Ages ago when things were not so easy to book ourselves online I had the pleasure of being helped by some really incredible Amex Travel reps. Unfortunately as the internet has become more useful Amex Travel has been headed in the exact opposite direction. I have found it to be incredibly frustrating to get them to help me in an efficient manner. I have to hold their hand and walk them through every little step to get the booking I’m after. On the whole it’s not worth the time or hassle anymore, which is too bad. What OP describes isn’t even “that bad” compared to the incompetence I’ve encountered when trying to get help. In the end I give up in frustration. After a dozen times of this exercise I just figure it’s better to do my own travel bookings even though my Centurion AF is going in part to pay for these people to not help me. Sort of like how I pay to not have access to any Equinox within 2 states of where I reside!