I'll agree here. We no longer book with a layover of less than 1.5 hours if we have to connect. We book almost exclusively direct flights, and utilize trip insurance credit card coverage benefits on ALL trips. Most benefits kick in after 3 hours delay. I'd rather spend extra time in the lounge than miss a tight connection.

We also book refundable/fully cancellable hotel rooms at airports where we may miss a connection or get stuck overnight due to weather as a backup backup.

If the trip is vital, we will book a flex/refundable fare. (Like a wedding or a funeral, etc) I'd recommend doing the same. Second recommendation is to book a full travel day outside of the days that you MUST be at your destination. It's amazing how quickly delays can balloon and your 20min delay turns into 6 hours, or worse, overnight at the airport and suddenly you miss something major.

Definitely utilize all tools at your disposal, lounge staff, management, if you can rebook using your AA phone app in IRROPS, it's usually quicker than dealing with an AAngel and definitely quicker than a GA or CS. I was shocked at how easy it was to use during IRROPS.