Is a courier worth it anymore?

Hello everyone!  I know there have been a lot of posts about couriers, including recent ones.  As I was reading the comments, I saw a few that seemed to imply that visas are taking longer to be approved nowadays.  Does this affect whether a courier is recommended?  We're flying on November 19, and I intend to submit my online application on Sunday night.  Is it unrealistic to expect to get a biometrics appointment for next week?  Our biometrics place is pretty dead most of the time (we had to go for my husband's green card and we were the only people there), so I wouldn't expect they'd be overloaded.

Anyway, since visas tend to be taking longer to be approved, would it be advisable to use a courier service?  Or are they taking longer too?  And how does it work exactly-- do you contact the courier you choose, ship the application and documents to them, and then they hand deliver them to the consulate?  Isn't it a bit unfair that those delivered by courier get approved sooner than ones that are simply overnighted via FedEx or UPS and get there on the same day?  Does anyone know exactly how that works?

I intend to include copies of our itinerary showing our flight date, so hopefully processing time won't be an issue, but since this is all very important, I want to make sure my bases are covered.  Thanks y'all!!

if you've already bought your tickets for nov 19, I would definitely use a courier, simply because if you sent in your app yourself it's possible you could miss your flight (esp if you've not done biometrics yet.)

As far as actually using a courier, you send your docs to them, and they hand deliver your app to the consulate.  A day or two later, they pick up your passport w/visa and the docs, and mail them back to you.  Using a courier does make your app jump to the head of the queue, but since you're paying extra for the service I wouldn't really consider it unfair- it's an option open to everyone.

Gotcha, thanks for the details!  I see what you mean about paying extra for the service.  Sounds like it'll definitely be the way to go for me.  Thanks again!!