Web App Design
PAY WITH POINTS MVP
Introduced Hilton’s first post-stay points redemption feature to increase loyalty value, enable flexible bookings, and improve billing transparency.
COMPANY
Hilton
DURATION
24 Months
ROLE
Lead Product Designer
TEAM
Product, Engineering, Research, Loyalty, Marketing, Accessibility, Legal
TOOLS
Figma, FigJam, UserTesting, Jira, Confluence
OVERVIEW
Hilton Honors members wanted more flexibility when using points toward their stays, but the legacy platform offered no way to preview redemptions or combine cash and points during checkout after a stay. To increase value for Honors members, Hilton introduced Pay with Points at Checkout — a new digital feature that allows guests to apply loyalty points toward their post-stay balance directly within the mobile app’s Digital Checkout (DCO) flow. Previously, members could only use points during booking, not at checkout. This MVP experience enabled guests to apply available points toward their remaining balance, with any leftover amount automatically charged to their saved credit card.
The solution was designed to handle a variety of stay scenarios:
Single-room bookings: The most common use case for individual travelers and couples
Multi-room bookings: Supporting families or group travelers checking out multiple rooms
Multi-folio stays: Allowing charges to be split across separate folios (e.g., one for work expenses and another for personal charges), each with its own payment method
This first release established a foundation for future loyalty features, such as on-property redemptions in real time, while improving transparency by clearly surfacing final charges before billing — a key driver of guest trust and satisfaction.
The image below shows the Digital Checkout flow prior to adding Pay with Points.
GOALS
Give eligible Honors members a way to use points during checkout
Increase guest flexibility and transparency in billing
Reduce post-stay disputes and call volume by showing final charges upfront
Build the foundation for broader point redemption options in future releases
PROCESS HIGHLIGHTS
Discovery & Technical Mapping
Collaborated with loyalty product managers to define eligibility rules
Worked with engineers and data teams to understand limitations around balance updates, folio visibility, and multi-room scenarios
Audited the existing Digital Checkout (DCO) flow and brainstormed placement options for the new interaction
Guest Testing & Iteration
Conducted multiple rounds of user testing with Honors members
Key insights:
Guests wanted a quick, clear summary of charges before leaving
The ability to preview and dispute charges was critical
Simplicity was essential, especially for guests checking out on the go
Refined copy and layout to prioritize clarity, confirmation, and minimal friction
Design & Prototyping
Designed a new Honors Points section within the DCO mobile flow
Introduced an interactive slider for guests to choose how many points to apply
Built a real-time balance updater showing how much would remain on the saved card
Created fallback and ineligible states to preserve the DCO flow for guests who didn’t qualify
Collaboration & Compliance
Partnered with Legal and Risk to define copy around final charges and disputes
Ensured accessibility across all UI states
Delivered annotated Figma files with edge-case documentation for engineering
FINAL SOLUTION
I designed an MVP for Pay with Points, enabling Honors members to choose how many points to apply toward their balance. The interface dynamically updated both the cash total and booking summary in real time.
The redesigned Digital Checkout (DCO) flow introduced a new Honors Pay with Points section where eligible guests could reduce or fully cover their remaining balance using points before completing checkout.
Key enhancements included:
Interactive Slider and Input Fields: Members could select how many points to apply, with real-time recalculation of the remaining amount due
Dynamic Summary: Clearly displayed how the total would be split between points and card payment
Folio Review: Guests could now review all folio charges prior to checkout, increasing accuracy, reducing billing disputes, and improving trust at a critical moment in the stay
Scalable Architecture: Supported single-room, multi-room, and multi-folio checkouts for complex stays
Fallback States: Maintained a consistent experience for ineligible or low-balance guests
Mobile-First UI: Integrated seamlessly into the DCO flow for familiarity, consistency, and minimal cognitive load
The video walkthrough below demonstrates the new Digital Checkout experience, showing the most complex use case — a multi-room, multi-folio stay — to highlight the scalability of the design.
OUTCOMES & NEXT STEPS
Although this feature had not launched before my departure, I finalized the end-to-end designs and delivered full product requirements and specs for engineering handoff. The work received stakeholder approval to move forward with a full-featured build of the MVP.
Once launched, this enhancement is expected to:
Improve Transparency & Satisfaction: Guests can now review folio charges and apply points confidently, ensuring accuracy and eliminating surprises at billing
Increase Clarity & Control: Members can see exactly how points and cash combine for payment, improving trust and ease of use
Support Complex Stay Scenarios: Enables smooth checkout for single-room, multi-room, and multi-folio bookings
Strengthen Loyalty Engagement: Recognized by the Loyalty team as a key driver for increased Honors engagement once launched
Reduce Support Load: By surfacing final charges clearly, the design helps prevent post-stay billing inquiries and disputes
REFLECTIONS & KEY LEARNINGS
Designing for check-out moments is all about trust: Guests are often in transit and stressed; simplifying copy, reducing interaction steps, and clearly showing charges builds confidence
Copy is just as critical as layout: Small changes in phrasing during testing made a big difference in clarity and understanding
Systems thinking is essential: Designing a small section of a checkout flow required understanding how loyalty, payments, folios, and guest services intersect