Stories like this seem really alien. I had RT tix for two to Italy booked for the third week of March. As it became obvious that wasn’t happening, I didn’t call the airline and ask them pleeeease — I just chatted at them (i.e., brief, declarative, referenced, and in writing) and asked for their C-19 policy, which was basically FU. Done. Then I waited for the inevitable cancelation. When it came I called Amex and said: “I paid # for X, they aren’t providing X, their policy is Y, I dispute this charge.’ Done. Total time, aside from waiting for the airline’s chat, maybe 15 minutes. Rule #1: NEVER ASK A QUESTION YOU DON’T WANT TO HEAR THE ANSWER TO. And a protip: When a corp says “our policy is Z,” just reply “our policy is not-Z.” You are plural, you have a policy, and you aren’t making a request, you’re informing them of what will happen and what won’t happen.