How Card-Linked Offers Are Transforming Affiliate Strategy
As affiliate and partnership marketing evolves, brands are seeking more seamless, measurable ways to engage consumers across digital and physical channels. Card-linked offers (CLOs) are fast becoming a critical tool in the performance marketer’s playbook — enabling offline attribution, loyalty integration, and frictionless engagement at scale.
This article explores the growing role of CLOs in affiliate strategy, including their benefits, use cases, key players, and best practices for implementation.
What Are Card-Linked Offers?
Card-linked offers (CLOs) allow consumers to link their credit or debit card to an offer or rewards platform. Once linked, the user simply pays with that card — and the discount, cashback, or points are applied automatically.
The key innovation: no coupons, codes, or manual steps are required at checkout. CLOs create a direct link between payment activity and promotional reward, with real-time tracking that extends beyond ecommerce.
Key CLO features:
Card registration via bank, app, or loyalty platform
Automatic redemption upon qualifying transaction
Real-time attribution for both in-store and online sales
Support for cashback, loyalty points, or statement credits
Why CLOs Matter for Affiliate and Partnership Marketing
CLOs are more than a payments gimmick — they represent a powerful new layer of attribution and activation for affiliate marketers. Here’s why they matter:
1. Omnichannel Attribution
Traditional affiliate tracking struggles with offline purchases. CLOs solve this by tying the offer directly to the card, enabling brands to attribute in-store or app-based conversions as easily as online ones.
This unlocks new sectors — like grocery, QSR, fuel, and travel — where card-present transactions dominate.
2. Loyalty Without Friction
CLOs integrate cleanly with banking apps, loyalty platforms, and rewards programs. Users often discover offers within environments they already trust (e.g., Chase Offers, Rakuten, or airline apps), increasing activation and redemption.
For marketers, this removes common points of friction like browser cookies, coupon errors, or affiliate link failures.
3. High-Intent Consumers
CLO networks often work with opted-in, high-value consumers through closed banking ecosystems. This gives brands access to better-quality data and more engaged audiences, with strong purchase intent.
Key CLO Networks and Ecosystem Players
The card-linked offer ecosystem is diverse, encompassing banks, fintech platforms, affiliate networks, and loyalty apps. Each offers different levels of reach, integration, and consumer targeting.
Below is a breakdown of notable CLO platforms shaping the space:
1. Rakuten Card-Linked Offer Network (RCLON)
A leading affiliate-powered CLO solution, RCLON connects brands with major financial institutions, fintechs, and loyalty platforms. It supports offer distribution across Rakuten’s own ecosystem as well as third-party partners.
Reach: Millions of consumers across Rakuten, banking, and loyalty platforms
Strengths: Affiliate-native infrastructure, flexible commissioning, offline attribution
2. Capital One Offers
Capital One’s card-linked program delivers personalized merchant offers to cardholders via their mobile app and web portal. Offers are curated based on spend history.
Reach: Capital One’s national credit card base
Strengths: Closed-loop environment, direct consumer relationship, precise targeting
3. American Express Offers (AMEX Offers)
AMEX runs its own CLO network that integrates directly into customer accounts. Brands can target high-spend consumers and premium segments.
Reach: Affluent AMEX cardholders in the U.S. and select global markets
Strengths: High-income demographic, brand-safe placements, strong redemption rates
4. Drop
Drop is a mobile app-based rewards platform using CLO technology to automatically award points for qualifying purchases. Users link their cards and shop as usual.
Reach: Primarily Gen Z and millennial consumers
Strengths: App-native experience, gamified rewards, retail-focused user base
5. Cardlytics
A pioneer in CLO infrastructure, Cardlytics partners with major banks (e.g., Chase, Wells Fargo, BMO) to serve offers within banking apps.
Reach: Over 170 million monthly active users
Strengths: Unparalleled bank integrations, granular spend data, retail scale
6. Figg (formerly Empyr)
Figg offers a white-label CLO platform used by publishers and loyalty programs to monetize offline purchases. Known for powering Yelp’s cash-back program.
Reach: Through publisher and media partners
Strengths: Flexible integration, strong in food, local services, travel
7. Rewards Network
Specializes in dining loyalty and card-linked offers, primarily within airline and hotel rewards programs (e.g., AAdvantage Dining).
Reach: Frequent travelers and loyalty members
Strengths: Deep dining partner base, travel loyalty tie-ins
These platforms serve as either direct publishers or sub-affiliate partners, depending on your program structure. Each opens up distinct consumer segments and performance models — making it critical to align CLO partnerships with your brand’s target audience, retail footprint, and incrementality goals.
Best Practices for Brands Deploying CLOs
To get the most from CLOs in an affiliate context, consider the following strategic moves:
1. Define Incrementality Clearly
CLOs can drive both new and returning customer value. Set clear rules around what counts as incremental revenue (e.g., new users, increased frequency, lift vs. control).
2. Align Commissioning Models
CLOs often operate on revenue-share or fixed-fee models. Work with networks to ensure these align with your existing CPA or ROAS goals.
3. Monitor Data Hygiene
CLO data comes from financial institutions. Ensure data sharing and usage policies are compliant, anonymized, and accurate — especially when tying back to CRM or loyalty systems.
4. Combine with Loyalty Offers
CLOs are powerful when layered with existing loyalty structures — such as point multipliers or app rewards — to enhance perceived value without eroding margin.
Future Outlook: CLOs and the Converging Ecosystem
CLOs sit at the intersection of affiliate, loyalty, and fintech. As cookies deprecate and offline commerce rebounds, CLOs offer a reliable bridge between digital and real-world behavior.
Expect to see:
Increased publisher adoption of CLO tech
Deeper banking integrations in reward programs
More dynamic offer personalization via AI and machine learning
Tighter affiliate tracking integrations via APIs and real-time dashboards
CLOs aren’t just an affiliate add-on — they’re part of a broader shift toward identity-based, event-driven marketing, where performance is measurable at every touchpoint.
FAQ: Card-Linked Offers in Affiliate Marketing
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A card-linked offer allows a consumer to link their payment card to a promotional offer. When the card is used at a participating merchant, the offer is automatically applied. text goes here
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CLO platforms partner with banks and card networks to receive anonymized transaction data, enabling tracking of in-store and in-app purchases tied to a registered card.
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Yes — many CLO platforms act as sub-affiliate partners or work directly with affiliate networks, making them a strategic part of modern partnership programs.
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Retailers with strong in-store presence, restaurants, travel, and service-based businesses often see the most benefit from CLOs due to their offline capabilities.
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CLOs improve UX by removing friction: no codes, no scanning, and instant rewards. This drives higher engagement and conversion rates.
