The problem is that no one agrees on the value of a mile.

Your refund misadventure is more complicated than it appears. You had booked your tickets using your Delta SkyMiles. When you asked American Queen for a refund, you included copies of your old and new itinerary. You explained that you had to redeem another 31,000 miles each for the new trip. You asked American Queen for $930 by calculating the value of a mile at .015 cents per mile.

The problem is that no one agrees on the value of a mile. Some say a Delta SkyMile is worth 1 cent, some say 1.2 cents, and some say it may be as high as 1.5 cents. But one thing is certain: The American Queen Voyages system was set up to give cash refunds for actual money spent. The mile valuations may have confused it.

If that’s true, then someone at American Queen should have said something to you. Maybe they could have made a counteroffer on the mileage or explain the company’s policy about reimbursing passengers for their miles? A $930 reimbursement is essentially the cost of a new plane ticket, so it might have made more sense to just buy a new ticket. All of those things should have been worked out before you submitted your expenses to American Queen.

The experience you had following up on your reimbursement is not unique to American Queen. Many travel companies drag their feet when it’s time to issue refunds.

You reached out to my advocacy team. I contacted the company on your behalf, and after several inquiries, I received an email that American Queen was “currently expediting this reimbursement.” You finally received your $930 refund.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of it. A few weeks after I resolved this case, American Queen Voyages ceased operations.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy (elliottadvocacy.org), a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/ help.