Unlike typical co-branded credit card portfolios that sell for a premium, Goldman Sachs offloaded the Apple Card's debt to JPMorgan at a significant loss. This underscores the program's unprofitability, driven by high defaults and operational costs, despite the prestigious Apple brand.

Apple insisted all card statements be sent on the first of the month to enhance customer experience. This forced Goldman Sachs to staff a massive, costly customer service team that was overwhelmed at the start of the month and idle for the remainder, unlike the staggered billing used by other banks.

Heather Dubrow assumed her doctor husband's finances were solid but reveals her credit score is higher, indicating greater fiscal discipline. This illustrates that a high-status job or large income doesn't guarantee financial responsibility; a credit score is a more direct measure of reliability.

For high-end brands hesitant to offer discounts, Apple's model is ideal. They sell products at full price but include a substantial gift card for future purchases. This drives sales and encourages repeat business without ever putting the core product "on sale," thus preserving brand prestige.

An early version of the Apple Card proposed "iPoints" redeemable exclusively for 99¢ songs on iTunes. While economically brilliant for Apple (capturing a 30% margin on redemptions), this closed ecosystem was less appealing than cash back or travel and would have become obsolete with the rise of streaming music.

Apple's historic commitment to user privacy prevented it from using the vast data pools competitors leveraged for AI. This created a technical disadvantage, forcing Apple to use its marketing prowess ('lipstick') to mask a technologically inferior AI product ('the pig').

The consumer partnership with Apple represented less than 5% of Goldman Sachs's revenue but received disproportionate negative attention. The leadership team made the tough call to exit because the strategic distraction and damage to the firm's narrative outweighed its actual financial impact.

Affirm's CEO argues the core flaw of credit cards is not high APRs, but a business model that profits from consumer mistakes. Lenders are incentivized by compounding interest and late fees, meaning they benefit when customers take longer to pay and stumble.

By eliminating late fees and compounding interest, Affirm removes any financial upside from borrower mistakes. This forces the company's business model to depend solely on successful repayment, demanding superior, transaction-by-transaction underwriting to survive.