I received my settlement check 7/13 (Sat). I didn't appeal and will just accept the $212.10 payment I was given. Just to summarize my claim:
$42.42 Rideshares in LAS area (including to and from airport)
$17.82 Cab ride ($10.82 fare +5 tip +2 bellhop tip)
$39.05 clothes and beverages (bought shirt and shorts, but forgot to buy socks b/c I was in a rush. place sold beverages so got some since it was 110 degrees and I walked a mile to the store from the hotel).
$16.41 Rideshare home airport-home
$55.94 Doordash pizza order to hotel
$44.29 Chocolate Factory East (dessert & snacks for plane)
$11.11 Sweetwater (overage and tip)
$7.06 Mercantile (this was $14.12 after the $56 discount. I said in my statement that I had this meal with friend so only claimed half)
=$234.10
They paid out $212.10 as I said in the post above saying they denied some value b/c I had a friend on the itinerary.
Their claim amount was $293.32, which as I said above didn't make any sense. I could get close if I added the full Mercantile bill that showed a $59.16 total before the $6 discount, which I left a $10.96 tip (and had 3.16 overage) for a $14.12 added to my card.(The receipt showed all those totals on it and 2 persons). The bill showed the $59.16 and the tip. I get $293.28 if I add the $59.16 to my $234.10.
As I stated above, they denied $81.22, claiming my friend wasn't covered, but I really only lost $22 according to my calculations.
Maybe my friend was right and I should just not have put the Mercantile bill in the claim and just claimed everything else as for myself only, rather than including Mercantile and trying to be honest claiming half of it and getting it reduced more than that? I don't know but at least I got most of my reimbursement.
It does make me feel better about the annual fee getting this claim mostly paid. They are lucky I couldn't take the flight 24 hours later that was initially offered to me (but I had searched and found a better connecting flight that would get me home earlier before I got to counter), as I would have spent more with 24 hours in Vegas.