Please find below the most frequently asked questions about out affiliate programme.
It is very important to us that our affiliates know everything about our affiliate programme, so in addition to these frequently asked questions, we have a dedicated Affiliate Manager who's role it is, is to assist our affiliates with any questions and offer advice and guidance where needed.
If there are questions you would like to ask or would like some help in promoting your new business that is not on this page, please use the form here to contact the Affiliate Manager.
An Affiliate is a person or company who signs up to the AA Affiliate programme. The AA Affiliate program is all about a long term mutually beneficial relationship between you, the Affiliate and ourselves. We want you to be successful so we do all we can to encourage your new business, which is to sell membership in the assistabroad programme.
AA offers two main types of membership, subscriber membership ( £18 per annum individual and £36 per annum family ) and free basic membership.
If people sign up to Subscriber membership quoting your Promo Code, you earn commission immediately. If people sign up to the free service and quote your Promo Code, then if they upgrade to the subscriber service you still get commission, even if that is months later.
WHO CAN BE AN AFFILIATE ?
Anyone or any company can be an Affiliate, provided they are accepted by AA.
WILL I BE AN EMPLOYEE ?
No, you are strictly independant , very much like a franchisee. You are responsible for paying your own taxes and social security payments and for all expenses you incur in carrying out your function as an Affiliate
CAN I GRANT MEMBERSHIP OF THE ASSISTABROAD SERVICE ?
No, people have to log on to the website and join themselves and quote your Promo Code. Of course, you can obtain their consent, you can enter the membership application details on their behalf
DO I HAVE TO JOIN AS A MEMBER OF THE ASSISTABROAD SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE ?
No, but if you are going to take this seriously you should do, because only then will you fully understand the membership experience.
When you are accepted for Affiliate membership you will be sent a special “New Affiliate promo code” and using that you will be able to join as an individual member for half price - and no, you won’t get commission on your own joining fee !
WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO SELL THE ASSISTABROAD SERVICE ?
That’s very much up to you. Once you have joined you will have access to our marketing hints section and promotional material.
People promote the membership in different ways . Some network with friends and get their friends to join and recommend others to join. Others who have other businesses of their own add a link on their website to the AA website and also circulate their opt in customer database and also provide the free basic service to all their customers as a matter of course.
Others distribute the promotional material with their promo code on in shops, travel agencies, supermarkets banks, offices and all sorts of locations, as well as coming to arrangements with people to promote the service using the same promo code. There are endless ways to promote the assistabroad service.
They build up a large chain of outlets which distribute the service and can ear a great deal of commission- the more they place the promotional material in different locations, the more members are like to subscribe.
Don’t forget, if anyone signs up to the service quoting your promo code, not only do you earn commission but in addition 10% of the subscription fee goes to AA’s favourite Charity, the British branch of JDRF – the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation which exists to raise money to find a cure for Juvenile Diabetes.
It’s true that someone you recommend the service to could sign up without quoting your promo code, but then there would not be any donation to charity or commission to you. As all the promotional literature clearly states that the donation to charity won’t be made unless the promo code is quoted, we think that most people will quote the promo code.
As well as marketing hints and promotional material, we are establishing an Affiliates Forum where you can log on and ask questions, and exchange ideas with other Affiliates. You can also ask other Affiliates to answer questions which puzzle you and of course you can always e-mail using the form here to get answers from your Affiliation Manager
WHAT HAPPENS IF PEOPLE I INTRODUCE ONLY TAKE THE FREE BASIC SERVICE ?
If at a later date they upgrade to the subscriber service, you will still get commission. We regularly circulate our basic membership base to encourage them to upgrade so we shall do our best to ensure that they do upgrade and then of course you will get commission and the charity will receive its donation.
HOW DO I GET PEOPLE TO UPGRADE TO THE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE ?
We will try to do that for you. After all, there may be very many people who have seen your promotional literature and signed up to the basic service so even if you do not know them and can not directly persuade them to upgrade, our specialist upgrade programmes may be able to succeed.
WHAT IS A PROMO CODE ?
When you are accepted as an Affiliate we issue you with a unique Code which you print out on all promotional literature. The promotional literature makes it clear that if people quote that code when subscribing, the Charity receives a donation. We also give you a link to your own electronic “Landing Page” which you can include on your website if you have one, or on your e-mails. If people click on the landing page and enrol, that enrolment is automatically tracked to you.
WHAT WILL I EARN AS AN AFFILIATE ?
That’s very much up to you. Once you are accepted we will reveal your commission rate. You will be pleasantly surprised at how high it is ! There is really no limit to the amount you can earn – it really depends on how much effort you put in.
WHAT DOES IT COST ME TO BECOME AN AFFILIATE ?
Absolutely nothing
WHAT ARE THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF MY APPOINTMENT ?
Please click here to see a copy of the Affiliate terms and Conditions
CAN AA TERMINATE MY APPOINTMENT WITHOUT NOTICE ?
Yes, but we won’t do that unless we consider that there is a very good reason, for example if you start to send out bulk e-mail ( SPAM ) to non opt in e-mail addresses or do something else which we consider is or could be damaging to the Affiliate network, or to AA or its subscribers. If you are in doubt about anything. Use the form here and we will try to help.
IF I AM ACCEPTED WHAT PROCEDURES DO I HAVE TO FOLLOW ?
We do not lay down precise procedures. You are pretty much free to organise things as you see fit so long as you do not fall foul of the Affiliate terms and conditions.. The important thing to understand is that only AA can grant membership –subscriber membership or basic membership and people who want to become members must log on and apply, or authorise you to do so in their name.
DO I HAVE ANY EXCLUSIVE TERRITORY ?
No.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE IS A DISPUTE NETWEEN ME AND ANOTHER AFFILIATE ?
It is basically up to you to sort out with each other but if you both agree you can submit to the ruling of the Affiliate Manager.
You would be each asked to agree in advance to submit to the ruling and then you would each be given one chance to e-mail your side of the affair to the Affiliate manager.
The Affiliate Manager will try to make a good faith decision based on the information received. The decision could be enforced by the Affiliation Manager withdrawing an Affiliation and you might be able to enforce it in other ways.
You would have to get legal advice
DO I NEED ANY TRAINING TO BECOME AN AFFILATE ?
No, there is no training programme that AA can recommend. Affiliates generally learn by experience, by following the marketing hints guidance and by inter acting with other Affiliates in the Affiliates Forum.
WHAT IS “AA’S FAVOURITE CHARITY AND HOW ARE THEY INVOLVED ?
AA’s favourite charity is the UK branch of JDRF – the Juvenile Diabetes research foundation. Their website is www.jdrf.org.uk. If you would like to know more you could also log on to www.youtube.com and search “faces of diabetes”.
JDRF was chosen because the son of one of the original supporters of Assist Abroad recently contracted Juvenile Diabetes and we want to do what we can to help find a cure.
HOW DO I SELL THE ASSISTABROAD SERVICE ?
We have given you some indications earlier on in these FAQ’s, but once you become an Affiliate we will give you access to Marketing Hints, Promotional Material and the Affiliates Forum
WHAT MARKETING SUPPORT DO I GET ?
You will get access to marketing material you can download. We are also trialling inexpensive display boxes that you will be able to purchase from us at cost or direct from the manufacturer. The boxes are designed to hold leaflets and we will supply the artwork so you can have them printed locally.
The display boxes of leaflets are designed to be placed in all kinds of outlets, banks, travel agents, shops, offices – anywhere that will give you permission.
In addition we have regular programmes to contact basic members to persuade them to upgrade.
CAN I CHANGE OR ALTER THE MARKETING MATERIAL I RECEIVE ?
You can and must enter your promo code on the material but other than than you must not change the marketing material. If you have any changes to suggest, or any marketing ideas or ideas for more help, please use the form here to contact the Affiliates manager
WHAT IS MY COMMISSION RATE ?
You will find that out after we have accepted your application to become an Affiliate. We think you will be pleasantly surprised. of course, once you have been accepted as an Affiliate there is no requirement on you to continue with it if you don’t like the commission we offer – but we would be amazed if that was the case
CAN I SPLIT MY COMMISSION WITH THIRD PARTIES ?
That is up to you, but we can not be a party to any arrangement like that, it will be strictly between you and the third parties and we can not become involved.
CAN I APPOINT SUB-AFFILIATES ?
Only AA can appoint Affiliates but if you wish to recruit people to help you, that is up to you and not something with which AA can become involved.
DO I HAVE THE RIGHT TO GRANT MEMBERSHIP OF THE ASSISTABROAD SERVICE ?
No, only AA can grant membership
HOW DO I FIND OUT HOW MUCH COMMISSION I HAVE EARNED ?
When you are accepted as an Affiliate you will be given on line access to your account. You can log on any time, day or night, and find out how you are doing and how much is owed to you in the next monthly commission payment.
WHEN WILL MY COMMISSION BE PAID TO ME ?
Within 14 days of the end of each calendar month, in respect of the commission due for the previous month. We only pay for cleared comissions.
WILL MY COMMISSION BE PAID GROSS ?
Yes, but if someone enrols using your promo code and subsequently wishes to cancel, then if we accept that cancellation request we will claw back the whole amount of the refund from your commission account. Normally refunds will only be made at our discretion but in some parts of the world subscribers have legal rights of cancellation.
WHO PAYS TAX ON MY COMMISSION ?
You do
DOES MY COMMISSION INCLUDE ANY SALES, VALUE ADDED OR OTHER
TAXES
?
These are your responsibility. Because of the tax location of AA and the fact that memberships can only be granted by AA, it is understood that no value added tax, sales tax or other tax is relevant.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I WANT TO RESIGN AS AN AFFILIATE ?
Please use the form here to send in a notice, quoting your Name, Affiliate Number, Username and Password to the Affiliate Manager.