My flight was delayed 8 times over 21 hours and caused such an uproar, police were called to the gate. Here's what I learned from the nightmare experience.

On December 10, we arrived at the Miami airport from our first American Airlines flight from Columbus, Ohio, at around 8 p.m., so we had a few hours to spare before our journey to Rio de Janeiro.

We booked the entire journey with American, and didn't check any luggage.

The gate agent said the delay was only for an hour, and I was happy that we wouldn't be traveling on a plane with mechanical issues.

In fact, I'm glad that airlines have procedures in place to ensure passengers and crew are safe.

However, closer to midnight when we still hadn't boarded yet, I had a hunch we would be further delayed. The gate agent soon confirmed my suspicions by announcing that the flight was delayed to 12:20 a.m.

The agent said the delay was because technicians were still trying to fix the brakes. It was a bit frustrating, but since there was nothing we could do about it, we settled into airport chairs and listened to music.

Passengers immediately groaned upon the announcement.

When I looked online, I saw that American Airlines' website said the company would reimburse us for hotels for delays caused by them, but that they don't "guarantee reimbursement for expenses without written authorization." When I asked an agent about this, they said the airline would reimburse me if I booked a hotel, but that I should contact customer service to do so.

The gate agents also said they were unable to provide me with any written documentation, which made me a bit worried about my future reimbursement request.

Regardless, I quickly called local hotels to see if there was any availability. Luckily, I was able to find an open room, and I paid almost $300 for it out of pocket. Another passenger I was chatting with was also making calls, and told me they booked a room at a different hotel for almost $700.

Others weren't as lucky. One passenger told me that she called 17 hotels and all of them were fully booked, since at that point it was already past 1 a.m.

My parents and I took a taxi to the hotel and got to bed around 2:30 a.m. We woke up around 8 a.m. and confirmed by checking the American Airlines app that our flight was still scheduled to leave at 1 p.m. We showered, grabbed breakfast, and then headed to the airport around 10 a.m. to go through security and wait for our flight.

American Airlines did provide each passenger with two $12 food and drink vouchers after the flight was delayed at 1 a.m., but since it was so late, almost all of the terminal's restaurants were closed until the morning. My parents and I each used our vouchers for some coffee and additional breakfast items.

I spoke with several fellow passengers who'd stayed in the airport overnight. They told me that they couldn't sleep very well, didn't have the toiletries they needed, and were worried that their luggage would be stolen while they slept.

Representatives for American Airlines did not respond to Insider's request for comment on the food vouchers and hotel reimbursement.

I started growing suspicious, though, when the plane wasn't at the gate when my parents and I walked up just before noon, and we hadn't even started boarding by the new boarding time.

The gate agents didn't seem to know why the flight had been delayed. At times they said the plane's mechanical issues had been fixed and that it was on its way to the gate. Other times they said technicians were still working on the plane or that they were working on getting a new plane for us.

The contradictions only added to passengers' confusion.

The flight was then delayed to 3 p.m. The manager who arrived at the gate said that the operations team hadn't contacted them about the status of fixing the mechanical issues and that they knew just as much as we did.

The pilots and attendants for the plane were in the gate area and waiting, so to me, it did seem like the issue was a mechanical one rather than a staffing problem. At one point, one of the pilots for the flight also started fielding questions from customers.

A few minutes after 2 p.m., we were told that our flight would now depart from a different gate at 3:45 p.m.

American Airlines said they would have food and snacks for us at the new gate, but none were provided. At the new gate, we waited again.

I was so excited that we were finally going to leave, and everyone at the gate started clapping and cheering when the plane pulled up to the gate.

Boarding was seamless and went quickly, likely because we all just wanted to reach Brazil.

While disembarking, I was exhausted. I felt bad for the elderly passengers who needed assistance and other flyers with young kids. It made me wonder why we boarded the plane if the safety inspection wasn't finished.

After we disembarked, the flight was again delayed to later in the evening.

After 15 hours of delays, the $24 food vouchers seemed paltry, especially since I saw a burger at one of the Miami Airport restaurants costs $15 and a bottle of water costs $5.

People were upset, and some passengers yelling and crowding around the agents' desk.

At this point, many passengers were furious.

I called the American Airlines customer service phone number and also messaged them on Twitter. The various customer service people I communicated with told me I should work with the ground staff for additional vouchers or reimbursement. But when I did talk to the ground staff, they told me to call customer service.

I chatted with several other passengers, and we were all frustrated. Given the circumstances, even if American couldn't provide monetary compensation, I thought they could have given us free miles, future flight credits, or, at a minimum, coupons for a free drink on the flight.

Although I don't condone disrespect to anyone, I thought this commotion could have been avoided if the airline had taken accountability for the 18 hours of delays and lack of answers.

While I never want to go through this experience again, I was thankful to be able to connect and commiserate with fellow passengers about the whole ordeal.

Unlike the previous time, none of the passengers clapped or cheered when the plane arrived — to me, it felt like no one wanted to jinx the tentative departure.

When all was said and done, I was out $300 and the almost full-day delay affected my family's travel plans — we had to rebook and re-coordinate our sightseeing reservations and transportation in Brazil.

After some research, I learned that certain credit cards, particularly those with travel perks, offer protection for delayed or canceled flights. Depending on the card and other restrictions, they might reimburse you for hotel rooms, expenses incurred during the delay, and even airline lounge access. While I have one of these cards, I, unfortunately, didn't use it while paying for the trip or these other expenses, which I plan to do in the future should this happen again.

Lastly, after researching online, I also learned that if you contact an airline and they are unhelpful or operating against the stated customer service contract on their website, passengers can file a complaint with the Department of Transportation. Doing so might help resolve your request or, at a minimum, help the Department of Transportation keep track of customer issues to make future policy progress, and help keep airlines accountable.

I plan on doing this if I'm not able to recoup the money I spent on the hotel after contacting American's customer service again.