thats kind of frustrating. made gold dec 24, called in asking for expedited shipment and they were telling me i am out of luck as no expedited shipment possible.... i am leaving friday passing frankfurt, bangkog, kuala lumpur, kota kinabalu, brunei and singapore. hopefully my amex platinum will help here and there. i really think this is an issue that needs to be solved. otherwise your status doesnt benefit you for the first 4 to six weeks or so...