Affiliate Disclosures

Last updated: 21 April 2026

Rails Midwest is supported by affiliate commissions. In plain English: if you click one of our booking links and end up buying something, the partner sometimes pays us a small commission. It doesn’t cost you any more than booking directly. We want you to know about that relationship and how it does — and doesn’t — shape what you read here.

Who pays us

We currently participate in affiliate or referral programs with:

  • Booking.com — hotel bookings. Commission varies by property and stay.
  • GetYourGuide — tours, tickets, and experiences.
  • Amtrak — rail tickets (where an affiliate or referral program is available).
  • Omio — multi-provider rail and coach search.
  • Flixbus — intercity coach tickets.

We may add or drop partners over time. This list will be updated when we do.

How we choose what to recommend

Our editorial rule is simple: we only recommend hotels, experiences, and routes we’d recommend to a friend. Specifically:

  • We pick hotels first and thenlink them. We don’t sort by who pays the highest commission.
  • No partner pays to be featured. “Featured” status, itinerary inclusion, and placement are editorial decisions.
  • If commission rates ever materially influence a call, we’ll disclose that on the specific page.
  • We don’t accept sponsored posts disguised as editorial. If we ever run sponsored content, it will be clearly labelled as such.

What an affiliate link looks like

When you click a hotel, tour, or train link on this site, the URL usually carries a tracking parameter (for example, a UTM source or an affiliate ID) that tells the partner the visit came from Rails Midwest. That’s the entire mechanism. The partner sets their own price; we don’t see your payment details.

Regulatory compliance

We aim to comply with:

  • US FTC 16 CFR Part 255 — material connections must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously, near the recommendation.
  • UK CAP Code / ASA — commercial intent must be obvious up front; ads and editorial must be clearly distinguishable.
  • EU Omnibus Directive — required disclosures for commercial communications and consumer reviews.

You’ll see a short affiliate notice near booking links throughout the site, and a link to this page in the footer.

Not affiliated with

Rails Midwest is an independent editorial project. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Amtrak, Booking.com, GetYourGuide, Omio, or Flixbus beyond the affiliate / referral relationships described above. All third-party names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Questions

If something on the site reads like an endorsement and you want to know the commercial story behind it, ask us: hello@railsmidwest.com. We’ll tell you.

See also our Privacy and Site Notice.