From Uncertainty to Confidence: American Express Trip Cancel Guard

Industry
Travel Insurance

Type of project
Re-imagine existing trip cancel guard experience.

Tools
Figma & Mural

My role
End-to-end product design

Timeline
8 months

Overview

American Express Card Members often faced stress and uncertainty when trips were disrupted or cancelled. While protection benefits existed, the process to understand coverage, check eligibility, and purchase protection was confusing and fragmented. Trip Cancel Guard (TCG) was designed to fix this: it allows eligible American Express Card Members to cancel their flight for any reason up to 2 days before departure and receive up to 75% reimbursement when airline credits aren’t available. Customers didn’t just need more information—they needed confidence and clarity.

The Problem

The original American Express Trip Cancel Guard was highly restrictive: it could only be purchased at the exact time of booking standalone flights directly through the AmexTravel.com portal — no later additions, no third-party sites, no direct airline bookings, no packages (e.g., flight + hotel). These tight limitations made it inflexible and frustrating for many travelers.

Product Before Redesign

Opportunity 1

Extend flexible post-booking protection exclusively for American Express cardholders, letting them add Trip Cancel Guard coverage even after buying their flight tickets — for greater convenience and stronger card engagement.

Opportunity 2

Leverage Trip Cancel Guard as an exclusive benefit available only to American Express cardholders, driving higher card acquisition and everyday usage by making premium travel protection a powerful reason to carry an Amex card.

What I aimed to achieve

Trip Cancel Guard 2.0

  • New responsive page layout with collapsible FAQs, iconography, and interactive content

  • Contextual opt-in experience within the booking flow

  • Clear summary of coverage post-purchase

Final Design & Launch

Trip Cancel Guard 2.0

  1. A responsive, benefits-first landing page with simplified messaging, rich visuals, and interactive FAQs

  2. Contextual opt-in module embedded within the booking flow, with clear value props and eligibility indicators

  3. A post-purchase summary card confirming coverage and linking to claims or benefit details

Both experiences were designed with accessibility, mobile responsiveness, and user trust at the forefront—delivering a more intuitive, scalable, and supportive journey for cardmembers across protection benefits.

Results & Impact

increase in engagement on the Trip Cancel Guard landing page

40%

lift in Trip Cancel Guard opt-ins after redesign

22%

reduction in incomplete Purchase Protection claims

30%

What I Learned

  1. Clarity builds trust — simplifying complex language and surfacing key benefits early can significantly improve engagement.

  2. Modular design scales — creating reusable components sped up delivery across multiple protection products.

  3. Cross-functional collaboration is key — working closely with legal, engineering, and support teams was essential to balance compliance and usability.