For drivers · 5 min read · Updated November 2026

Extra Money for Christmas From Your Commute? An Honest Look

Lunar will not pay out before the holidays: matching takes time. But you can set up now and have your car ready for the new year. Here is what to expect.

Get the Lunar app → Free to join, up to $500 a month.

If you are looking for extra money for Christmas, Lunar is not a quick fix: signing up does not mean a sticker on your car by December, because matching and fulfilment take time and nothing sets a date. What it can be is a way to have your everyday driving earning for you in the new year, at up to $500 a month, if you set up now.

Why we say this plainly

Search results this time of year are full of promises to make fast cash before the holidays. Car advertising is not one of them. Before any money moves, a real local business has to be offered your car, you have to accept, a sticker has to be printed and sent, you have to put it on, and a person has to approve your photo. Each step is real, and none has a promised length. We would rather you plan around that than count on a payout that may not arrive in time.

If you need cash by a certain date, other options will serve you better. If you are happy to build something steady that starts working once a match is made, read on.

What setting up now actually gets you

Signing up early does not jump a queue, because Lunar's team makes matches offer by offer. But a finished profile is the thing matching needs, so it is the part of the job that is in your hands. In the meantime:

• Add your car and its VIN. A car 12 years old or newer qualifies, with a valid licence and insurance, and you must be 18 or older. Rideshare cars are welcome. Motorcycles, commercial vehicles and cars that are already wrapped are not eligible.
• Draw your "Where you drive" circles on the map: your commute, your kids' school, your usual errands. You can draw several. Lunar's team looks at overlap between those circles and a business's target area.
• Name a few local businesses you would like to carry. This is a preference, not an application and not a promise, but it tells the team what you care about.
• Keep your phone notifications on. An offer is held for 48 hours, and declining costs you nothing, so there is no pressure to accept something that does not suit you.

What the money looks like once you are matched

Lunar pays drivers up to $500 a month, through Stripe, and only from money the business has actually paid. Each sticker runs on its own 30-day clock from the day it goes live. We do not break the figure down further, and we would not trust a site that promised an exact amount before it knew your car and your match.

Nothing is asked of you up front. A driver pays no deposit and no application fee, and Lunar never asks a driver for money. If anyone offering to put an ad on your car asks for cash, sends a cheque and wants some of it back, or wants a fee to "reserve" your spot, that is the pattern of a scam. Our guide to car advertising scams and how to spot them goes through the signs.

What the commute has to do

Being matched is not the end of the work, but the work is light. There is one weekly check, which opens on Tuesday and is due on Thursday: a photo of each live sticker (a close-up and the whole car), one odometer reading, and at least 25 miles (40 km in Canada) driven since your last approved reading. For most people who commute, the driving takes care of itself. The photos take a couple of minutes.

Three missed weeks in a calendar month have consequences, so it is worth putting the check in your calendar. How the check works is covered in how Lunar verifies real driving.

A sensible plan for the next few weeks

• Treat Lunar as income for the new year, not for this December.
• Sign up and finish your profile while you have a spare evening, since holiday weeks are busy.
• Do not count the money until a sticker is live and approved. Offers come as businesses become available, and the timing is not ours to promise.
• Keep your tax records. You are responsible for your own taxes on what you earn, and Lunar does not issue tax slips, so note your payouts as they arrive.

For how offers arrive and what happens after you say yes, see how Lunar matches drivers with local businesses.

The short version

There is no honest way to promise Christmas money from a car sticker, and we will not. There is an honest way to be ready: get set up now, say yes to an offer that suits you, and let your normal driving start to earn.