American Express is known for unique and premium experiences, and our Wings to Wallet initiative set out to turn a passionate sub-group of aviation enthusiasts into American Express and Delta superfans.

American Express built on their historic partnership with Delta to create the first ever credit card design made from a retired 747 Boeing aircraft. The limited edition design for Delta SkyMiles Reserve and Reserve Business American Express Card Members would be covetable on its own, but we wanted to take things further.

The partners created an unforgettable Augmented Reality experience that only our Card Members could access. Through access to Delta and Boeing archives, we crafted a visual tour through the plane’s past, present and future, ultimately launching the Wings to Wallet AR experience.

We set out to create the most dynamic AR experience; with the help of a QR code, Card Members would use their limited edition Card to unlock access from home.

Through AR, we’d enable our aviation enthusiast audience to build an emotional connection to the stories, stimulating their senses and engrossing them in a renowned brand partnership that is just as culturally relevant today as it was 64+ years ago. With a piece of the sky already in their wallets, the Wings to Wallet experience would give Card Members a front row seat to an innovative tour through aviation history.

To reach our aviation enthusiast community, we developed the AR by outlining the transformation from plane to credit card into a visual “Wings to Wallet” journey. Four key content pillars not only drove the portrayal of that narrative but also dictated the experiential design:

Aircraft History: in-depth dive into Delta Ship #6307 and the complex inner workings of the 747, including the aircrafts’ flight logs, data, schematics, livery and more.

Flight Stories: a tour through uplifting narrated tales from Ship #6307’s crew members, detailing powerful emotions associated with this plane and general love and appreciation for how the 747 shaped aviation history.

Transformation: behind-the-scenes look at the transformative journey from 747 to Card.

Benefits: tour through the evolution of the American Express and Delta partnership, plus a breakdown of the special benefits attached to this limited edition Card.

Transforming a 747 into a credit card is no small feat. That paired with the lore, history and fandom for the 747 presented us with a strong opportunity to truly pay off the moment when American Express Card Members received their Card. We saw an opportunity to begin the impactful journey there; each welcome packet for the limited-edition Boeing 747 card design included an introduction and a QR code that would digitally admit them to AR experience.

Utilizing 3D video, striking visuals, archival imagery, infographics, and written content, we harnessed the powers of nostalgia and AR innovation to immerse Card Members within the complex inner workings of the 747 and brought the limited edition card design to life. Our approach to outfit the AR experience for mobile-first, cross-platform development also allowed our Card Members unparalleled accessibility across mobile.

Aviation enthusiasts eagerly queued up to get the Card and with their own piece of 747 history in-hand, they spent a total of 4.9M minutes in the AR experience. Sections within the virtual experience have been viewed 1M+ times and counting.

What started as a campaign for insiders quickly got the attention of media who praised our engaging “Wings to Wallet” story, uniqueness of the AR experience, and the Card’s sleek design, contributing to the ‘must-have’ allure for both new acquisitions and current Delta SkyMiles Card Member upgrades.