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UX / Product Design

United Airlines

Give travelers a reason to come back.

A concept redesign of United’s mobile app, made with a six-person team at Design Innovation Illinois. I led the team from research to final presentation and designed the new rewards section.

Student concept, not affiliated with United Airlines

My Role
Design Lead & Rewards Designer
Team
Sebastian, Ryan, Madison, Sara, Kristine & Angelina
Timeline
September – December 2025
Tools
Figma
United Airlines logo beside three phones showing the redesigned rewards, home and boarding-pass screens

Overview

The Problem

United’s app makes booking slow, buries what travelers need under promotions and extra buttons, and runs a rewards program most people never use. People book, board and close the app, so few come back between trips.

The Redesign

A new five-tab structure that gives every task a predictable home, and a rewards section that shows what points can do, designed to give travelers a reason to open the app between trips.

My Role

I led the six-person team from research to final presentation, set our milestone checkpoints and assigned roles, and designed the rewards section myself. Home, booking, trips, boarding and profile were designed by teammates, and I reviewed every screen for consistency.

Process

From research to a new structure for the whole app, then my rewards redesign.

  1. Research

    Find Where the App Loses People.

    We scored United against six other airline apps on the tasks people actually do. United got 2 out of 5 for booking and for personalization, tied for the lowest marks in both.

    Then we interviewed 15+ travelers, with questions in six groups: general use, booking, interface, loyalty, customization and notifications.

    Seven airline apps compared. Scores are out of 5.
    FeatureUnitedAmericanJetBlueFrontierSouthwestSpiritViva
    Scored out of 5
    Flight search & booking2332545
    Check-in & boarding4344445
    Trip management3335434
    Personalization2324334
    Rated
    Brand & design consistencySomewhatYesYesYesSomewhatYesYes
    NavigationGoodBadOkayGoodOkayGoodGood
    Customer support accessOkayEasyEasyEasyOkayBadEasy
    Seven airline apps compared, United first. Green is strong (4 to 5, or good), yellow is okay (3), red is weak (2 or below, or bad). The word ratings show as ✓, ~ and ✕.
  2. Synthesis

    Six Takeaways, One Objective.

    We wrote every interview answer on a sticky note and grouped them by question category. Six takeaways stood out, and three became the key insights the redesign is built on.

    1. Booking

      Convenience

      Key insight

      People search on Google or Expedia, then book there. The app has to show the best-value flights to win the booking.

    2. Interface

      Navigation

      Key insight

      Time in the app is short, so key info has to stand out. Some want everything in the app, others want it minimal: find the middle.

    3. Loyalty

      Rewards

      Key insight

      Many never had enough points to redeem, or cared more about price. Points need more uses: hotels, lounges, upgrades and perks.

    4. General use

      Flight details and boarding passes must be one tap away. After the trip, people delete the app.

    5. Notifications

      Day-of-travel alerts matter most: delays, gate changes and a reminder the day before. Knowing when and where calms travel nerves.

    6. Customization

      Personalization was a nice-to-have. Notifications were the one thing people wanted to tailor.

    Three personas, a frequent flyer, a touring musician and a spontaneous traveler loyal to no airline, kept each insight tied to a real trip.

    Overall Objective

    How might we improve convenience in booking, simplify navigation and make rewards worth using, so travelers keep coming back to United instead of a competitor’s app?

  3. Direction

    Give Rewards a Home of Its Own.

    In the old structure, the loyalty program was the last item on the home screen and points sat inside My Account. The new architecture has five tabs, so every task has a predictable place and rewards finally have room to explain themselves.

    Before

    1. Home
      • Check In
      • Deals
      • Baggage Info
      • Upcoming Flight
      • Book Flight
      • Loyalty Program
    2. Book Flight
      • Recent
      • One-way / round trip / multiple
      • Departure & return
      • Flight info
      • Review
    3. Trips
      • Notifications
      • FAQs
    4. Flight Status
      • Recent
      • By city
      • By flight number
    5. My Account
      • Sign In
      • Status / Points
      • Settings
      • Help

    AfterNew tab

    1. Home
      • Check In
      • Add trip
      • On-flight
      • Suggested for you
      • Explore friends
    2. Bookings
      • One-way / round trip
      • Car + Hotels
      • Date selection
      • Review
    3. My Trips
      • Upcoming flights
      • Flight history
      • Boarding pass
    4. Rewards
      • My Rewards
      • Missions
      • Credit
      • QR Code
      • Message Inbox
    5. Profile
      • Loyalty points
      • Track bag
      • Help
      • Wallet
      • Settings
    Before: loyalty sat at the bottom of Home, with points inside My Account. After: five tabs, and Rewards gets its own.
  4. My Design: Rewards

    Put What Points Can Do Next to the Balance.

    The old rewards area mixed several points systems, offer cards and progress dials, with no clear next step. I rebuilt it around one point tracker, rewards you can claim, missions toward the next reward, and your United cards, with a member QR code and an inbox one tap away.

    Each reward opens to its details, where you choose how to use it: apply it to an upcoming flight or gift it to another passenger.

    The current MileagePlus screen: miles, passes, and three Premier progress dials for different point types.
    Current
    The redesigned Rewards screen: a 6,027-point tracker, reward tiles for extra luggage, a first class upgrade and a free meal, a mission card, and United cards.
    Updated
  5. Testing

    Test With Travelers, Then Iterate.

    We tested the prototype with 15+ users and collected 18 written critiques at our second checkpoint. Critiques asked for more contrast instead of shades of grey, consistent headers and spacing across screens, and questioned whether a friends feed fits what people open an airline app for.

Final Design

The finished app: my rewards section, the Explore feed and the new boarding pass.

Rewards home: a 6,027-point tracker, reward tiles, a mission to fly 302 more miles, and United cards.
Points, rewards, missions and cards in one place
Explore: suggested articles, trending stories and travel activity.
Explore: travel stories picked for you
The boarding pass: passenger, class, seat, ATL to LAS, boarding time, terminal and gate, with expand, QR and help.
Boarding pass: gate, seat and time up front

Screen 1 of 3

Show the Next Useful Action

Pair the balance with rewards and missions, so points aren’t a dead end.

Make Progress Visible

A point tracker and missions show how close the next reward is.

Before & After

How each part of the app changed, across the whole team’s redesign.

  1. The current home screen: Your MileagePlus offers and United deals and news.
    Current
    The redesigned home screen: a trip memory photo, a Welcome back dashboard with check-in, add a trip and Wi-Fi, and suggested articles.
    Updated Home
    The new Explore screen: suggested articles, trending stories and travel activity.
    Explore
    Atlas AI, the in-app travel assistant, answering a request to upgrade a seat with upgrade options and quick-reply suggestions.
    Atlas AI Assistant

    Home

    Designed by Kristine

    Before: Promotions and deals fill the screen.

    After: Trip memories, a dashboard for check-in and trips, suggested articles, an Explore page, a friends feed for sharing trips, and an AI travel assistant.

  2. The current booking form with cities, dates, travelers, cabin and several toggles.
    Current
    The redesigned Bookings screen with destination, dates, travelers and a use-loyalty-points toggle.
    Updated

    Booking

    Designed by Ryan

    Before: A long form, with fare toggles and extra options mixed together.

    After: One short form for one-way, round trip, or car and hotel, with a toggle to pay with points.

  3. The current My Trips screen: an empty state and a large advertisement.
    Current
    The redesigned My Trips screen listing upcoming flights with search and Add Flight.
    Updated

    My Trips

    Designed by Madison

    Before: An empty trip list, filled with an ad.

    After: Upcoming flights and flight history, with search and a simpler Add Flight.

  4. The current boarding pass with a large QR code and small boarding details below.
    Current
    The redesigned boarding pass: passenger, class, seat, ATL to LAS, boarding time, terminal and gate, with expand, QR and help.
    Updated
    The boarding pass with a weather advisory banner above it warning of lightning and delays at LAS.
    Travel Alerts
    The boarding pass QR code expanded to fill the card for scanning at the gate, with a Send button below.
    Expanded QR

    Boarding Pass

    Designed by Sara

    Before: Boarding details are hidden and hard to scan.

    After: Gate, seat and boarding time up front, loyalty status and travel alerts like weather delays on the pass, and a QR code to expand or send.

  5. The current MileagePlus screen with three Premier progress dials.
    Current
    The redesigned Rewards screen with point tracker, rewards, missions and cards.
    Updated Rewards
    Member QR code: a QR code to scan at United facilities, a temporary code, and a button to add rewards or deals.
    Member QR Code
    A First Class Upgrade reward, applied to an upcoming flight or gifted to another passenger.
    Upgrade

    Rewards My Design

    Before: Several points systems and scattered offers.

    After: One point tracker, rewards to claim, missions and cards, a member QR code to scan at United facilities, and rewards ready to use on a flight or gift.

  6. The current Account screen: a long list of account links.
    Current
    The redesigned Profile: loyalty points, track bags, help center and contact us above the account list.
    Updated

    Profile

    Designed by Angelina

    Before: Account resources and help buried in a long list.

    After: Loyalty points, bag tracking, help and contact up top.

Outcome & Reflection

What Was Delivered

A research synthesis, a new five-tab structure, and a high-fidelity Figma prototype covering home, booking, trips, boarding, rewards and profile, presented to stakeholders at the end of the semester.

What Comes Next

Weigh each new feature against what travelers open the app for. Critique questioned the friends feed and removing home-screen ads entirely; both are worth testing against United’s business goals.

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