Disclosure
How we make money.
Cool Weather Compass is reader-supported. This page explains, in plain language, how our recommendations are funded — the partnerships, the mechanics, and the lines we draw.
Active affiliate partnerships
Some outbound links on this site are affiliate links. When you click one and complete a qualifying purchase or booking, the merchant pays us a small commission. Your price is the same either way. We currently earn through:
- Amazon Associates — gear picks on our Gear and Heat Prep pages, and occasional product mentions in guides. Tracking tag:
frostlit-20. - Stay22 — automatically rewrites Booking.com hotel links and GetYourGuide activity links on our destination and cruise pages after the page loads.
- Travelpayouts Drive — the script installed in our site header monetizes plain links to approved Travelpayouts programs (including Airalo, Saily, Klook, KKday, Tiqets, and others) by rewriting them on the client side.
- Ko-fi — one-time tips on our Support page are handled externally by Ko-fi; we do not store payment details.
Partnerships still pending
Some links on the site currently point directly to the merchant and do not not yet earn us a commission. These are clearly labeled “Direct” on the page. Examples include:
- Holafly and Nomad — eSIM providers on our eSIM comparison page.
- Cruise lines — Viking, HX (Hurtigruten Expeditions), UnCruise, Princess, Celebrity, and Ponant direct booking links.
We will update these to affiliate links as soon as the relevant programs are approved.
Amazon Associates required disclosure
"As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases."
Our Amazon tracking tag is frostlit-20. Any Amazon link on this site is an affiliate link.
Editorial independence
Commission rates never influence what we recommend or in what order. We feature places, hotels, and gear that experienced travelers have relied on across multiple seasons. When a product falls short of that bar, we say so — and if a merchant pressures us to change a review, the link comes down.
We don't accept payment for placement in a listicle or a comparison. Rankings are ours.
Other ways we may earn
In the future we may offer direct services — for example, travel-agent consulting for readers planning complex trips, or paid classes and workshops. Any such offering will be clearly labeled as a Cool Weather Compass product, priced transparently, and never disguised as editorial recommendation.
On-page labeling
Affiliate links are marked with rel="sponsored" in the HTML, and product cards on our Gear, Heat Prep, eSIM, Cruises, and Destinations pages show a small badge such as "Affiliate · Amazon Associates" or "Affiliate · Travelpayouts · Airalo." Links that do not currently earn us a commission are labeled "Direct." Pages containing affiliate links carry a short disclosure banner near the top.
Questions
If a recommendation, link, or partnership on Cool Weather Compass needs a closer explanation, we want to hear about it. Reach us at hello@coolweathercompass.com.