Originally Posted by
bocastephen
Based on my experience, the person who answers the phone is not a "travel agent" - for example, they don't understand basic segment construction, have no access to their Sabre GDS, cannot issue or modify tickets, or do even the most basic tasks in any way different from what you can do online yourself. I've had to escalate in order to get someone who can comprehend these things and get more complicated tickets or routes or changes done for me - and they still need to be queued to another desk for ticketing.
What I would expect from a Platinum Travel Agent is sufficient training and experience to understand more complex ticketing and routing concepts, airline and hotel product knowledge, destination knowledge, and direct GDS access to create, price and test itineraries on the fly. That's what my clients expect from me, but then again they don't need to pay me $600/yr. The average person is better off skipping Amex and going with an in-person agent at AAA and then getting the points back after purchase if they don't need the 35% rebate.
Like we are saying, you're not talking to a "Platinum Travel Agent". You're talking to Expedia. But once you've ticketed something in Expedia (AmexTravel.com), whether on the phone or online, the Platinum Travel Services people cannot help you, because your booking is now inside AmexTravel.com (= Expedia). Note that just because you're talking to someone on the phone it does NOT mean you're talking to Platinum Travel Services. You're just talking to a phone rep for Expedia. If you want to know which you're talking to, just ask them.