In my year of nearly exclusive AA/OneWorld flying, in general I've been blown away by the level of service across the board, from gate agents to flight attendants to EXP desk staff.

However, for the past two months I have been very disappointed in my efforts to claim compensation for a delayed bag. I've laid out my story below---any tips or advice would be appreciated.

Flew DEN-DFW-MSY Feb 15th for Mardi Gras. AAngel in the AC in DEN did an unbelievable job getting me on a flight to MSY (this was when DFW got 6 inches of snow paralyzing everything), but had to gate-check my carryon.

When I got to MSY, no bag. The agent at MSY asked me for identifying factors/items in the bag, so I told her it was a red hiking pack with a tent and sleeping bag inside.

Called AA for authorization to purchase essentials while bag was in limbo---was authorized 150, later bumped up to 400 when it took bag 5 days to arrive.

Submitted my claim on Feb 22, and after chasing central baggage for two months, finally received a resolution...telling me that my claim had been rejected, because I listed a tent and sleeping bag as the contents, while I had sent in receipts for clothing and toiletries.

Does AA think I traveled to Mardi Gras for 10 days with only the clothes on my back? Very frustrated to still be dealing with this after more than two months...

My CSR told me to submit a dispute, which will "typically" be answered within 15 business days---according to my dealings with her so far, this is code for me having to email her in three weeks, and her then replying that they are backed up and need more time.

Any advice on who to call?