Originally Posted by JumboD

On a recent LAX-LHR my checked bag was damaged fairly badly, an entire seam was ripped along the back. This was a cheap piece of luggage I bought for the trip since I don't like risking my good luggage getting lost in transit when all it's being used for is socks, running clothes and snacks. Never the less, I found this bag in very poor shape when I got to my hotel at LHR.

To make a long story short, I contacted AA about ten days later to let them know and request compensation (I said either money or miles would suffice). I took a while because in Russia, where I was, hotel wifi is very expensive and I had data via my phone, though AA's app doesn't allow one to email customer relations. Hence I waited until I got to France and had free internet to email through AA.com. I received an email back saying that if I didn't see an airport rep in person within 24 hours or email within seven days, there was nothing to be done.

First things first, I get it, if those are the rules, those are the rules. What upset me, though, is this: 4-5k miles as a "we're sorry" would have left me feeling just fine over the whole thing, after all, it was a $45 bag and none of the stuff inside was lost or damaged. I just felt it was poor customer service to just quote the arbitrary rule book and tell someone who'd spent A LOT on their ticket (plus another 25k miles to upgrade the segment to F) that they were SOL when all they wanted were some miles as an apology. I let them know this in a subsequent email, but I'm wondering if I'm being unreasonable here?