Affinity CARDS started simply as a product that alumni associations could offer members, but alumni boards realized they could bargain for more cash up front.

“认同卡发行初期只是一款由校友会向会员们提供的普通金融产品，可是校友会的董事们却从中发现了赚取现金的商机，”华盛顿大学福斯特商学院教授刘易斯·蒙戴尔说。

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This has led to the rise of Co-Brand and affinity CARDS - where the card design is related to the "affinity" (a university or professional society, for example) leading to higher card usage.

这导致联名卡和认同卡的崛起，卡片的设计与“价值认同”相关(比如，一间大学或专业团体)，从而达到更高的信用卡使用率。

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Special materials, colors, images, and affinity cards abound.

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Among the cool new features, iPhone 5 will come with a new Maps app with Siri-powered turn-by-turn directions and a Passport app that will store digital versions of your affinity cards, boarding passes, tickets, coupons and, eventually credit and debit cards, so you can get on a plane or into a stadium or pay for a Starbucks coffee by flashing a bar code on the phone.

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Some cards have started to address this issue with affinity logos of alma maters, sports teams, or charities.

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