I purchased tickets on Orbitz for an upcoming flight IAD-ORD-OMA-ORD-IAD.
Relevant quotes from the fare rules:
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*** Fare Basis Code: HRA3 ***
3. Penalties:PENALTIES: NOTE - 1. WHOLLY UNUSED TICKETS - CHANGES TO ORIGINATING FLIGHT - WHOLLY UNUSED TICKETS ARE FULLY REFUNDABLE. CHANGES ARE PERMITTED AT ANYTIME. IF CHANGE IS MADE TO ORIGIN/DESTINATION/STOP- OVER POINT/BOOKING CODE OR CHANGE VIOLATES RULES OF ORIGINALLY TICKETED FARE-TICKET MUST BE REPRICED AT CURRENT FARES APPLICABLE TO CHANGED ITINERARY. CHANGES MUST BE MADE AND TICKET REISSUED BY THE ADVANCE PURCHASE OF THE NEW FARE.
6. Blackout Dates:BLACKOUT DATES: NO RESTRICTION
8. Transfers:TRANSFERS: 8 TRANSFERS PERMITTED - 4 IN EACH DIRECTION.
10. Maximum Stay:MAXIMUM STAY: NO RESTRICTION
11. Minimum Stay:MINIMUM STAY: NO RESTRICTION
12. Advance Reservations/Ticketing Restrictions:ADVANCE RES/TKTG: RESERVATIONS FOR ALL SECTORS AND TICKETING ARE REQUIRED AT LEAST 3 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE. STANDBY NOT PERMITTED. NOTE - THE FLIGHT NUMBER AND DATE MUST BE INDICATED ON THE TICKET. PSGRS HOLDING CONFIRMED RESERVATIONS AND TKTS MAY STANDBY FOR ANY EARLIER/LATER SAME-DAY FLTS FOR WHICH THE FARE IS APPLICABLE.
13. Flight Applications:FLIGHT APPLICATIONS: NO RESTRICTION
14. Seasonality:SEASONALITY: NO RESTRICTION
15. Day/Time Application
AY/TIME APPLICATION: NO RESTRICTION
16. Eligibility:ELIGIBILITY: NO RESTRICTION
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Essentially this is a refundable ticket, right? I am paying $580, not peanuts, for a ticket that is a business day, no overnight stay, bla bla, typical business trip.
I learned about the 15K status miles promotion and registered for it. I then called and tried to get my fare basis changed from H to M.
That fare was $1600 and it was *Non refundable*, while this H fare is refundable!
What gives
I would pay a hundred or so more to UA at this stage for the status miles, but not an extra grand to turn a refundable ticket into a non-refundable one!