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UX Research
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UX Research
Business Challenge
Prior research had revealed that customers evaluating high-fee credit cards conflated "value" almost entirely with rewards points earned – overlooking other benefits (travel credits, insurance, airport perks) in their mental math for whether a card's annual fee was worth it. This follow-up study was commissioned to understand precisely how customers think about the "total. calculated value" of all rewards and benefits combined, not just points.
Strategic Approach
Ran a mixed-method study: a moderated card sort to understand how customers naturally group and prioritize rewards/benefit categories, paired with a quantitative national online survey (n=150) fielded over one week, screened to high-fee cardholders ($250+ annual fee) ages 18–59 with $75K+ household income.
Research & Deliverables
Survey synthesis surfaced a clear headline finding: reward points, followed by discounts and credits, were the most frequently cited reasons customers gave for justifying a card's annual fee, despite the card's broader benefit set. Card sort results revealed how customers actually grouped reward types (e.g., travel vs. cash-value vs. lifestyle perks), informing recommendations for how that information should be organized and labeled.
Outcome
Findings were synthesized into IA and content recommendations for the product team; handed off before implementation began.
Methodology
Card Sorting
Customer Verbatims