On Tuesday, July 11th I approved a charge of $1436.46 for an upcoming flight via the Japanese Travel Bureau. As of Friday, July 14th (3 days later) only the $35 merchant fee was actually charged to my account, the other balance has not shown up as yet. That seems an excessive delay. When I called the merchant today, they said everything was in order. When I called American Express, the CSR would only say "you have to wait another day or so" before the charge shows up with NO EXPLANATION for the delay, other than "that is the way we do things" and shut me down as a customer. I also spoke with the merchant involved and they are "dong nothing further" now to expedite this transaction - it is fully complete from their perspective. Somehow we have a break down in communication here! That is very poor customer service...not willing to investigate further and determine why - in today's world of electronic transactions - is should take that long - 3 days - to reflect the charge. I would like an more in-depth explanation of (1) Why this transaction was divided up into two elements - $35 and the other; and (2) Why it takes so long for the ENTIRE transaction to show up on my on-line billing statement? Please provide that in-depth explanation as soon as possible. Thank you Dale F. Weeks American Express Customer for 40+ years [protected] Minneapolis, MN USA 55432