Case study

Streamlining mobile travel booking & increasing member engagement

My role
  • UX/UI Designer
Timeline
  • 4 weeks
Tools
  • Adobe XD
  • Miro
  • UserTesting
Process
  • Discovery
  • Ideation
  • Design
  • Usability testing
  • Dev handoff

Overview

Privileges Travel, an American Express Travel representative agency, offers full-service travel booking for both the general public and American Express cardholders. The goal of this project was to enhance the existing PAX Mobile App to support on-the-go access to travel benefits—allowing users to browse and book hotels, resorts, cruises, flights, car rentals, merchandise, tours, and wine.
Dashboard mockup

Challenge

The initial version of the app (V1), developed by a third-party agency, received poor user feedback from users and internal teams:

  • The app was not optimized for iOS or Android platforms.
  • The "Savings" section suffered from low engagement and unclear navigation.
  • An "Activities" feature was missing but highly requested.
  • The app's design was outdated and no longer aligned with the new website branding.
These issues led to poor usability, reduced redemptions, and limited user engagement.

Target users

We focused our redesign around two key user personas:
  • Single, lives in a major city
  • Platinum Visa or Amex cardholder
  • Travels frequently for work and leisure
  • Values convenience, deals, and rewards
  • Married, lives along the California or East Coast
  • Business executive or director
  • Subscribes to convenience-based services
  • Regularly plans travel online, often commutes interstate

Research & discovery

Process / Phase 1

Internal analysis

  • Audited the existing "Legacy" account experience on web and app
  • Identified inconsistencies in UI, navigation, and terminology

Competitive analysis

  • Researched competitors' account structures, features, and UI designs
  • Identified industry best practices and innovative approaches

User testing

  • Open Card Sorting: Identified how customers group account-related tasks
  • Tree Testing: Measured the effectiveness of navigation and labeling
  • FullStory/Medallia Survey: Captured real user pain points and feedback
  • Unmoderated Usability Testing: Assessed key pain points in task completion

Areas of improvement

Opportunities from findings

Key FullStory/Medallia findings

Main feedback flags
  • Users struggled to save account settings
  • Issues with signing into the Treats Loyalty account
  • Lack of clarity on when loyalty points would be applied after a purchase
  • Poor communication on how to complete profile verification
  • Offer application process was confusing, particularly for service-related offers
  • No clear confirmation when an offer had been applied

Labeling consistencies

  • Standardize section names across web and app
  • Improve clarity to reduce confusion

Account dashboard

  • Introduce a centralized dashboard to provide quick access to key account features
  • Enhance visual hierarchy to surface important information (e.g., incomplete profiles, appointment check-ins, etc.)

Personalization

  • Display user’s name, recent purchases, and personalized product recommendations
  • Incorporate features like "Time to Replenish" reminders and service appointment prompts

Pet service appointmants

  • Centralize appointment management across all services
  • Allow modification of existing appointments instead of requiring cancellation
  • Improve hierarchy to clearly differentiate upcoming, pending, and completed appointments

Recent orders & order management

  • Expand visibility to both in-store and online purchases in account history
  • Introduce search functionality for easy access to past orders
  • Explore order modification windows for changes before a specific status update

Vet information & prescription management

  • Introduce digital vet records and prescription management in the account
  • Provide better education on digital medical cards and how to obtain them
  • Explore order modification windows for changes before a specific status update

Autoship enhancements

  • Address address change inconsistencies impacting Autoship settings
  • Streamline the process for adding new products, updating payment details, and modifying shipment schedules

Payment method enhancements

  • Introduce ability to save and manage gift cards and PayPal within the account

Collaboration & stakeholder management

  • Partnered with Product Owners to align on MVP vs. Post-MVP roadmap
  • Worked closely with Developers to balance technical feasibility with UX improvements
  • Iterated based on cross-functional team feedback (Product, UX, Engineering, and Business Analysts)