American Airlines ghosted me for a lost bag and delayed flight but AMEX Assurance Insurance Company pulled through like a champ

Took an overseas flight on American last year in March 2024 and they lost a gate check item. (It never boarded the flight at DFW.) I have receipts for my item, the flight, etc. and there is clear evidence of the loss being their fault. I submitted a delayed bag report the day it was lost and a lost baggage claim within deadline. After 2-3 months of no response, I started trying to get in touch. It was months of online chat, phone calls, and emails. In the fall, I stopped by my local airport to ask what I could do and found out the claim was closed the month before. I then started to only send in emails so I had a record. I threatened to report them to the US Dept of Transportation. That got the most response I saw throughout the entire experience.

In November, my family took an overseas flight on American and the connecting flight at DFW was delayed overnight. We got to our destination a full 24 hours later. Because of the circumstances, we had to pay for everything out of pocket and submit to American for reimbursement.

By Christmas, I still hadn't received either reimbursement from American (lost baggage and travel delay) and I also hadn't had a productive conversation with anyone from the company over chat, email, or by phone. I was fuming. I spent my afternoon off on Dec. 27 researching what I could do. I discovered I bought all my airfare with an American Express card that automatically signs me up for AMEX Assurance Insurance when I buy flights with the card. That same afternoon, I submitted AMEX Assurance claims for lost baggage and travel delay. And because I was so angry, I also submitted a complaint to the US Dept of Transportation, urging them to hold American Airlines accountable for their poor handling of customer claims and their disregard for basic service standards.

Within three weeks, I received delayed baggage and travel delay reimbursements from AMEX Assurance. Both were more than the claims I submitted. I haven't heard anything from the US DOT, yet.

TLDR; I’ve spent over 9 months trying to get reimbursed from American Airlines for lost baggage and about 1.5 months trying to get reimbursed for a travel delay. Despite their clear responsibility in both cases, American has not reimbursed me and they have hardly communicated throughout the process. In comparison, it only took three weeks for Amex to reimburse me, and they gave me more money than I asked for. The customer service is night and day.

I pay $10/ticket for the trip delay and $10/ticket for the travel delay insurance. Both are well worth it in my mind.