Well, the problem is having talked to the guys at a Travelpro authorized service center is that the Plat5 warranty doesn't involve wear and abuse. The warranty isn't defined to exclude "only cosmetic wear", it's defined to exclude "normal wear and tear" even for the Plat6 "worry-free" warranty (See
http://www.travelpro.com/pdf/Warranty_Info.pdf).
So if Travelpro expects for example the pull-out handle tubes to wear down and they eventually do, it's not covered by their warranty. Or the wheel axles. Or whatever else. Yes, if an airline destroys your bag, it's covered. But if your wheel axle buckles after N years and N is expected, that's not covered. And more to the point, the warranty means that the company can design to an N year or N trip lifetime.
Oddly enough, the guy at the luggage store claims that Tumi Alpha is still the best constructed luggage. And they charge like it is, too :-). Almost 2x the equivalent B&R bag for a 24" rolling suitcase. (I'm amending this -- true apples to apples is about 1.6x).
I could understand Tumi going to different warranties for different lines. But it boggles my mind that Tumi went away from their true lifetime warranty for Alpha.