Avios is a critical component of IAG Loyalty, driving customer engagement, retention, and revenue. Therefore, it recognised the need to expand the Avios experience by creating a unique digital wallet as part of a strategic initiative to promote and strengthen their customer loyalty.
Lead the UX and product design of the "Avios Wallet", driving research, usability tests and refining the MVP to create a single Avios points and provide a user-friendly solution and simplify the partner loyalty account linking experience.
Gathered research insights, tested early concepts using UserTesting, refined user flows, created wireframes, defined the MVP, and developed a detailed prototype in Figma for further testing and iteration.
Avios Wallet achieved 214k account links within the first 90 days (exceeding the 150k target). 37% increase in cross-brand redemptions (e.g., Vueling users booking Iberia flights) and 12% reduction in customer support queries about point transfers.
2023
The Challenge
Designing and Developing the Avios Wallet
Deliver a unified and optimized experience for managing Avios, empowering users to view their total points in a single balance and easily track all their transactions.
User Experience Considerations
From a user experience perspective, having separate pages for each airline brand can feel less intuitive than a single unified Avios.com page. Nonetheless, this approach was essential given the unique operations of each partner. The project centred on analysing user needs to create a common foundation for the Avios Wallet as a white‑label solution, while maintaining the distinct design identity of every brand.
The Problem
Fragmented Loyalty Ecosystems
Avios is shared across multiple airline programs, including British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, AerClub, and Vueling Club. Each program operates with different earning rates, redemption rules, and transfer limitations, making it challenging for members to fully optimize how they use their Avios.
Separate Balances
Research
User Feedback
Online surveys were conducted with Loyalty Programme members who had at least a double membership. User feedback consistently demonstrated that members strongly prefer a single Avios balance across all airlines, citing the current system is inefficient because it requires multiple accounts and logins. Users want a simpler system that makes point management and redemption easier. However, they express concerns regarding transparency on the conversion rates and data protection. Overall, users expect IAG to streamline the process, ensuring simplicity and security in managing their Avios balances.
Competitive benchmark Research
After collecting, analysing, and interpreting information about the main competitors in this landscape industry, several key advantages stand out. One of the most significant benefits is the flexibility in transferring Avios between different programs, including British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling, Finnair, and Qatar Airways. This allows users to move points without additional fees. Furthermore, Avios enables family members to pool points, making it easier to earn rewards together.
Ideation
User Personas
Our research with members of the Avios loyalty programme allowed us to create profiles to better represent the behaviours, struggles, and demands of current Avios users. We then split these profiles into 4 user personas regarding the tier level, Blue, Bronze, Silver and Gold.
User Flow
Before diving into design explorations, it's essential to map out each step a user takes when interacting with a product. This process helps identify potential roadblocks, allowing us to eliminate frustrating usability issues and ensure a logical, user-friendly journey.User flows also improved usability by pinpointing areas where navigation might be confusing or inefficient. Enabling us to proactively address these issues in more detail.
Usability Testing
To ensure that we gather valuable and actionable feedback on the Avios Wallet without overwhelming our contributors, we have decided to conduct user testing in multiple sessions. Each session would focus on a specific key aspect of the Avios Wallet, allowing us to maintain an efficient and manageable process while maximising the quality of insights collected.
Initially, we tested using British Airways’ visual identity, but as the process progressed, we transitioned to Iberia, as it was the first airline, alongside with Vueling, to launch the Avios Wallet on their website. Furthermore, and given the fact that most users are Spanish speakers, we had to test the prototype in Spanish to mainly validate if keywords like Avios Wallet as well as link (vincular), unlink (desvincular) account were well perceived or expected by the users.
Avios Wallet - Unmoderated test
The primary goal of the first session was to evaluate users’ understanding of the differences between IAG accounts and Loyalty Partners, particularly in terms of Avios management. Furthermore, the session aimed to collect contributors’ assumptions and expectations about the Avios Wallet concept, focusing on the processes for linking and unlinking accounts.This session was held at the beginning of visual design exploration, providing valuable insights into what was effective and what needed refinement to match expectations.
Latest Transactions filter - A/B Testing
Before diving into design explorations, it's essential to map out each step a user takes when interacting with a product. This process helps identify potential roadblocks, allowing us to eliminate frustrating usability issues and ensure a logical, user-friendly journey.User flows also improved usability by pinpointing areas where navigation might be confusing or inefficient. Enabling us to proactively address these issues in more detail.
Latest Transactions - Usability Testing
The transaction page is highly valued by users for its precise tracking and detailed record of Avios point activity. The filtering options (category, time, partner) are particularly appreciated for allowing comprehensive analysis. The visual design, featuring intuitive green and red icons, makes it easy to distinguish between redeemed and spent Avios points. Additionally, the use of a minus (-) symbol has been well received as an accessibility feature for colour-blind individuals.
Usability Testing - Iberia in Spain
Overview Findings
The usability testing for both the desktop and mobile web prototypes provided positive results. Users found both interfaces intuitive and user-friendly, effectively navigating and completing tasks. However, a common issue arose with the scroll functionality in the date filter component due to prototype limitations. Despite this, users successfully adapted to achieve their target outcomes.
Key Points for Improvement
A significant area for improvement across both platforms is the need for enhanced customer support options. Users expressed a strong desire for either a phone number or a live chat feature to facilitate direct communication with customer service. Implementing one or both of these features is highly recommended to improve user experience.
Additional Suggestions for Mobile
For further refinement in the mobile experience, additional suggestions were made. These include automatically populating the membership number in contact forms, which could reduce friction by eliminating the need for manual entry.
Process & Solution
Implementation
Given that Avios is part of the IAG Loyalty programme, it raised the challenge of designing a unified Avios Wallet experience across all the airline accounts (British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and Vueling), while preserving each airline's distinct identity. Although the design was standardized, the implementation of the Avios Wallet on each airline's website remains a strategic decision for each airline to make. As Iberia and Vueling were the initial adopters, their versions will be highlighted in this portfolio.
Design System
Conclusion
Although I would like to provide tangible results, they were not shared with me before I left this project. However, when comparing the timeline during the usability tests for linking accounts in the Avios Wallet to obtain a single balance to the previous Combining Avios option, the process time is reduced by 60%.
What I learned
This project was profoundly rewarding, as IAG Loyalty heavily invested in user feedback. They allocated substantial funds and resources to conduct comprehensive user research and usability testing, allowing us to rigorously validate design choices, both functional and conceptual.On the other hand, we lack control over software environments and business decisions distributed across four separate airlines and partnerships. Consequently, our role in these situations is primarily focused on moving around these issues, approaching the problems that we face, listening to the users and balancing their needs with business goals and limitations.Yet, this challenge is central to the role of a UX designer. It requires us to deeply understand our current resources, investing user data effectively, and align our strategies with the organisation’s potential trajectories. Transforming these constraints into opportunities for innovative solutions and suggesting key areas for improvement in the future.
Future Opportunities - Suggestions
Centralised Avios Management
Create a more neutral and user-friendly environment, consolidate the Avios Wallet in Avios.com with all Loyalty Partners. Furthermore, incorporate this feature into the Avios mobile app to guarantee cross-platform accessibility.
Simplified Partner Integration
Strengthen the Avios ecosystem by optimising its integration with partner services. With this approach, users will be able to take advantage of a single Avios balance across multiple services and rewards in one location, making the process simpler to collect and spend Avios.
Gamification for Increased Engagement
To increase engagement, introduce gamification features, such as challenges, badges, or levels that reward users for effectively managing and collecting their Avios.
