Business

Delaena Kalevor – Why the “Breakage” Model is Profitable But Could Prove Unsustainable

Published

5 years ago

January 13, 2021

I would like to introduce readers to a concept called “breakage.” It’s a common business strategy in fee-based or subscription-based services, such as gym memberships, video rentals, and annual fee credit cards. It’s also common in loyalty rewards programs.

Before I discuss this concept, I want you to think of how most businesses operate. The customers want a particular product or service. They buy it. They use it and the transaction is complete.

Let’s consider a basic example:

Let’s assume that you’re hungry and you want a bacon burger.

You go to the drive-through and buy a burger. You eat the burger.

You’re happy because you’re no longer hungry.

The drive-through franchise owner is happy because they generated a sale. This is how most businesses work.

The “breakage” model works the exact opposite way. With breakage, the company makes money when you do not use the product or service you purchased.

Let’s look at the gift card business for example: Let’s assume you buy a $25 gift card from Amazon.

You give the gift card to your friend for his birthday. How does Amazon make any money doing this?

Well, it turns out that for every $100 spent on buying a gift card, only $75 is actually ever redeemed. People who receive the gift card either lose the card, forget about the card, don’t use up the entire value of the card or the card expires.

This is breakage. Gift cards have an implied breakage of 25%. Meaning on average 25% of the value of gift cards never get redeemed. According to Delaena Kalevor, breakage can be very profitable. When someone purchases a gift card, the issuer of the gift card recognizes the gift card value as a contingent liability on their balance sheet. When the gift card value expires, the contingent liability is taken off the books and recognized as revenue. This has a direct accretive impact on net income, which can make breakage in the gift card and loyalty rewards industry extremely profitable.

The cashback and loyalty programs of credit card issuers also work in the same way and breakage is a valuable part of how these banks make money. They use tools like redemption caps (for example with American Express, you can’t redeem until you have $75 worth of points), points expiration, etc to enforce breakage. Most customers never reach that $75 redemption threshold before the points expire. This is an example of breakage. That’s why Delaena Kalevor’s favorite credit card is Discover Card. They have no breakage at all – no redemption caps and no points expiration.

Another example of breakage is health clubs or gyms. The parallel to that in the credit card industry is cards that have an annual fee.

Most fitness centers work on a monthly membership fee model.

I pay $50 a month to have access to the facility.

Whether I show up every day or never show up, I still pay the health club the same $50.

In the health club business, by far the most profitable customers in the industry are people who sign up as members but don’t actually show up to the gym.

This is also breakage. Similarly, credit card customers with an annual fee credit card, generate breakage income for the issuing bank when they do not use their card.

Breakage-based business models can be very profitable. Imagine a health club with 10,000 paying members where nobody actually shows up.

The problem with breakage business models is that you’re receiving value from customers without customers actually receiving value in return. Basically, you’re betting that customers are too lazy to recognize this.

Before Netflix and video streaming of movies became popular, a company called Blockbuster used to rent DVD movies to entertainment seekers. You would rent a movie for two nights for something like $5. If you forgot to return the movie on time, they would charge you a $3/day late fee.

Imagine renting five movies for the weekend and forgetting to return the movies for an entire week. Instead of spending $25, you end up spending $100.

This is a form of breakage too. In fact, at its peak, Blockbuster was generating 70% of its net income from late fees. Their profits came from customers who were too lazy or forgetful to return the DVD sitting in their car.

The problem with breakage though is that customers DO NOT like it.

When Netflix first started, they had a subscription-based DVD rental by mail business. For a flat fee each month, you could keep the movies you rented for as long as you wanted.

According to Delaena Kalevor, Netflix targeted Blockbuster’s most profitable customers — those that pay late fees — and ultimately put Blockbuster out of business.

Personally, I prefer a business where sales and profits come from happy customers, instead of unhappy ones that wish your way of business didn’t exist.

I don’t see the gift card, loyalty rewards, and health club businesses going out of business anytime soon. I don’t even expect their breakage business model to change. But Delaena Kalevor likes the idea of customers receiving good value for what they pay. The value should be mutually beneficial, like in the burger example. It’s a good thing to profit from really happy customers that are thrilled to do business with you. Blockbuster did not expect to go bankrupt. But they did. History has a funny way of repeating itself. The breakage based businesses out there should take lessons from Blockbuster’s experience.

Business

From Learning to Profit: MyTradingPro Teaches, Analyzes, and Delivers Signals

Published

7 hours ago

October 29, 2025

Matthew Wiles

In the fast-paced world of trading, most tools focus on a single niche—either they teach, analyze, or send signals. MyTradingPro breaks that mold by doing all three in one seamless platform. From a beginner’s first lesson to a professional’s high-probability trade setup, MyTradingPro acts as a teacher, analyst, and signal provider, giving traders an end-to-end solution for mastering markets and turning insight into profit.

Whether your focus is crypto, forex, or U.S. equities, MyTradingPro integrates education, market analysis, and actionable signals with algorithmic precision—eliminating the guesswork and emotion that plague most retail traders.

MyTradingPro as Your Personal Trading Academy

For those starting out, MyTradingPro’s Learning Academy offers a structured pathway from complete novice to confident trader. This isn’t just static text; it’s an interactive environment designed to make each concept practical and testable.

Key features of the learning journey:

Step-by-step modules: From basic trading terms and chart patterns to advanced order flow and macro analysis.
Interactive quizzes: Reinforce knowledge and identify weak spots before moving to more advanced topics.
Practical assignments: Apply lessons to real market charts and compare your conclusions to MyTradingPro’s own analysis.
Integrated with live market context: Lessons link directly to current market examples, so you learn from today’s price action—not yesterday’s theory.

By the time you finish the core curriculum, you’re not just familiar with concepts—you know how to apply them. And because you stay inside the MyTradingPro environment, transitioning from learning to live analysis is seamless.

Market Analysis That Goes Beyond Indicators

Once you’ve learned the foundations, you need sharp analysis to identify real opportunities. This is where MyTradingPro’s multi-layered analytics engine comes into play.

What sets the analysis apart:

Multi-market scanning: Crypto, forex, and U.S. stocks are scanned simultaneously for technical, fundamental, and sentiment-driven setups.
Macro + micro integration: The platform factors in global news, macroeconomic releases, and sector correlations alongside micro-level technical structures.
Real-time updates: Markets change fast; MyTradingPro recalculates probability and risk parameters on the fly.
Clear visualizations: Instead of vague charts with ambiguous arrows, each analysis comes with a full explanation, probability score, and defined invalidation points.

By merging machine learning models with expert logic, MyTradingPro avoids the “indicator soup” trap. The goal is clarity: if a setup is worth taking, you’ll know exactly why—and how to approach it.

The Heart of the Platform: The Super-Signal System

While education and analysis lay the foundation, MyTradingPro’s Super-Signal system is what traders come back for day after day. These signals aren’t hunches from a chat admin—they’re structured, algorithmic trade plans.

Every signal includes:

Two scenarios per setup:
- Primary scenario: Best-case alignment of technicals, fundamentals, and order flow.
- Alternative scenario: A backup path if conditions shift unexpectedly.
Entry point(s): Exact price levels where probability is highest.
Stop-loss placement: Based on volatility and liquidity zones, not arbitrary round numbers.
Multi-target structure: Scaling out profits at different stages.
Probability score: A data-driven confidence percentage so you can size positions logically.
Plain-language explanation: Why this setup exists, what triggers it, and what invalidates it.

If news breaks or market sentiment shifts, the signal is updated instantly with revised parameters—often before the next candle closes. This keeps traders ahead of the curve, not reacting late.

Removing Emotion from Trading Decisions

A large part of MyTradingPro’s edge comes from removing the fear, greed, and hesitation that sabotage human traders. Every signal and analysis is paired with a Trading Discipline Checklist:

Recommended position size based on account balance and probability.
Maximum concurrent trades allowed to avoid overexposure.
Immediate alerts if the trade thesis breaks.
Reminder prompts to take partial profits according to plan.

By embedding discipline into the workflow, MyTradingPro acts like a personal trading coach—ensuring you stick to a proven process rather than making impulse decisions.

How the Three Pillars Work Together

Learn — Understand the “why” behind market moves.
Analyze — Apply that knowledge to identify high-probability opportunities.
Act — Execute with confidence using algorithmic signals and strict risk management.

This cycle repeats, with each trade feeding back into your learning process. You review outcomes in the performance ledger, compare your own reasoning to MyTradingPro’s, and refine your approach over time.

Real-Time News Integration

Markets are reactive to news, but not all headlines deserve action. MyTradingPro’s news engine filters events by actual market impact—flagging only what matters to the instruments you trade.

For example:

A U.S. CPI surprise that could shift the dollar’s trajectory will update relevant forex and gold signals instantly.
A sudden change in Bitcoin ETF inflows will trigger a crypto market scan and, if needed, revise BTC or ETH setups.
A major earnings beat in a tech stock will feed into sector correlation analysis for related equities.

This keeps you focused on catalysts, not clickbait.

Transparent Performance Tracking

Many “signal services” cherry-pick wins and quietly delete losing calls. MyTradingPro takes the opposite approach:

Every signal is logged—win or loss—with timestamp, market, scenario chosen, and outcome.
Filter by market or strategy type to see where the edge is strongest.
Review your personal execution record alongside the platform’s performance to pinpoint areas for improvement.

Transparency builds trust, but it also sharpens your trading instincts through honest feedback.

Who Benefits Most from MyTradingPro

New traders who want structured learning plus guided execution.
Intermediate traders who understand markets but need discipline and higher-quality setups.
Experienced traders seeking algorithmic confirmation and cross-market insights without adding screen time.
Multi-market operators who like switching between crypto, forex, and equities without juggling platforms.

Subscription Options

7-day free trial: Full access to learning, analysis, and signals.
Premium plan: Education + analysis + news integration.
Premium+ plan: Everything in Premium plus the Super-Signal system and full performance ledger.

Best Practices for Using MyTradingPro

Respect the process: Don’t skip learning modules, even if you think you “already know.”
Size trades by probability: The confidence score is there to keep your risk consistent.
Use both scenarios: Primary is your main plan; alternative saves you when markets flip.
Review the ledger weekly: Learn from both wins and losses.
Stay disciplined: The platform is designed to help you avoid overtrading—let it.

The Bottom Line

Most traders fail not because they can’t find setups, but because they lack the complete loop—education, analysis, and execution in harmony. MyTradingPro closes that gap. It teaches you the logic of markets, analyzes them with depth and speed, and delivers structured, probability-backed signals that keep you on track.

From your first chart pattern to your first five-figure month, MyTradingPro is there at every step—teaching, analyzing, and signaling your way to better trading outcomes.

MyTradingPro: From learning to profit—your all-in-one trading partner.