Merchant invitations

What this is

Some programs are set to "Invite Only" approval or "Private" visibility, meaning you cannot find or apply to them unless a merchant has invited you directly.

Why it matters

If you turned on Discovery in your Profile settings, merchants can find your public affiliate profile in their directory and send you an invitation to a specific program. Without an invitation, invite-only and private programs never appear as applicable to you.

How to do it

1. Turn on "Allow merchants to discover my affiliate profile and invite me to programs" on your Profile page if you want to be eligible for invitations. This is off by default.
2. When a merchant invites you to a program, you gain visibility into that specific program even if it is otherwise private or invite-only.
3. Open the program from a notification or from the Marketplace, review the Program overview and Program terms as usual, and apply.
4. If you decide not to proceed, you can simply withdraw a pending application later, or choose not to apply at all.

What happens next

An invitation does not approve you automatically. You still need to submit and, depending on the program's approval type, wait for the merchant's decision, unless the program uses Instant approval. If you withdraw an application that came from an invitation, the merchant is informed that the invited affiliate withdrew the application.

Common mistakes

Do not assume discovery is required to see every program. Public programs with Manual or Instant approval are visible to every affiliate in the Marketplace regardless of Discovery settings; invitations only matter for invite-only or private programs.

In short

Turning on Discovery lets merchants invite you to programs you could not otherwise find, but an invitation still requires you to apply and, where applicable, get approved.