Top 8 Best Gift Card Affiliate Programs to Supplement Your Income

Gift card affiliate programs can help you supplement your earnings from your day job, while helping others find the best presents to give to their loved ones.

Gift certificates and vouchers make excellent presents, allowing recipients to use the coupon to buy their favorite item. It’s also more convenient for the giver, especially if they’re too busy with work they cannot spend hours shopping for the perfect present.

And you can leverage these observations to gain a few hundred dollars monthly. We will help you find the best program to affiliate with, starting with these seven brands.

Recommended for every Shopify merchant, UpPromote affiliate software helps you create programs, set commissions, and manage tracking and payments. We cover everything you need to run successful affiliate campaigns.

Top 8 Best Gift Card Affiliate Programs in 2024

Etsy

Etsy is a well-recognized e-commerce platform for artisans, creators, small businesses, and collectors. It’s a venerable organization founded by Rob Kalin, Haim Schoppik, and Chris Maguire in 2005.

Although Etsy has an impressive collection of rare finds, antiques, and handmade products, it recognizes some people’s need for gift certificates, especially those who prefer giving the choice of gift to recipients.

This platform offers thousands of gift card options, some customizable to add a personalized touch.

And since Etsy is a diverse marketplace, you could also promote a product from its person-centered planning or PCP affiliate program.

Promoting Etsy gift checks is a no-brainer. Your audiences can give their loved ones a tool for buying unique creations and antique items. Gift certificates start at $25, giving you about a dollar in commissions.

Etsy courses its affiliate application with AWIN. Hence, you can expect a refundable $5 joining fee.

Regardless, Etsy’s 4% standard commission rate should negate any concerns about the joining fee. After all, you’ll get an extra $5 in your account once you’ve started promoting Etsy’s gift certificates.

 

GiftFly

Cory Perkins and Christian Dankl recognized the value of a digital gift card platform in facilitating and promoting modern shopping convenience. The duo believed 77% of shoppers want a virtual gift check, and 79% need them on their smartphones.

Moreover, the duo knew that modern shoppers are more supportive of local businesses than ever.

Hence, Perkin and Dankl established GiftFly to address these needs.

GiftFly empowers shoppers to buy local business-centered gift certificates and share these with families, acquaintances, and friends via SMS or email. Recipients can redeem the virtual cards without worries about hidden fees or service charges.

What’s more? These virtual gift cards last a lifetime!

This digital gift card provider has one of the most lucrative commissions in the industry, making it a worthy choice for affiliates.

Becoming a GiftFly affiliate is a cinch, and managing your campaign is equally a breeze. You’ll get a user-friendly personalized dashboard to make viewing reports and generating promotional banners & unique links easy.

 

Gift Card Granny

One of the industry’s largest value gift card businesses, GiftCards.com, established Gift Card Granny in 2009. This gift card site has been featured in different media, including Forbes Magazine, The Today Show, Oprah, and the Huffington Post.

That proves Gift Card Granny’s reputation, making it worth affiliating with.

The best part about Gift Card Granny is that shoppers don’t only get to buy a physical gift card. This platform also has an app on Android and iOS devices like GiftFly, empowering customers to redeem their checks on the go.

And you can tell your audiences about Gift Card Granny’s cash back rewards for first-time purchases. That should entice your followers to get their loved ones and acquaintances a gift certificate from this site.

Gift Card Granny offers several benefits for successful affiliates, including a monthly newsletter, duly-updated marketing creatives, and a downloadable data feed.

Although its 4.74% conversion rate is lower than eGifter’s 10.17%, it’s still commendable considering the 0.5% to 1.0% industry average.

 

eGifter

eGifter is a popular gift card ecommerce system with unique features and a collection of over 250 of the world’s finest brands, including Apple, Adidas, Lowe’s, Target, Domino’s, The Home Depot, Uber, Macy’s, Walmart, and more.

Shoppers can check the gift voucher balances, earn points, and present these virtual checks to groups. They can buy in bulk using different payment methods, including credit cards, PayPal, Skrill, and Google Pay.

And if that isn’t enough, crypto enthusiasts will love eGifter’s numerous cryptocurrencies as acceptable payments. Although eGifter prefers Bitcoin, shoppers can use Litecoin, Ethereum, Shiba Inu, Dogecoin, and Bitcoin Cash.

And get this!

This platform has excellent conversion rates pegged at 10.17%, increasing your chances of earning more.

Some affiliates might be concerned about eGifter’s 1% commission. However, its $1.10 average commission is still enough, especially considering its conversion rate.

eGifter has ShareASale as its affiliate partner, giving you access to the platform’s affiliate marketing resources (i.e., links, banners, dashboard, creatives, and more).

 

EJ Gift Card

Unlike other affiliate programs, EJ Gift Cards has a unique business model. This platform is a thriving marketplace, offering shoppers unbeatable discounts.

And if your audiences have unwanted gift cards, tell them to send the cards to EJ Gift Cards for cash. Whatever value remains in the cards, EJ will compensate by sending check sellers the amount via PayPal.

For example, suppose the customer has a $100 gift certificate with a $25 unused value. EJ Gift Cards will pay the owner $25.

That’s great news!

It’s worth noting that nearly half of American adults (47%) have an unused store credit, voucher, or gift check. We’re talking about millions of potential customers. Unsurprisingly, these consumers lose about $21 billion annually.

But that’s not all.

EJ Gift Cards doesn’t limit the balance of gift card it buys. So, even if the gift check only has a dollar left, the platform would still buy it.

 

The Gift Card Café

The Gift Card Café has a different business model than other platforms. While most gift voucher programs focus on shoppers, The Gift Card Café prioritizes small businesses.

It’s a full-featured gift voucher system, allowing business owners to create, sell, and manage e-gift certificates. The Gift Card Café empowers entrepreneurs to put their brand’s logo to these tools.

Not only that!

Businesses can also add “buy gift” buttons and links to their webpages, social media accounts, and email marketing communication. They can provide customers with a physical or digital gift card type, allowing companies to optimize their promotional and sales campaigns.

Surprisingly, this gift voucher affiliate program doesn’t observe a commission percentage. Instead, it pegs its affiliate remuneration at $20 per successful lead.

Still, The Gift Card Café is perfect for business software providers and consultants, although web designers are also encouraged to join.

Like many programs, The Gift Card Café offers excellent marketing resources to ensure content relevance and boost marketing campaign performance.

 

Gyft.pk

Gyft.pk is a gamer’s haven. This company offers gaming cards for varies gaming and entertainment platforms, including iTunes, Google Play, PlayStation, Amazon, Razer Gold, and Steam.

The best part is each partner brand has an extensive product offering. For example, Razer Gold has over 2,500 game apps. Shoppers don’t have to wait for special occasions to buy these gift certificates because gamers know no holidays.

Promoting Gyft.pk’s offerings is easy. You can entice your audiences to buy gift certificates from this platform and enjoy up to 60% off. That’s huge savings. For instance, a card sells for $100. Customers will only pay $40, yet the person receiving the check can still use the gift voucher’s full value.

Affiliating with Gyft.pk allows you to earn 5% commission fees per gift card. That’s more significant than other platforms’ 1% offering.

For example, Gyft.pk’s Amazon gift certificates range from $20 to $80. Suppose you sold ten $80 checks and 20 $50 vouchers. You’ll have about $90 in your affiliate account.

Although Gyft.pk is a Pakistani brand, its online presence means you can drive traffic to the website from anywhere.

 

CoinGate

CoinGate leverages numerous cryptocurrencies to increase crypto adoption globally. It aims to free consumers from restrictive government financial regulations, allowing them to enjoy the benefits of decentralized markets.

Although CoinGate is a crypto platform (i.e., crypto trading and payment processor), it’s also a gift card ecommerce system. This company offers cards from Apple, Amazon, Walmart, Discord Nitro, Steam, and around 2,000 other brands.

Customers can buy gift vouchers from these brands using their cryptocurrencies. Hence, it’s like eGifter, although CoinGate’s preferred payment method is crypto.

Its 20% commission is second only to GiftFly, making this program one of the highest-paying in our list.

Surprisingly, CoinGate allows marketers to leverage trademarked keywords. This action is good news for bloggers who might find upending top-performing crypto niche sites challenging.

And that increases your chances of earning more.

 

What is Gift Card Affiliate Marketing?

Gift card affiliate marketing is a strategy for brands to reach target customers using third-party entities (i.e., publishers, influencers, bloggers, podcasters, and others with an extensive digital presence).

It leverages a booming gift card market valued at around $835 billion in 2022, with experts projecting a 17.7% compound annual growth rate hitting over $4.2 trillion in ten years.

So, how does gift check affiliate marketing work?

A gift card seller or company employs the services of an affiliate marketer to reach as many potential customers as possible and drive them into the merchant’s website.

Meanwhile, the marketer uses blogs, social media posts, videos, webinars, podcasts, emails, and other channels to encourage audiences to click a unique link and buy.

Suppose the referral buys a gift certificate within a predetermined period (reflected in the company’s cookie duration). The merchant shares a percentage of the sale with the referring affiliate.

Hence, gift card affiliate programs compensate a marketer’s efforts by measuring the output. The more sales the affiliate generates, the higher the income potential.

It’s worth noting that some merchants offer perks on top of commissions. For example, high-performing affiliates can enjoy higher commission rates, more generous discounts, and access to exclusive offerings.

Best Gift Card Affiliate Programs for Beginners

Some beginner affiliates might find the gift cards niche more complicated than others because customers buy something of future use, not the usual buy-now-use-now product. So, what gift certificate program is perfect for newbies?

First, you’ll want a program that matches your niche. Like everything else, gift cards are niche-specific. For example, Etsy is perfect for handcrafted and antique items, while Gyft.PK is more specific for a gaming gift cards user (i.e., Nintendo, PUBG, League of Legends, and other gaming cards).

Second, the program mustn’t make joining extra challenging. No complicated requirements. No extended vetting. You’ll want to start promoting the gift checks as soon as possible. Thankfully, our choices are easy to sign up with.

Third, gift check affiliate programs for newbies must have exceptional support. We’re not only talking about promotional materials (i.e., links, coupon codes, banners, etc.) but also affiliate guidance. While not all programs have dedicated affiliate managers, beginners will feel confident about our selection’s support.

Fourth, the commission should be attractive enough to encourage and motivate beginner affiliates to do their best. And if the program has additional incentives, that would be great!

Our selection has an average commission rate of 1% to 30%, which should be sufficient for first-timers. Note that the more referrals you make ending in a sale, the more money you earn.

And if you ask us about our favorite gift certificate platform for beginners, we’d recommend GiftFly (who doesn’t want a 30% commission?), Etsy (we love the unique artisan offerings), and Gyft.pk (we admit, we’re game addicts!).

FAQs

• Does it cost a fee to join gift card affiliate programs?

No, joining a gift card affiliate program doesn’t entail any fee. Although some affiliate networks (i.e., AWIN) charge a $5 application fee, they credit the amount to the affiliate once accepted into the program.

Of course, joining is different from mounting an effective marketing campaign. Seasoned publishers often invest in affiliate marketing technologies to ensure every gift card sale counts.

• How much can I make as a gift card affiliate?

Affiliate earnings vary across brands, with commissions ranging from 1% to 30%. You might want to consider the individual gift card purchase price to determine how much you can make as an affiliate.

For example, a $50 gift voucher with a 30% commission translates to a $15 earning for each card. Imagine selling 100 such gift certificates in a month, and you’ll earn a $1,500 paycheck.

It’s worth mentioning that your earning potential is directly proportional to your marketing output. The more referrals buy the promoted gift checks, the higher your earnings.

Conclusion

Gift certificate affiliate programs are not get-rich-quick schemes. You don’t join today, promote tomorrow, and become a millionaire the next.

Succeeding in this business requires commitment, dedication, and a clear understanding of how affiliate marketing works. It also needs continuous audience engagement, delivering valuable information, and addressing their concerns to build credibility.

So, work on these attributes today and start joining these affiliate programs. If you’re clueless where to begin, we have resources to help you.