Have not had much luck with the portal; when I first got the card, I went to buy some tickets and either the fare was much higher than the carrier (TK), the airport did not show up (small African airport) or the carrier did not show up (LCC in Asia).

Now with the 8X I have recommitted to using the portal for some upcoming business class trips and one short trip. The first one went fine.

Now going to book the next trip, the portal does not show flights on Delta that I know for a fact are available; the portal appears to favor UA but even with the search parameters stating DL, I get a fraction of the results that are available.

I also want to book a flight on Ryanair; based on my previous comment about Asia LLC, possibly that is just not an option. No big deal, but for the business class trips the point differential is substantial (60K +).

I am thinking about calling the Chase line and seeing if they can book what I want; what has been others' experience - will they find what I want if I spoon feed it to them? And will I get my 8X? There is some fine print that talks about this:

Note: if you use Reserve Travel Designers to make travel purchases using your card, those purchases will earn 8 points for each $1 spent only if booked directly through Chase Travel. Travel purchases made using your card through FROSCH by Chase Travel, Valerie Wilson Travel by Chase Travel, or Frosch International Travel LLC will not qualify to earn 8 points for each $1 spent.

I am likely to buy a refundable ticket, but if I don't, will the travel credit go to DL or Chase?

Any input or experience on this?