Affiliates, campaigns and links
Add partners, issue links or codes and understand the redirect and attribution path in each payment mode.
Updated August 3, 2026
An affiliate is the person or business recommending your product. A campaign groups the links and codes used for a specific channel, offer or launch. A campaign does not change the product’s payment mode or rules.
Add an affiliate
Open Affiliates, create the partner once, then connect them to one or more products. Select the affiliate to see their referred customers, commissions and payouts in the same panel.
The affiliate portal shows only that affiliate’s own results. The invite email is for the affiliate account; AffiHQ does not email the final customers they referred.
Issue links and codes
A generated affiliate URL under /r/ records the click before sending the visitor to the product’s current destination. The destination depends on the product’s integration mode.
Stripe automatic redirect
When the product is Stripe automatic and its Stripe state is valid, /r/ opens the selected Stripe-hosted Payment Link. AffiHQ adds an opaque client_reference_id such as clk_… to the Payment Link so the resulting Checkout can be matched to the click.
Existing Stripe URL query parameters are preserved. If the Payment Link already contains client_reference_id, the AffiHQ click reference overwrites it. Do not replace the generated /r/ URL with a copy of the Payment Link when you need affiliate attribution.
API/SDK advanced redirect
When the product is API/SDK advanced, the historical destination remains your own landing page and carries an opaque affihq_ref value:
https://your-product.com/pricing?affihq_ref=lnk_example
Your browser or signup flow captures the reference, and your server creates the attribution before sending verified payment facts. A manually entered partner code can be accepted by your server when a clickable link is awkward, such as a podcast, video description, live event or word-of-mouth recommendation.
Safe fallback
If native Stripe state is invalid or unavailable at redirect time—such as a revoked account, a missing link or an unusable selected link—/r/ safely uses the historical destination with affihq_ref. The fallback preserves the click reference, but it does not provide automatic Stripe payment reporting. Your API/SDK advanced flow must capture the reference, create the attribution and report payment events.
Switching a product to API/SDK advanced also resumes this historical destination. The Stripe account can remain connected; only the product’s automatic Payment Link path stops.
Attribution rules
The first qualified attribution for a product and merchant customer wins. A later click or code cannot replace an attribution that is already locked. Do not use the merchant’s own customer identity or a partner identity to self-refer; self-attributions are not eligible for affiliate credit.
The browser can record several visits, but AffiHQ applies the reference that is eligible when the customer is attributed. Keep the customer identity stable between the referral and the payment so the payment can be matched.
For the complete native redirect and payment lifecycle, read Stripe automatic payments. For the advanced server flow, read the integration overview.