The BMO VIPorter Mastercard

Summary

In 2025, Porter Airlines announced their partnership with Bank of Montreal and Mastercard to introduce their new BMO VIPorter Mastercard and BMO VIPorter World Elite Mastercard.

Some parts of this project are still under a non-disclosure agreement. This case study will only cover parts of the project that have been already made public and some descriptions may be intentionally vague.

Role

Main UX/UI Designer

Employer

Porter Airlines

Partners

Bank of Montreal &
Mastercard

Background

The BMO VIPorter Mastercard was designed as a co-branded credit card that allows members to earn points through everyday spending. It aimed to enhance member engagement, integrate seamlessly with existing platforms and introduce advanced features and functionalities previously unavailable. As the lead designer, I played a key role in overseeing web-based touch points, served as an advisor on email and mobile app touch points, and led all stakeholder presentations to align on objectives and outcomes in relation to design.

Key Processes

  • Competitive analysis
  • Internal audit
  • Wireframing
  • Usability testing and accessibility testing
  • User interface design
  • Responsive design

Deliverables

  • 2 new promotional webpages
  • 4 new operational flows
  • 3 updated designs to existing pages/flows

Goals

Our goal was to promote the new credit card through our multiple channels and my personal design goal was to create a seamless, user-friendly sign-up and onboarding experience. This required a well-researched and intuitive design approach to ensure a frictionless user journey.

Approach

Collaboration was key when tackling such a large project with many key players throughout the different project partners. I worked with multiple teams, including business analysts, our Vice President, loyalty teams, developers, legal, marketing, and BMO to ensured a cohesive and strategic approach to product development. My design process began with an internal audit and competitor research to understand market positioning and user expectations. Working closely with our UX researcher, we analyzed market data to inform our strategy. Then, I ideated some wireframes, which presented as early design options. From there, some iteration and feedback rounds were done and high fidelity prototypes were created in collaboration with our Senior UI designer. Throughout the process, I also worked closely with the BMO design team to ensure a cohesive end-to-end experience across all platforms.

Testing

Due to the massive amount of stakeolders involved, testing was a necessity to validate designs and get everyone aligned. I conducted four rounds of unmoderated usability testing, including two rounds of A/B tests. These tests provided insights into how our users understood banking jargon, navigated between Porter and BMO sites, and engaged with different marketing page layouts. The findings informed iterative improvements to optimize clarity and ease of use.

Accessibility

To ensure an inclusive experience, I also performed two rounds of moderated accessibility testing. Working with our accessibility specialist, we compiled annotations for developers to ensured that all accessibility standards were met on web. Special attention was given to complex features and animations to ensure they were fully accessible to all users.

Legal

As the first credit card launched by Porter Airlines, legality was a large consideration that the team was not accustomed to approaching so rigidly. This resulted in many additional approval processes and learnings. On the design side, it was a challenge to fit all the trademarks and superscripts that came in much later into the already created design. Legal reviews also created a slew of last minute changes that the developers and I had to deal with swiftly.

Results

The launch of the BMO VIPorter Mastercard and BMO VIPorter World Elite Mastercard was a success, with a strong number of sign-ups from the waitlist and record breaking numbers from the official launch. The seamless digital experience contributed to high user engagement and an effective onboarding process, reinforcing the value of a well-executed UX/UI strategy.

Learnings & Challenges

Throughout the project, I overcame challenges daily. Navigating bank jargon and legal constraints required careful consideration in the design approach. The crossover between web and email experiences highlighted the importance of close collaboration to maintain consistency in design and messaging across all touchpoints. With multiple secondary designers contributing to different aspects of the project, improved communication and structured file handoffs would have streamlined workflows and ensured greater consistency throughout the design process.

Another huge issue we encountered was the marketing page’s animations. Once the design hit the development stage, it proved to be more difficult than anticipated to execute. To be able to meet release deadlines, I had to work with the developers to really understand what they were capable of and make compromises, while still trying to maintain the beauty and experience of the design. Through this experience, I learned more about development and how to better triage what is needed in designs. In the end, we created an acceptable consumer facing animation, with plans for refinement in the future.

Overall, I personally grew a ton from this year-long (and counting!) project. It has challenged and developed not just my design skills, but my organizational and interpersonal skills as well. This was an invaluable project that I am so happy to have worked on and I now feel all the more equipped to tackle larger-scale, cross-functional design projects in the future.