the call back pays off. Spent a half hour with an incredibly nice woman...who's name I'm now forgetting. She was gracious throughout, patient when things didn't go perfectly, and made it work for the exact flights I was trying to book. At the end she even apologized for having to charge me $25 to book it since she said I'd done all the work.

Of couse, no problem with the open jaw/stopover. She wasn't 100% sure I could do the slight backtrack on the stopover in IAH, but said she'd just give it a try and see how it priced out. Worked perfectly and she was happy it worked.

I know elites have been upset with things post-merger, but for this no-status bum, I was more than pleased with the service I received tonight (once I got the right person on the phone, anyway). Probably helped to call at 2am, too.