FLEXIBLE REWARD SYSTEM
MAY 2023
OVERVIEW
Amtrak Guest Rewards allowed travelers to redeem tickets using points or pay entirely with cash. However, travelers who didn't have enough points to cover the full fare had no way to combine the two, forcing them to abandon redemption and pay the full amount in cash.
I led the UX design for a new Points + Cash payment experience that enabled travelers to combine reward points with dollars while balancing customer needs, business goals, and engineering constraints.
ROLE
UX Design Intern
Owned user research, user testing and product design
Team
2 Interns, 1 PM, 1 Design Manager, 3 Engineers
Duration
2.5 months
IMPACT
20%
improvement in usability score after design iterations
9.2/10
User rating for the final concept
BUSINESS Context
Increasing engagement with Amtrak Guest Rewards
Amtrak's rewards program only allowed travelers to redeem tickets when they had enough points to cover the full fare. Customers who fell just short couldn't use the rewards they had already earned, creating a rigid redemption experience that reduced the perceived value of the program.
Defining Success
01
Travelers should clearly see how points and cash combine into the total fare.
02
The interaction should make the final price and remaining balance easy to verify.
03
We wanted to deliver flexibility without requiring a full booking-system rebuild.
DISCOVERY & Research
Ideation
I tested two concepts with 30 participants completing the same booking scenario. We evaluated comprehension, confidence in the final price, and where travelers expected to choose their Points + Cash combination.
IDEA 1
Introduce Points + Cash during checkout in points flow
To minimize disruption to the existing booking flow, Points + Cash was introduced during checkout after users selected points as their payment method.
idea 2
Introduce Points + Cash during train selection
The second concept surfaced payment flexibility while travelers were comparing ticket options, helping them understand what they could afford before making a decision.
TRADE OFF
Although 87% of participants preferred introducing Points + Cash during fare selection, implementing the feature at that stage required significant backend changes across Amtrak's booking platform.
To reduce implementation complexity, we moved the experience to checkout and simplified the interaction from a slider to a dropdown. Rather than delaying the feature, we shipped a solution that delivered immediate customer value while fitting within technical constraints.
Solution
RESTROPECTIVE
Designing for the Best Shippable Outcome
While usability testing pointed toward an ideal solution, collaborating with engineering highlighted the implementation costs behind that experience. It reinforced that successful product design isn't just about creating the best interface, it's about finding the right balance between customer value, technical feasibility, and business goals.
Next Steps:
If I were continuing this work, I'd explore introducing payment flexibility earlier in the booking journey once the underlying platform could support it, building on the foundation established by the initial release.