How AdvoraHQ uses affiliate links — and why those links never affect what gets recommended.
The Short Version
Some links on AdvoraHQ are affiliate links. If you click one and complete an action — opening an account, applying for a card, signing up for a service — the affiliate program may pay AdvoraHQ a commission.
You pay nothing extra. The price, rate, fee, or terms are exactly the same as if you reached the offer directly.
Affiliate commissions do not influence rankings, reviews, or recommendations. A product is never promoted because of a higher commission, and never demoted because of no commission. Editorial coverage is not for sale.
What Is an Affiliate Link?
An affiliate link is a tracking URL that lets a merchant know which website referred a visitor. When a referred visitor completes a qualifying action (such as opening a credit card, deposit account, or insurance policy), the referring website earns a commission.
Affiliate marketing is one of the most common revenue models for personal finance publishers. Many of the largest finance sites — NerdWallet, Bankrate, Credit Karma, The Points Guy — earn the majority of their revenue this way.
How AdvoraHQ Uses Affiliate Links
Affiliate links may appear in articles on AdvoraHQ in the following ways:
- Product recommendation links: Within reviews and “best of” articles, links to apply for or learn more about a product.
- Comparison tables: In side-by-side comparisons, the “Apply Now” or “Learn More” button may be an affiliate link.
- Inline mentions: Within prose, when a specific product is named, the link may be affiliate.
- Sidebar or display widgets: Promotional units in sidebars or between paragraphs.
AdvoraHQ may earn a commission from any of these links. The commission rate varies by program and product, and is fully determined by the merchant.
Editorial Independence
This is the single most important section of this page:
Affiliate commissions do not influence what is recommended on AdvoraHQ.
Specifically:
- Rankings in “best of” articles are based on the criteria published in the Methodology — not commission rates.
- A product is never moved up the list because the commission is higher.
- A product is never demoted or excluded because there is no affiliate relationship.
- Products without any affiliate relationship are reviewed and recommended on the same basis as products with one.
- If a comparison includes only affiliate partners (rather than the full universe of comparable products), the article states this explicitly at the top.
If a higher-commission product would not rank well on the published criteria, it does not get ranked well. Period.
Affiliate Programs AdvoraHQ May Participate In
Personal finance publishers typically work with two types of affiliate sources:
Affiliate Networks
Networks aggregate offers from many merchants. Common networks include:
- Commission Junction (CJ Affiliate)
- Awin
- Impact
- Rakuten Advertising
- FlexOffers
- ShareASale
Direct Issuer Programs
Many credit card issuers, banks, brokerages, and insurance companies operate their own affiliate programs directly. AdvoraHQ may enroll in these directly as the site grows.
The specific networks and merchants AdvoraHQ is currently enrolled in may change over time. For inquiries about specific programs, email Daniel.Hayes@advorahq.com.
How to Identify Affiliate Links on AdvoraHQ
The following methods may be used to indicate affiliate links:
- Article-level disclosure: Articles containing affiliate links include a brief disclosure near the top of the article.
- Button text: “Apply Now” and “Learn More” buttons on product pages are typically affiliate links.
- Hover preview: On desktop, hovering over a link shows the destination URL; affiliate URLs typically include parameters like
?aff=,?ref=, or merchant network domains.
Whether or not a specific link is affiliated, the recommendation behind it is independent of any commission.
You Always Have a Choice
If you prefer not to use an affiliate link for any reason:
- Search directly: Type the product or company name into your browser and go to the merchant’s website directly.
- The terms are identical: The rate, fee, bonus, and product features are the same whether you reach the offer through an affiliate link or directly.
- No tracking penalty: Bypassing the affiliate link does not affect your application, approval, or use of the product.
AdvoraHQ publishes the same recommendation regardless of which path you choose.
No Additional Cost to You
Affiliate commissions are paid by the merchant from their own marketing budget. They are not added to your price, rate, fee, or terms. The cost of using an affiliate link is exactly zero to the reader.
Other Revenue Sources
In the interest of full transparency, AdvoraHQ may also earn revenue from:
- Display advertising: Banner ads, sidebar units, or in-content ads served by ad networks such as Google AdSense.
- Sponsored content: Articles or sections clearly labeled as sponsored, paid, or “in partnership with.” Sponsored content is always disclosed at the top of the article in unambiguous language.
- Direct partnerships: Custom commercial arrangements with specific brands, always disclosed in the relevant article.
Display advertising follows different rules than affiliate links: ad networks decide which ads appear based on their own algorithms, not based on editorial decisions made by AdvoraHQ. Display ads do not influence article content.
What Sponsored Content Looks Like
If an article is sponsored, paid for, or otherwise commercially commissioned, it will be marked with one of the following at the top:
- “Sponsored by [Brand]”
- “In partnership with [Brand]”
- “Paid promotion”
If you do not see such a label, the article is editorial — meaning it was researched, written, and published based on independent editorial judgment, not in exchange for payment.
FTC Compliance
This disclosure is provided in compliance with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (16 CFR Part 255), commonly known as the FTC Endorsement Guides.
AdvoraHQ operates as a U.S.-focused publication. Even though the site reaches an international audience, all affiliate relationships and disclosures follow U.S. standards as the strictest applicable framework.
If You Have Concerns
If you believe a specific article fails to disclose an affiliate relationship clearly enough, or if you believe a recommendation appears to be commercially influenced, please contact:
Email: Daniel.Hayes@advorahq.com
Subject line: Disclosure Concern — [Article URL]
All disclosure concerns are reviewed within 5 business days. If a review finds that a disclosure was inadequate, the article will be updated and the change logged in the Corrections Log.
Related Policies
- Editorial Policy — Editorial standards, including affiliate independence.
- Methodology — How products are evaluated and ranked.
- Corrections Log — Documented corrections to published content.
- Privacy Policy — How affiliate tracking interacts with your data.
- Terms of Service — Full terms governing use of the site.
