuine option for travel creators with Asia-Pacific audiences. The 30-day cookie, multi-category commissions (including a solid 8% on attraction tickets), and Awin’s reliable infrastructure make it a practical addition to a travel affiliate stack. The platform’s deep inventory and multilingual design mean it actually converts for diverse international audiences, not just English-speaking markets.
The main drawback is audience fit. If your traffic skews toward European or North American travelers, Trip.com will likely sit underperforming in your dashboard while Booking.com or Expedia does the heavy lifting. Flight commissions at up to 3% are also thin – not really worth building dedicated flight content around unless it sits alongside hotel or attraction promotions.
For Asia-focused travel bloggers, it’s worth joining the Trip.com programme on Awin and testing it alongside your existing OTA partners. For everyone else, add it to your program list but don’t expect it to become your primary travel earner.
