Affiliate Disclosure
Last updated: June 1, 2026
How affiliate marketing works on Maple Cairn, who I'm partnered with, and what each side gets out of it.
Maple Cairn includes affiliate links to a small number of products and services I personally use. When you sign up through one of these links, I may earn a referral fee, commission, or platform-tier benefit. In most cases you get something on your end too. What that looks like varies by affiliate; the table below has the specifics.
What affiliate compensation does and does not do:
- It helps support the cost of running this site and the time I put into the writing.
- It doesn't change the products I recommend, how I describe them, or the price you pay.
- It doesn't give me access to your personal information beyond what the platform itself tracks (typically: that the sign-up came from my link, sometimes the rebate amount).
If there's no affiliate relationship behind something I write about, I'll say so.
Current affiliate relationships
| Product | Type | What you get | What I get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chexy | Direct referral | Lower Chexy fees through the referral mechanic | Lower Chexy fees on my own future payments, progressing toward Chexy's lower-fee tiers (Pink 1.5%, Gold 1.0%, Elite 0.5%) |
| Rakuten Canada | Direct referral | $30 cash bonus when you reach Rakuten's first-purchase threshold | $30 referral credit |
| Wealthsimple | Direct referral | $25 cash bonus when you fund any Wealthsimple account | $25 referral credit |
| Amex Cobalt via GCR | GCR-mediated | $40 GCR cash back rebate on card approval, plus the Amex welcome offer | GCR referral commission |
| Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite+ via GCR | GCR-mediated | $100 GCR cash back rebate on card approval, plus the Scotia welcome offer | GCR referral commission |
| Great Canadian Rebates | Direct referral | Standard GCR account, no special bonus | Small referral commission for the sign-up |
| Claude (Anthropic) | Direct referral | 1-week free trial of Claude Pro | Referral credit on my Claude account |
This list grows as I add new affiliates. The current set covers the products I've actually written about. If I add an affiliate relationship for a product I haven't written about yet, it will show up here before any post links to it.
How Great Canadian Rebates works
GCR is a Canadian cash back portal. When you apply for a credit card through one of GCR's links, GCR pays you a cash back rebate after the card is approved, and the card issuer pays GCR a referral fee. I get a small cut of that fee for the referral.
To actually receive your GCR rebate, you have to:
- Apply directly through the GCR link without browsing to other pages mid-application
- Save the reference number the issuer provides at application
- Be a first-time applicant for that specific card
- Skip outside promo codes during the application (using one voids the rebate)
- Follow up with GCR within 3 months if the rebate hasn't posted
GCR publishes their full terms on each card's product page. The rebate amounts listed above are current as of writing and may change.
Tools I link without an affiliate relationship
The Tools section of the homepage lists Cursor, Claude, and Vercel. Only the Claude link is a referral link (above); Cursor and Vercel aren't affiliate. I link them because I use them. If any of those relationships change to affiliate in the future, I'll update this page.
Things I won't do
- I won't accept money to recommend something I don't actually use.
- I won't hide an affiliate relationship to make a recommendation look more "editorial."
- I won't recommend a product purely because the affiliate payout is higher than a competitor's.
Contact
If you have questions about any of this, or you notice something you think is misleading, email me at maplecairn@gmail.com.