I ALWAYS book directly with the airline. I'm actually very surprised at your experience, as normally booking with another company adds an extra layer of problems if the flight is cancelled. IF you had a phone, you could have called the airline and booked that way, as compared to standing in line. I assume you're talking about when you were leaving SXM? As otherwise, no way I would accept a flight the next day, and miss a day of vacation, IF I had any choice. I would try, if possible to get AA to book me on another airline that day.